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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [1ar] (1/380)
The record is made up of 1 file (187 folios). It was created in 1 Jul 1916-7 Dec 1918. It was written in English and French. 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.
{This Docament is the Property of His Britannic M^iesty t Government.]
SECRET. , Political Intelligence Department,
Foreign Office.
MEMORANDUM
ON
BRITISH COMMITMENTS TO KING HUSE1N.
OUR commitments to King Huseiu are not embodied in any agreement or treaty
signed, or even acknowledged, by botli parties. In this way they differ trom those to
Russia, France, Italy, and certain independent Arab rulers such as the Idrisi and
bin Sand. They can' only be analysed by summarising the history of our dealings with
the King during the war, under different he ids. And the position is complicated by
the King’s habit of ignoring or refusing to take note of conditions laid down by us to
which he objects, and then carrying on as if the particular question had been settled
between us according to his own desires.
British commitments to King Husein are analysed in this memorandum
under the following heads :—
(i.) General Guarantees ag’ainst the Restoration of the ^tutus quo
(ii.) Guarantees regarding - the Moslem Holy Places
(iii.) Roundaries of Arab Independence ..
(iv.) Foreign Administration in Irak, Syria, and Palestine
(v.) Relation of Sherif Husein to Great Britain
(vi.) Sherif Husein’s Title
(vii.) Treaties and Agreements between His Majesty’s Government
Arab Rulers in the Independent Area
tviii.) The Caliphate
and other
Page.
1
2
3
7
9
11
15
17
uiiiciuax uisbcusiuii
— uuu pujiiueu Hint tin
Ikb
ment of Great Britain would guarantee these fundamental principles clearly and
This guarantee we expect to receive at the first opportunity (p. 2d).
in writing.
This request was met in a Foreign Office telegram ot the 3lst October 1914 (the
date on which war between Great Britain and Turkey was declared) :
“ Lord Kitchener s salaams to Sherif Abdullah If the Arab nation
assist England in this war that has been forced upon us by Turkey, England will
guarantee that no internal intervention takes place in Arabia, and will give Arabs
every assistance against external aggression.
“ ft may be that an Arab of true race will assume the Khalifate at Mecca or
Medina and so good may come by the help of God out of all the evil that is now
occurring ” (p. 24).
This statement was transmitted to Abdullah by letter from Cairo with the following
addition :—
“ If the Emir of Mecca is willing to assist Great Britain in this conflict, Great
Britain is willing, recognising and respecting the sacred and unique office of the
Emir Husein (titles), to guarantee the independence, rights and privileges of the
Sherifiate against all external foreign aggression, in particular that of Rie Ottomans.
Till now we have defended Islam in the person of the Turks; henceforward it shall
be in that of the noble Arabs ” (p. 24).
[883]
B
About this item
- Content
This file contains correspondence, memoranda, maps, manuscript notes, and other papers relating to the political and territorial settlement of parts of the Middle East following the First World War. Many of the papers were collected for the attention of the Middle East Committee (later named the Eastern Committee, following the mergence of the Foreign Office's Russia Committee and the interdepartmental Persia Committee) of the War Cabinet. Contributors include officials from the War Office, Foreign Office, Admiralty, and 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. , as well as indivduals such as Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence. Correspondence comes from representatives of the French and Italian governments as well as British officials in Cairo and other parts of the Middle East.
The papers deal with plans for the region presuming and following an Allied victory in the First World War and take into consideration the imperial ambitions of the victorious European Powers (France, Italy, Russia, Britain, and the United States) and the multitudinous commitments made by the British to various groups. The plans are based on evolving agreements rooted in the Sykes-Picot, or Asia Minor, Agreement between the British and French of 1916. Regions under consideration include the Hejaz (sometimes written Hedjaz), Syria, Northern Iraq, Southern Iraq, Palestine, Armenia, Turkey, the Idrisi state, Yemen, Persia, and Afghanistan. Various matters are covered in the file, but particular focus is given to plans for the Sherifian family of the Hejaz, led by King Husein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī], which impacted upon policy in Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula. Other matters include the situation between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, wartime commitments to ruling shaikhs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the French position in the region, and desiderata of the Government of India for any peace settlement.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (187 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the front to the back.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front first page with 1, and terminates at the inside back last page with 187; 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.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [1ar] (1/380), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/277, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100079857498.0x000002> [accessed 16 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/277
- Title
- Papers on British policy and the Arab movement
- Pages
- 1ar:1av, 1r:14r, 14r:14v, 14v, 22r:59v, 62r:98r, 99v:120v, 125r:133v, 136r:165r, 166r:167r, 167av, 168r:173r, 175r:176v, 178r:187v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence