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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [100v] (204/380)
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.
8
o
Second message, apparently despatched twenty-four hours after the first, is to the
following effect:—
That arrangements in Palestine, Syria, and neighbouring countries are fatal to his
interests. That whilst he realises that disagreement between British and French
Governments has to be avoided, and he has no wish to incur enmity of the latter
Government, yet he cannot conceive* a country prospering without access to coast, and
entirely under foreign control. Last sentence of message is as follows, “as for Islamic
world, it is now a case for suicide.”
After making every allowance for oriental exaggeration and diplomatic methods, I
believe that we should be ill-advised to regard King’s latest outburst as insincere. In
a separate correspondence he has referred to an early change of Government at
Mecca, and I feel little doubt that he genuinely contemplates early abdication and
withdrawal from active participation in Arab movement.
King Husein’s political opinions were explained in my despatch No. 219, and I
most strongly urge that a message from His Majesty’s Government on the lines
suggested in that despatch should be sent to him without delay. Military situation has
developed rapidly since my despatch was written, and it is most important, in my
opinion, that French Government should no longer defer a formal declaration of their
policy and aims in Syria. So far as I can judge, such a declaration will not appeal to
King Husein and great majority of Arabs (Syrians included) unless it includes the
following :—
1. 'That France will not annex any part of Arab or Syrian territory.
2. That, in future Government of any part of Syria in which they are concerned,
French should exercise their control with object of developing local self-government and
[?inj safeguarding Arab national aspirations.
3. That British and French Governments recognise necessity for Damascus Arab
Government to have free access to, and control of, a port in the Mediterranean. I am
informing King Husein that I have reported to you the sense of his messages and have
reminded him that present administrative arrangements in liberated territories are
provisional and necessary to safeguard military requirements.
I have consulted General Allen by, who has seen this telegram and concurs.
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 [100v] (204/380), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/277, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100079857499.0x000005> [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