The mandate system authorized a member nation of the League of Nations to govern a former German or Turkish colonial area after the conclusion of World War I.
There were mandate territories for former German territories in Africa and Asia, as well for former Ottoman territories in the Middle East.
The former Turkish provinces of Syria, Iraq and Palestine in the Middle East were divided into a French mandate territory and British mandate territory. The British mandate rule over Palestine proved very problematic for the British to govern, as tension grew between local Arab populations and a strong influx of Jewish immigrants trying to reestablish themselves in the region. The British Mandate period in Palestine has much to do with the history of the development of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
