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The 1860 Lebanon conflict was the culmination of a peasant uprising which began in the north of Lebanon as a rebellion of Maronite peasants against their Christian overlords. It soon spread to the south of the country where the rebellion changed its character, with Druze turning against the Maronite Christians.^[1] Around 20,000 Christians were massacred by the Druze mob. 380 Christian villages and 560 churches were destroyed. The Druzes and Muslims also suffered heavy losses.^[2]

[edit] Background

On September 3, 1840, Bashir III was appointed amir of Mount Lebanon by the Ottoman sultan. Geographically, Mount Lebanon represents the central part of present-day Lebanon, which historically has had a Christian majority. Greater Lebanon, on the other hand, created at the expense of Greater Syria, was formally constituted under the League of Nations mandate granted to France in 1920 and includes the Biqa Valley, Beirut, southern Lebanon (up to the border with Palestine/Israel), and northern Lebanon (up to the border with Syria). In practice, the terms Lebanon and Mount Lebanon tend to be used interchangeably by historians until the formal establishment of the Mandate.^[3]

Bitter conflicts between Christians and Druzes, which had been simmering under Ibrahim Pasha's rule, resurfaced under the new amir. Hence, the sultan deposed Bashir III on January 13, 1842, and appointed Umar Pasha as governor of Mount Lebanon. This appointment, however, created more problems than it solved. Representatives of the European powers proposed to the sultan that Lebanon be partitioned into Christian and Druze sections. On December 7, 1842, the sultan adopted the proposal and asked Assad Pasha, the governor (wali) of Beirut, to divide the region, then known as Mount Lebanon, into two districts: a northern district under a Christian deputy governor and a southern district under a Druze deputy governor. this arrangement came to be known as the Double Qaimaqamate. Both officials were to be responsible to the governor of Sidon, who resided in Beirut. The Beirut-Damascus highway was the dividing line between the two districts.

Christian refugees during the 1860 strife between Druze and Maronites in Lebanon.

This partition of Lebanon proved to be a mistake. Animosities between the religious sects increased, nurtured by outside powers. The French, for example, supported the Christians, while the British supported the Druzes, and the Ottomans fomented strife to increase their control. Not surprisingly, these tensions led to conflict between Christians and Druzes as early as May 1845. Consequently, the European powers requested that the Ottoman sultan establish order in Lebanon, and he attempted to do so by establishing a majlis (council) in each of the districts. Each majlis was composed of members who represented the different religious communities and was intended to assist the deputy governor.

[edit] Peasant uprising in Kasrawan

This system failed to keep order when the peasants of Kasrawan, overburdened by heavy taxes, rebelled against the feudal practices that prevailed in Mount Lebanon. In 1858 Tanyus Shahin, a Maronite peasant leader, demanded that the feudal class abolish its privileges. When this demand was refused, the poor peasants began to prepare for a revolt. In January 1859, an armed uprising headed by Shahin flared up. The uprising targeted the shaykhs of Mount Lebanon, pillaging their land and burning their homes. Having driven the Maronite feudal lords out of Kesruan and seizing their land and property, the insurgent peasants set up their own rule.^[2]

The Kasrawan uprising, as it became known, had a revolutionary effect on other regions in Lebanon. The disturbances spread to Latakia and the central Lebanon. Maronite peasants, actively supported by their clergy, began to prepare for an armed uprising against their Druze masters. The Druze feudal lords in their turn began to arm the Druze irregulars.^[2]

[edit] 1860 Druze-Maronite massacre

Foreign interests in Lebanon transformed these basically sociopolitical struggles into bitter religious conflicts.

On May 22, 1860, a small group of Maronites fired on a group of Druzes at the entrance to Beirut, killing one and wounding two. This sparked off a torrent of violence which swept through Lebabon. In a mere three days, from May 29 to 31, 1860, 60 villages were destroyed in the vicinity of Beirut.^[2] 33 Christians and 48 Druzes were killed.^[4] By June the disturbances had spread to the “mixed” neighbourhoods of southern Lebanon and Anti Lebanon, to Saida, Hasbaya, Rasheiya, Deir el Qamar and Zahle. The Druze peasants laid siege to Catholic monasteries and missions, burnt them and killed the monks.^[2]

The destroyed Christian quarter of Damascus, 1860.

In July 1860, fighting spilled over into Damascus. With the connivance of the military authorities and Turkish soldiers, Muslim fanatics organised pogroms which lasted three days (July 9-11).^[2] 25,000 Christians were killed including the American and Dutch consuls.^[5] Churches and missionary schools were set on fire. Many Christians were saved through the intervention of the Algerian exile Abd al-Qadir and his soldiers, who brought them to safety in Abd al-Qadir's residence and the citadel. The Christian quarter of the old city (mostly inhabited by Catholics), including a number of churches, were burnt down. The Christian inhabitants of the notoriously poor and refractory Midan district outside the walls (mostly Orthodox) were, however, protected by their Muslim neighbours.

These bloody events offered France the opportunity to intervene; in an attempt to forestall French intervention, the Ottoman government stepped in to restore order.

Most sources put the figure of those killed between 7,000 to 11,000 with some claiming over 20,000.^[6] A letter in the English Daily News in July 1860 states that between 7,000 and 8,000 had been murdered; 5,000 widowed and 16,000 orphaned. James Lewis Farley, in a letter, speaks of 326 villages, 560 churches, 28 colleges, 42 convents, and 9 other religious establishments, had been totally destroyed. Churchill puts the figures as 11,000 murdered, 100,000 refugees, 20,000 widows and orphans, 3,000 habitations burnt to the ground, and 4,000 perished of destitution.^[6] Other estimates claim 380 Christian villages were destroyed.^[2] The Druzes and Muslims also suffered heavy losses.

Abd al-Qadir (center) during the 1860 events

[edit] International commission

On October 5, 1860, an international commission composed of France, Britain, Austria, Prussia, and the Ottoman Empire met to investigate the causes of the events of 1860 and to recommend a new administrative and judicial system for Lebanon that would prevent the recurrence of such events. The commission members agreed that the partition of Mount Lebanon in 1842 between Druzes and Christians had been responsible for the massacre. Hence, in the Statute of 1861 Mount Lebanon was separated from Syria and reunited under a non-Lebanese Christian mutasarrif (governor) appointed by the Ottoman sultan, with the approval of the European powers. The mutasarrif was to be assisted by an administrative council of twelve members from the various religious communities in Lebanon.

[edit] References