Mandates

The Mandates System and the Administration of Territories Under C Mandate

Britain, Palestine and Empire: The Mandate Years

In 1948, Britain withdrew from Palestine, bringing to an end its 30 years of rule in the territory. What followed has been well-documented and is perhaps one of the most intractable problems of the post-imperial age. However, the long-standing connection between Britain and Palestine before May 1948 is also a fascinating story. This volume takes a fresh look at the years of the British mandate for Palestine; its politics, economics, and culture. Contributors address themes such as religion, mandatory administration, economic development, policy and counter-insurgency, violence, art and culture, and decolonization. This book will be valuable to scholars of the British mandate, but also more broadly to those interested in imperial history and the history of the West’s involvement in the Middle East.

Britain and Its Mandate over Palestine

Analysis of Britain’s role in Palestine has proceeded on the assumption that Britain was lawfully in control of the territory. Analysts differ on whether what it did was proper, but they agree that Britain had a lawful mandate and that through the League of Nations, and that the international community advocated for Jewish territorial rights in Palestine. This analysis, though widely shared, is incorrect. Britain had no territorial rights itself to govern Palestine. It was there by dint of force of arms. The mandate it had over Palestine was initiated unilaterally. The mandate was not given to Britain by the League of Nations. The League of Nations had no authority over Palestine and, in particular, nothing it could give to Britain. The document that Britain composed for the governance of Palestine was never approved by the League of Nations. When, in 1947, Britain had to explain the United Nations its legal status in Palestine, it resorted to distorting the historical facts, in an effort to make it appear it had been in Palestine lawfully.