Britain persistently opposed the main reforming policies of the Young Turks, and actively worked to create zones of influence for herself within the Ottoman Empire. Whenever the Ottomans took steps that they deemed necessary for them to move forward, survive and reform, they had to face Britain’s resistance and active intervention. The antagonistic relations in Europe at the time were not just Anglo-German or Austro-Russian but also, albeit more concealed, Anglo-Turkish. Looking at the results of the First World War, its enlarged theatre to Gallipoli, the Middle East and the Caucasus, it would not be far-fetched to say that the consequences of the Anglo-Turkish antagonism were far from being secondary.
