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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [‎51r] (105/380)

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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. .

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sort of position in which the French wish to stand
to King Hussein.
I hope therefore that while stating our inten
tion not to interfere with the internal administration
of the King, and our interest in the internal
independence of his Kingdom, we shall not tie our
hands hy disclaimers which will prohahly he a source
of much trouble in the future.
(iii) The draft then proceeds to deal with the
position created by geographical and political
conditions in Arabia. It ignores - no doubt
intentionally - the claim put forward in the French
Note to M. Gherchali, which only recognises a superior
commercial interest on the part of Great jritain, and
it quotes two earlier passages of December 8th 1916,
and May 22nd 1917, in which the French Government
has admitted the preponderant interest of Great
Britain, without any such qualification.
The draft rests itself upon these admissions,
but then proceeds to apply them exclusively to
Arabia outside the Hejaz, i.e. outside the dominion
of King Hussein. There it claims that the "Arabian
factions should be taught to look to Great Britain
as the advocate of internal peace’* (a very shadowy
and platonic position) "and the supporter of Arabian
independence".
But I call attention to the fact that it is to
the Hejaz, and not to Arabia outside the Hejaz,
that the French geographical admissions aoout the
contiguity of Egypt apply, and it is to Arabia
without

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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
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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [‎51r] (105/380), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/277, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100079857498.0x00006a> [accessed 15 June 2026]

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