The creation of the mandate system by the League of Nations in 1919 presented a challenge for the British Empire’s colonial methods and conduct. Notably, Class A mandated territories necessitated a somewhat novel handling. These former Ottoman provinces were considered relatively advanced and their inhabitants prospectively fit for independence. How did the British forces treat the local populations these territories? To what extent was the British servicemen’s behavior influenced by their past experiences of serving under colonial rule? What other factors may have influenced the nature and conduct of British rule in the Class A mandate territories?
My paper examines the complex relationship between the British forces and the two main local populations, the Arabs and the Jews, in Mandatory Palestine. This Class A mandated territory thus serves as a case study and a basis for a broader future discussion about British conduct in all Class A and other mandated territories. Applying the approaches of ‘history from below’ and ‘microhistory’, this investigation is driven by the perspective of Douglas Valder Duff—a member of the British gendarmerie paramilitary force who later became a police officer—during the time he served in Palestine (1922–1932).
The close examination carried out in this study reveals the existence of three fundamental paradigms to be referred to as the colonial paradigm, the ethnic-cultural paradigm, and the Christian paradigm. As I will show, their existence shaped the relations between the British and the local populations and arguably the entire period of British rule in Palestine.