“We, the members of the General Syrian Congress, meeting in Damascus on July 2, 1919... declare that we reject any French claim to authority in our country under any form, whether it be called a mandate, protection, or assistance. We demand complete and absolute independence for a united Syria... We protest against the treaty terms that treat us as less developed peoples who require the guardianship of a mandatory power, as this violates the principle of self-determination proclaimed by President Wilson.”
—General Syrian Congress, Damascus, 1919
Which of the following historical developments in the aftermath of the First World War most directly explains the grievances expressed in the passage?
- AThe immediate transition of former Ottoman territories to fully sovereign, independent nation-states
- BThe direct, formal annexation of Middle Eastern territories as official provinces of the French and British home states
- The establishment of the League of Nations mandate system, which masked the continuation of imperial ruleCevap
- DThe consistent and universal application of the principle of national self-determination to non-European regions
Cevap
The establishment of the League of Nations mandate system, which masked the continuation of imperial rule
The correct answer states that the establishment of the League of Nations mandate system masked the continuation of imperial rule. The General Syrian Congress was protesting the implementation of this system, which placed territories of the defeated Ottoman Empire under the administration of Allied powers like Britain and France rather than granting them immediate independence.
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Anahtar Kavram
League of Nations Mandate System and Post-WWI Imperialism