Challenge: Significant European Settlement in Palestine

In the 1800s there were a smattering of European Christian sects that set out to colonize the holy land. They never got that big and mostly faded away in the chaos of the first half of the 20th century.

Could these efforts have been more successful and produced a significant European Christian population in the region, or even make that group a majority? There were obviously plenty of Europeans emigrating from the continent to make that happen; the question is what could draw them to Palestine rather than any other destination.

Thoughts?
 
Maybe an earlier collapse of the Ottoman Empire that sees the area fall under direct colonial rule of some European power?
 
Maybe an earlier collapse of the Ottoman Empire that sees the area fall under direct colonial rule of some European power?

I think any direct European rule in the 1800s is guaranteed to bring a significant boost in immigration while remaining Ottoman rule is going to keep numbers low. British, French, or even Russian rule is going to be way way more attractive for Christian immigrants than living under the Ottomans.

As a comparison, in 1836 Algeria had a Pied-Noir population of 14,000. By 1850 it was 100,000. The total population of Palestine by 1900 was only 600k so if the Europeans can add just 50k to 100k before 1900 then a really significant percentage of the country would be European.
 
Let's see, what could be a good POD for creating direct European rule in the area in the early 1800s? The Brits were propping up the Ottomans against the Russians at the time, what changes that? Maybe just Russian success - they take Istanbul and secure the straits, followed by a scramble by colonizers for the rest of the empire?
 
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Let's see, what could be a good POD for creating direct European rule in the area in the early 1800s. The Brits were propping up the Ottomans against the Russians at the time, what changes that? Maybe just Russian success - they take Istanbul and secure the straits, followed by a scramble for colonizers for the rest of the empire?

Maybe Russia decides that, instead of trying to occupy the Dardanelles, it would be better to come to a rapprochement with the Ottomans to guarantee access to the Straits by diplomatic means? That would likely end British support for the Ottomans, and they and/or the French might start looking to annexe Ottoman territory as a result.
 
Maybe Russia decides that, instead of trying to occupy the Dardanelles, it would be better to come to a rapprochement with the Ottomans to guarantee access to the Straits by diplomatic means? That would likely end British support for the Ottomans, and they and/or the French might start looking to annexe Ottoman territory as a result.

That's an interesting angle - the problem would be what level of friendship would be necessary for the Russians to really feel secure about their access to the straits.
 

Deleted member 67076

Have WW1 or the equivalent happen in the 1890s but keep the Ottomans out. Then have a failed Arab nationalist revolt in Syria (the birth place of Arab nationalism).

The Ottomans then decide to open up land grants to Jewish and other settlers in Palestine to erode nationalist sentiment. Given the economic downturn of the post WW1 era, many will take the offer and a chain of migration will be established.

Conversely, the influx of capital into Palestine will be good for the Ottomans as a whole, but land reform will move Palestinian peasants into the cities and likely into other urban centers of the empire which further alters the demographics. As the decades pass, Palestine is likely to look more and more European even in the countryside thanks to waves of migration and immigration.
 
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What if the OTL Palestine mandate becomes a major destination for Orthodox Christians or White Russian emigres fleeing the Russian Revolution or strife in Europe-post WW1. Could the region develop a substantial eastern orthodox population?
 
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