From Coexistence to Conflict in 19th Century Mount Lebanon

From Coexistence to Conflict
in 19th Century Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon has been a troubled region throughout much of Lebanese history. Through most of the 19th century, the Maronite and Druze inhabitants of the Mount Lebanon region had successfully coexisted in an intricate inter-sectarian system. True to the words of Leila Fawaz, "Lebanon was at peace, as it had been for most of its history." Excessive foreign intervention, however, caused the status in Mount Lebanon to move from coexistence to conflict, which ultimately led to the civil war of 1860.
The first step that led to the eme…