ABSTRACT
The Arab population of Palestine, which numbered about 446,000 in the late nineteenth century, was heterogeneous and divided. The villages of Palestine were small, isolated, and poor. In northern Palestine the vast majority of the fellahin were tenant farmers, who lived in villages while working the land owned by absentee landowners, most of whom lived in Beirut or Damascus. In southern Palestine most of the population were nomadic pastoralists who made a meager living through raising and selling sheep, camels, and goats. The improvement in the situation of Jews in Palestine coincided with the end of the decade of Egyptian rule of Palestine and Syria, which occurred between 1831 and 1840. The British government in particular began showing an interest in the Jews of Palestine. Many Zionists have explained the increase in Jewish settlement in Palestine as a reflection of the growing appeal and strength of Zionism.
