After World War I the Ottoman Empire was dismantled. In what is called the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, it was divided between different countries, including Britain and France. This brought about modern Arab states, including Lebanon.
On this day November 26th, in 1941, Lebanese Independence declared by General George Catroux. Beginning in September of 1920 France had a mandate over Lebanon. To this day many Lebanese people are still French speaking.
George Cartoux was a French military officer placed in Algeria and Lebanon after World War I. This independence which Catroux proclaimed would still be under the Free French government, something the Lebanese government wasn’t in favor of. Many of these Lebanese political rebels were jailed by the French previously. Eventually Lebanon actually gained its independence on November 22, 1943 and French troops completely pulled out by 1946. Lebanon as of 2008 had a population of 4.25 million, and it borders Syria and Israel.