In the Conference of London (12 February – 10 April 1920), following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, leaders of Britain, France, and Italy met to discuss the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and the negotiation of agreements that would become the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres () was a 1920 treaty signed between some of the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire, but not ratified. The treaty would have required the cession of large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, ...

. Under the leadership of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George,

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

Alexandre Millerand, and

Prime Minister of Italy The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...

Francesco Saverio Nitti, the allied powers reached agreements that would form the basis of their arguments at the San Remo conference.

Military administration of Constantinople

After the armistice of Mudros, the allies' military administration was established in Constantinople on 13 November 1918, but at that time they did not dismantle the Ottoman government or the Ottoman Sultan. The control of the Ottoman Empire was the main point of discussions during the conference. Most of the discussions were based on how to restrict the power of the Ottoman Sultan (see Ottoman Caliphate) and how to keep him in Constantinople, literally and politically, including the size of the Sultan's army and the sharing of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

straits. A balance was sought to allow the Sultan to control the security of the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, but not to enable him to change the course of the peace settlements. The members were constantly informed about the Khilafat Movement which tried to protect the position of caliphate. However, the new Ottoman parliament deputies elected after the armistice met on 28 January 1920 and published their decisions of independence ( Misak-ı Milli (''National Oath'')) on 12 February 1920. The Khilafat Movement try to influence the British government and protect the

caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

of the

Ottoman empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and although mainly a Muslim religious movement, the Khilafat struggle became a part of the wider

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. For Britain's part, it would seek to preserve the Caliphate, likely to utilize it as a socio-political instrument in their rule over many of the world's Muslim lands.Evered, Emine Ö., and Kyle T. Evered. 2010. Decolonization through secularization: a geopolitical reframing of Turkey's 1924 abolition of the Caliphate. ''The Arab World Geographer'': 13:1: 1-19. The Conference of London decided to take actions, at least on Turkish national movement, and decided to shift from "de facto" occupation of the Constantinople to "de jure" occupation of Constantinople.

Military administration of Constantinople

References

See also