The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were the height of European colonial activity in the Middle East. This was a period during which the British were involved in the affairs of Egypt and the Sudan as they formed alliances in the region for economic purposes. In 1820 the British and the Gulf-region sheikhs established economic pacts that would guarantee the British access to Gulf-region resources and in 1839 they annexed Aden. The British went to war with Iran in 1856 over rights of way to India and China through Iran and later, in 1907, England and Russia would vie for power in Iran and divide it for their interests. The Italians entered the Middle East also at the beginning of the 20th century, establishing presence in Libya through a series of campaigns over a twenty year period.
The French, in turn, gained control over Algiers in 1830 and also pressed into Lebanon in 1860. In 1881 the French established a protectorate in Tunisia and would through the northern gateway of Africa establish a presence in what are today the modern nations Senegal, Mauritania, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Niger, Guinea, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, and Benin. France’s intention was to establish a firm east-west axis of control across the African continent in opposition to the British Empire’s north-south axis of power. The two imperial powers were at odds, though by 1904 the two had reached a series of agreements under the Entente Cordiale which eventually led the way for Britain to support France’s grab for Morocco as a French protectorate. Previously, in 1869, the French and British had collaborated with their financing to assist the Egyptians in construction of the Suez Canal. 
The colonies of the Middle East were exploited for their resources and their strategic location as well as for the wealth of their artistic traditions, brought back to Europe in the antiquities trade. Sometimes with the assistance of their hosts, the British and other European powers returned to their countries with cultural treasures 
Jewelry in History, a Famous Diamond from the French Courts to a Contemporary Museum. The Hope Diamond has had an intriguing journey through history, augmented by legend and confirmed by the beauty of cut and color it retains. It is a gem that can be said to be among the most famous pieces of jewelry in the world and has a heritage traceable at least to the 1600’s. Its story begins with a goddess and progresses through generations of owners and thieves who suffered or celebrated under the Hope Diamond’s influence.
It is told that the stone was taken from the eye of a Hindu Goddess and that its removal brought a curse upon anyone who became associated with it. The more factual history is that in 1669 a large blue triangular diamond of roughly 115 carats was included in the inventory of sale to King Louis XIV by a French merchant named Tavernier who had brought it from India. It was subsequently cut in size, to become the 67 carat stone in the King’s collection, later denominated the French Blue, and was worn by him on ceremonial occasions.
More than a hundred years later in 1792 the French Blue, still in possession of the French monarchy, was stolen. As France succumbed to the Revolution, the singular gem was lost and would resurface only in 1812, diminished in size again and bound for a new home. It is thought to have passed through the hands of the British monarchy but was then recorded in 1839 among the gem’s in the collection catalogue of the British Henry Philip Hope. By 1910 what had been the quiet prize of a 17th century expedition had passed through many hands, changing in size and setting, and emerged as a feature of intrigue and glamour in the high society circles of the new millenium.
The legend of the curse of the Hope Diamond added to its mystique as a gem of royalty and a victim of fugue and clashes of fortune. Today its aura has been tempered by its new home, at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C., but it remains uniquely beautiful in its blue-hewed crystalline structure.
*image: depiction of the Tavernier Blue, courtesy Smithsonian Natural History Museum
*image: depiction of the French Blue, courtesy Smithsonian Natural History Museum
*image: depiction of the Hope Diamond, courtesy Smithsonian Natural History Museum
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