The activities of France and their results in The Ottoman-Arab region in the 19th century: The case of Lebanon

As it is known, with the industrialization experienced in Europe, the sale of the goods came to the agenda and thus the search for a market started within the scope of colonialism activities and the importance of trade increased. In this context, in this study, the policies followed by France, which entered into colonial rivalry with England since the beginning of the 19th century, in the Ottoman-Arab geography are examined in the context of Lebanon. France, which is a European country, started to implement a number of political and cultural activities in Lebanon, which was under Ottoman rule at the time and could be considered as the gateway to the Middle East and Arab region, for political, commercial, religious and other reasons and purposes. These policies of France and their results are evaluated in our thesis. Again in the same framework; with the developments in the internal politics of the Ottoman Empire, the rights granted to the minorities and the expansion of these rights through the reforms of the Tanzimat Period, the changing dynamics in the region and the situation of the Maronites and other elements in Lebanon were also analyzed. Because France saw the Maronites as a natural ally under the influence of the religion they belonged to and aimed to develop their relations with them on the basis of mutual interest in order to increase their influence in the region. In this study, political, cultural and educational dimensions of these relations are explained and the impact of France on the Maronites and the results of this impact are analyzed. In this thesis, it is argued that France has a significant influence on the emergence of the Maronites as a powerful element in the region and the civil wars in the 20th century that took place in Lebanon.