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File 978/1917 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration; occupation of Baghdad; the proclamation; Sir P Cox's position' [143r] (293/402)
The record is made up of 1 volume (195 folios). It was created in 6 May 1917-8 Oct 1919. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
K ,/r
iiicluded in the neutral zone i c
Kerman. It uill, therefore,’
sphere.
13. That the British Consuls or officers in this
the regions south of Ispahan, Yezd and
be contiguous with the existing .Russian
of the iollowinc
Bush ire
Indk
difficulty in staffing
number and value of the
m w t region, i.e., at any or all
Tino.,iyp l l ‘T- ea ’,h )1 ' ;m, ' 1,era > Ahwaz, Dizlul, Shuster, Shiraz
nn cd ^ U fi Ab p s : ke'-man, &C., should be nominated by the
i f ^o\eminent, although in the cases of Shiraz and Kernvm hw
tvouhl require to report also to the British Minister at Teheran. '
•isJcts of S T h Co<lSt 0f Pevsian G " l f -and Muscat.-Certain
a poets ol the question appear to us to point to the desirability of
political 1 control bla f //“Tr ° f ,he ^ rsiau G,llj: ilucl Muscat under the
h v contiol of the Mesopotamian authorities rather than of the
. h'nnient of India Ihe acquisition by Bin Sand of El Hasa will
“southTs g BT ler tll V 0 ntrf i i 0f tlle f —' the Arabian coast
nient of T rT lydln f n - understand, moreover, that the Govern-
muit ot India already experience considerable
the posts in this region, owing to the limited
appointments available, which offer_ little inducement to officers of the
Indian I olitical Department to qualify themselves for service in 4 rabic-
speakmg districts. This difficulty will be greatly increased by the removal
r , )a 8 ( apl - J'om the Indian sphere. A\ e recommend that the Government of
India should be consulted on this point with as little delay as possible, and
that, m the absence of strong objection on their part, the question should be
reconsidered in the light of the above remarks.
lb. Aden and South (Joast of Arabia .—We consider that the present
opportunity should be taken to gratify the long-expressed desire of the
Government of India to be relieved of the charge of Aden and its depen
dencies. The political control of the Hadramaut and the South Arabian
Coast (as also of the inland of Socotra) should, m our opinion, go with that
of Aden. The Administration which should be asked to take them over for
the present should be the Foreign Office.
Di. .1 hat it is not desirable at present to contemplate any disturbance of
the Cairo sphere of influence, whicli should include Western Arabia (Hejaz,
A sir and Yemen).
II. Speaking generally, we are of opinion that the administrative arrange
ments introduced during the present military occupation . into Mesopotamia
as a whole should be consistent with the future policy of His Majesty’s
Government. The Basra A ilayet, if it is decided to administer it as British
territory through the direct
agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
of British officials, will cause no special
difficulty. The international position to be assigned to the Bagdad Vilayet
will require careful consideration, and we have not examined in detail the
possible alternative solutions of the problem. But, on the information
before us we are disposed to recommend that the existence of the Bagdad
State be recognised under a local ruler or local Government, His Majesty’s
Government, however, assuming full responsibility for its external relations.
The manner in which the internal sovereignty would be shared would be a
matter of municipal arrangement.
We are disposed to think that it would be possible to provide a
satisfactory administration, suitable to the requirements of the people, on the
general lines of the system prevailing in Egypt, under which local
administrative work is carried on by native Mudirs under the guidance of
European “ Inspectors.” The various reform schemes proposed in the past
for the administration of Turkish provinces such as Macedonia and Armenia
might also serve as a convenient model.
III. We have not considered the question of the military defence of
Mesopotamia, or of the quarter from which the troops for this purpose are to
be provided.
IV. We would emphasise the importance of an early decision on the
points raised above. Any necessary reference to the Government of India
or elsewhere should, in our opinion, be made by telegraph with the least
possible delay.
About this item
- Content
This volume contains correspondence, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding negotiations and administration, largely between the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Cox, and the Government of India, after the occupation of Baghdad (Fall of Baghdad) on 10 March 1917. The negotiations concern the administrative organisation and political control of Mesopotamia, as well as the external and internal boundaries of Iraq (also spelled Irak in the volume).
Related matters of discussion include the following: the text of the Baghdad proclamation; the future administration of the territory by the Foreign Office instead of the Government of India; the regulation of the new territory; the responsibilities of the Chief Political Officer in the new territory; the Turco-Persian frontiers. The correspondence in the volume is internal correspondence between British officials. The principal correspondents are as follows: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Cox; Lieutenant-General Sir Stanley Maude; the War Office; the Secretary of State for India; the Political Department, India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. ; the Under-Secretary of State for India; the Viceroy of India; the Government of India’s Foreign and Political Department; the Foreign Office; the Government of India.
In addition to this correspondence, the volume contains reports of the War Cabinet's Mesopotamia Administration Committee, as well as the following documents: memoranda on external frontiers and internal boundaries of Iraq (ff 17-18) (ff 20-25); a map of Arabia and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (f 28);
The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the front of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (195 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 5320 (Mesopotamia Negotiations) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/666-667. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 197; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 3-195; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/666
- Title
- File 978/1917 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration; occupation of Baghdad; the proclamation; Sir P Cox's position'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:27v, 29r:111v, 113r:120r, 121r:133v, 134ar:134av, 134r:139v, 140ar, 140r:145v, 149r:154v, 155ar, 155r:196v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence