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I'm trying to plan a TL where the British are able to deliver on their promises made in the McMahon-Hussein Correspondences. IOTL, the French took Syria and were unwilling to allow Faisal to rule there, preferring instead to manage directly for a while before installing a republic.

What would it take for the British to convince France to give them control of the area, or to allow Faisal to get it? Let's assume that Lebanon and the rest of the Mediterranean coast get to be under direct French control, as per Sykes-Picot.

The first thought I had was to change the allotment of German colonies, but the Brits need German East Africa for the Cape-to-Cairo railway, and it seems natural to give the Brits German Southwest Africa as well. Even if the Brits let France have all of Kamerun and Togoland, that still doesn't quite seem enough. Similarly, Papua New Guinea falls naturally to British Australia, and all the Pacific islands in the world aren't going to be much of a drop in a bucket compared to prime Syrian land.

Would the British ever consider giving up one of their own colonies, say Gold Coast or something? Maybe a couple Caribbean islands, or British Guiana? Nigeria seems too valuable...what about the majority of Malaya, keeping Singapore and Malacca?
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