[BLANK_AUDIO] So, let's look at the French mandates. The countries of Lebanon in Syria. And we will start with Lebanon, with what is called the establishment of Greater Lebanon, that is, the Lebanon that we know today. As Christians and as Catholics, the Maronites in Lebanon had a very distinct sense of unique identity, in reference to all other communities in the fertile crescent. Who were either Muslim, or Eastern Christian. And in that respect, the Maronites were unique. They were also a compact minority. That is, that they, the community was situated in a particularly well-defined territory of Mount Lebanon. They had a historical affinity with France. A formal link with the Catholic Church since the 18th century. The Maronites had enjoyed long periods of relative autonomy under the protection of local Druze and Maronite rulers in Mount Lebanon. In the 1840s, tensions mounted between the two main communities of mount Lebanon, the Druze and the Maronites. This eventually deteriorated into a major civil war, in which the Druze trounced the Maronites. In June 1860, thousands of Maronites were killed, and about 100,000 became refugees. Almost simultaneously was the massacre of Christians in Damascus, related to the opposition to the Tanzimat as we will recall as it took place in July,1860. And it was these events related to the Christian minorities that lead to the military intervention of France on behalf of the Christians. And as a result of the military intervention of France an international accord was reached between the Ottomans. France, Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia, to form the autonomous province of Mount Lebanon. And in 1861, this Mount Lebanon Autonomous District, was established by an international agreement where this autonomous district would be run by a christian governor From outside the mountain area, but appointed from Istanbul and therefore very much under the authority of the Ottoman Empire. This Christian Governor, appointed from outside the mountain was to be assisted by councils that would be based on Sectarian representation. And it is this base of Sectarian representation. That essentially created the pattern of government according to which Lebanon was established as an independent state. So why was Greater Lebanon established? Why was the state of Lebanon as established in 1920 so much larger than the cohesive Area of Mount Lebanon. Why did they go beyond it? There are a number of reasons. First of all, the Maronites themselves wanted more territory. And the Maronties, at the Paris Peace Conference after the war, lobbied very intensively for the inclusion of more territory in the future state of Lebanon. The Maronties had historical aspirations that went way beyond the mountain. During the first world war, the Maronties had suffered terribly by the ravages of war, starvation, and great losses as a result of which. And therefore, they desired to control the [UNKNOWN] to the east and The mountainous area to the south. These were agricultural areas that the mountain wanted to bring under their own authority. The affinity with France required the Maronites to control the coastal cities which were not included in the autonomous area, Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon, and Tyre and all these became of greater Lebanon. [BLANK_AUDIO] But the creation of greater Lebanon changed the population ratios very dramatically. In autonomous Mount Lebanon, there had been 400,000 people of whom 80% were Christians and about 60% were Martonites. In the new greater Lebanon of Christians were barely the majority, barely over 50%. Maronites were only one third of the population. This of course was to influence Lebanese politics very, very dramatically in the years ahead. Lebanon was now a confederation of Maronites, Sunnis, Shias, and Druze, and with time, there was a demographic shift against the Christians. Birthrates amongst the Christians were lower, emigration amongst Christians was higher. And as a result, population grew in favor of the Muslims especially the Shi'ites. And with time it was the Shi'ites who would become the largest community in Lebanon and would displace the Maronites in that position. The Sumni's in this new greater Lebanon who have previously been part of the majority in the [UNKNOWN] empire, at least initially, deeply resented their separation from Syria. And their subordination to the Maronite Christians in this new state of Lebanon. This gave rise of course to a debate on what is the face of Lebanon. Is Lebanon a Western Christian dominated state? Or alternatively is Lebanon an Arab state? And in later years the discussion was, and still is, is Lebanon today a Shi'ite state, or a Suni state? And these questions were given answers that led eventually to breakdowns and to civil war on more than one occasion. And we will come back to those later in the course.
