Introduction

European colonialism reached its zenith and began to decline at approximately the same time. While Britain and France emerged from World War I with more territory than ever including significant gains in the Middle East, they also came out with less capacity for wielding power. World War II was another blow to the already weakening colonial system; if the human costs of war for Britain and France were not as great as in World War I, the economic and strategic costs were much greater. The two decades after 1945 were the era of decolonization, in the Middle East as everywhere. World War II was another blow to the already weakening colonial system; if the human costs of war for Britain and France were not as great as in World War I, the economic and strategic costs were much greater.