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In order to have had a successful transfer of power from the mother country, France should not have used Syria as a tool in its rivalry with England. It appeared that France’s main interest in Syria was as a display of its power and control over its colonies. If France had invested more interest in Syria as an addition to its empire, then its hold over the colony might have been stronger. By the nineteenth century the Ottoman Empire was significantly weaker in Syria, allowing foreign forces to penetrate and form relationships with the different religious groups of Great Syria. France formed a significant bond with the Catholics and the British with the Protestants and the Druze. Despite this, Ottoman rule continued, though it was even further weakened due to the Arab independence movement. By the end of World War I the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, leading to an Arab administration in Damascus and the Syrian interior, French control of Palestine, and British control of the Syrian coastal areas. In 1915 Britain had assured Hussein, the leader of Mecca in the Arabian Penisula that independent Arab entities would be established in parts of the former Ottoman Empire. Despite this promise, it was revealed by Russia in 1917 t