Evaluate the impact of French administration in Syria and Lebanon.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the impact of the French administration in Syria and Lebanon. Candidates may consider the impact of the enforcement of the mandate upon the inhabitants, owing its origins to the Sykes–Picot agreement. The US King Crane Commission (1919) confirmed the distaste of Arabs for the French mandate of Syria and Lebanon. This led to the Faisal’s Syrian uprising, followed by another general insurrection in 1925. Another effect was political fragmentation. Lebanon became independent in 1920, and the Hatay region joined Turkey in 1935. The French continued to rule Syria as a series of semi-independent kingdoms, strengthening local autonomy and creating a post-war legacy for an independent Syria (1946). Candidates may refer to increased religious and cultural divisions in Lebanon and Syria as a result of French influence and favouritism towards certain groups.