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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [8v] (18/380)
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.
If)
“ As for bin Sand, he is a Sheikh of Arabs and the Sherif does not interfere
with his work or his land. Let every one rule his part, it does not make any
difference. '
“ As for the Idrisi, he is a man who is not recognised by anyone to be
anything. He has made himself Sheikh and landed in some places which were not
ruled by anyone.
“As for Imam Yahya, let him govern his part of the land, but he will not
deny the fact that the Amir of Mecca should be the ruler of Hejaz and King of
Arabs.
“ As for the Arab tribes, none of them would oppose the Sherifs declaring
himself King of the Arabs.
“ The history of the Amir of Mecca goes back to the Abbasides.
“It is not important whether these people would agree or not.”
In his telephonic conversation later on the same day he added the following
somewhat more satisfactory but still equivocal assurances :—
“ Bin Saud, Idrisi, &c., are rulers in their places, and we would not interfere
with them. They are respected, and if anyone were to attack them we have to
help them.
‘ Our boundaries were settled before the rising, and therefore we have no other
ambition, as terms were concluded before that Kingdom of the Sherif will be up
to Iraq.
“ Our respect to this treaty concluded between us and Great Britain forbids
us to oppose them, and such is well known to you.”
This attitude w'as confirmed by Sherif Husein himself in a letter to Colonel Wilson
dated the 4th November, 1916, and he defended it by enclosing copies of the letters to him
from bin Saud and the chief of the Hashid and Bekil Confederation, referred to above,
these letters had, of course, no bearing on the assumption of the title “King of the
Arabs,” since they were written several months before, on the occasion of his revolt
against the Turks.
On the 6th November, 1916, His Majesty’s Government took note of Abdullah’s
assurances, such as they were, in their instructions to Sir B-. Wingate for the official
reply to Abdullah’s circular telegram announcing the assumption of the royal title. 52
Meanwhile, bin Saud had apparently answered the Sherif’s second letter to him
by expressing readiness to co-operate, but asking for assurances that the Sherif would
no lor ger encroach on what bin Saud regarded as his own tribal sphere.
Ihe Sherif returned this letter unanswered with a “most discourteous and
arrogant covering note. ji And he sent equally unsatisfactory replies to congratulatory
letters from the Sheikhs of Mohammerah and Koweit. 54
Upon receiving a report of this from 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.
, the Foreign Office tele
graphed the following message to the
Sirdar
Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division.
on the 25th November, 1916 (No. 24), 55
for transmission to the Sherif:—
“ His Majesty’s Government learnt with great mgret that the three great
Arab Chiefs, the Sheikhs of Mohammerah and Koweit and bin Saud, have reason
to feel aggrieved at the reception of their advances by the Sherif. His Majesty’s
Government are convinced that such an incident is entirely contrary to the wishes
and intentions of the Sherif himself, and that it is no doubt due to an oversight
on the part of his subordinates; but they must observe that, in view of the very
satisfactory attitude of the three Sheikhs in question, the Sherif’s own interests, no
less than courtesy towards His Majesty’s Government, require him to meet the
advances of the King’s Allies with civility and even with cordiality. His
Majesty’s Government are using all their influence to secure the cordial co-opera
tion of all Arabs with the Sherif, but their efforts will be of no avail if the Sherif
himself repels those whom His Majesty’s Government have attracted to his
support.”
In response to this message, the Sherif sent two telegrams to the three Sheikhs,
the one congratulating them in turn on their conference with Sir P. Cox at Koweit in
52 22186H/1G.
53 236884/16 Telegram of the 21st November, 1917. from Sir P. Cox.
6 * It does not appear whether the congratulations were for the Sherif’s coronation or for some previous
event.
55 236884/16.
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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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