Belhatem, RomaissaMaameri, Fatima2020-01-302020-01-302019http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9016Instability in the Middle East today is a result of old commercial and diplomatic relations between England and the Ottoman Empire that ended in antagonisms. The 16thcentury marked the early modern encounter between England and the Ottoman Empire. From trade initiatives via the Levant Company to foreign policy, the Anglo-Ottoman relations were established. In the 19thcentury,however, the balance of power had changed. The Ottoman Empire witnessedcontinuous domestic and international crises and loss of power. To weaken the internally and to accomplish its imperialistic goals, Britain supported Arabs' aspirations for independence from Ottoman rule. Meanwhile, in secret negotiations with France, Britain planned for the division of the Ottoman Empire's possessions in the Middle East amongst them. In 1916, the British and French representatives Sir Mark Sykes and François George Picot signed a secret agreement, known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which partitioned the Middle East region into spheres of influence and redraw the map of the entire region.enBritish foreignOttoman empireAgreement 1916Other