Answer:
A mandate was a former colony controlled by an Allied country. However, those former colonies would still fight for their independence.
Step-by-step explanation:
After the downfall of Germany and Ottoman Turkey in World War I, their Asian and African colonies were distributed among the victorious Allied powers through mandates, which granted the right to govern the area because they were deemed unable to establish their own governments yet.
When the text claims that Britain and France were given mandates over large parts of the Middle East, it refers to the assignment of Iraq and Palestine to Great Britain, and Syria and Lebanon to France.