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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [170r] (345/380)
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.
the British Government and British interests in Arabistan and the Shatt-el-Arab,
I am now authorised to assure your Excellency personally, and do so by this
writing, that whatever change may take place in the form of the government of
Persia, and whether it be Royalist or Nationalist, His Majesty’s Government will
be prepared to afford you the support necessary for obtaining a satisfactory solution,
both to yourself and to us, in the event of any encroachment by the Persian
Government on your jurisdiction and recognised rights, or on your property in
Persia. In like manner they will safeguard you to the best of their ability against
any unprovoked attack by a foreign Power, or against any encroachment by such
Power on your said jurisdiction and recognised rights, or on your property in
Persia. These assurances are given for yourself and for your successors from
among your male descendants, and shall hold good so long as you and they do not
fail to observe your and their obligations towards the Persian Government, pro
vided always that the nomination of your successors from among your male
descendants shall be subject to confidential consultation with, and the approval of,
His Majesty’s Government, and so long as you and they shall continue to be
guided by the advice of His Majesty’s Government, and to maintain an attitude
satisfactory to that Government.
“ Vis-d-vis the Persian Government, we shall do our best to maintain your
Excellency in your present state of local autonomy.
“ Further, the date gardens which you now possess on the Turkish side of the
Shatt-el-Arab shall remain in full possession of you and your heirs, and immune
from taxation.
“ P. Z. Cox, Lieutenant-Colonel, British
Resident in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, and
His Britannic Majesty’s Consul-
General for Fars, dec.”
Towards the end of the year 1915, when it appeared probable for a time that
Persia would intervene in the war on the side of the enemy, there was some discussion
on the question of recognising Sheikh Khazal’s independence in this event, and a line
of procedure was sketched out by Sir P. Cox in telegrams dated the 1st November, 1915
(163390/161734/15), and the 14th November, 1915 (171916/161734/15). But since the
contingency never, in fact, occurred, the assurance of the 22nd November, 1914, has
remained the final embodiment, up to the present date, of His Majesty’s Government’s
commitments to the Sheikh of Mohammerah.
(hi ) Assurances to the Sheikh of Koweit.
Koweit became of vital interest to Great Britain when it was proposed to prolong
the Bagdad Railway, as a German concern, to a deep-water port on the Persian Guln
Before the outbreak of the war, His Majesty’s Government’s relations with the Sheikh
of Koweit were based upon the secret agreements concluded with him in 1899 and
1907, and the Anglo-Turkish Convention of the 29th July, 1913. By the terms of the
latter, the Sheikh was recognised as Kaimakam of an autonomous kaza of the Ottoman
Empire ; the boundaries of his immediate territory and his wider tribal jurisdiction were
delimited ; the Ottoman Government recognised existing agreements between the Sheikh
and His Majesty’s Government; and His Majesty’s Government undertook, on their
part, not to alter the nature of British relations with the Government of Koweit, or to
establish a protectorate there, so long as the status quo, as defined in the Convention,
underwent no change.
On the 8th August, 1914, Sheikh Mubarak was informed officially by the
officiating Resident in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
that a state of war existed between Great
Britain and Germany ((il684/61439/14, No. 12). On the 21st August, 1914, in an
interview with the British Resident at Koweit, he made a declaration of loyalty to
His Majesty’s Government on behalf of himself and his tribes, placed “ his efforts, his
men, and his ships ” at Great Britain’s disposal, and expressed a desire to eject the
Turkish garrisons from the islands at the mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab, which he claimed
as lawfully his. He repeated this declaration in a letter, of the same date, to the
officiating Resident in the Gulf, which was formally acknowledged by the latter on the
25th August, 1914.
In view of the increasing likelihood that Turkey would intervene in the war on
Germany’s side, it became clear that His Majesty’s Government’s previous undertakings
to the Sheikh of Koweit would have to be renewed, and contingently extended, against
the event of a state of war arising between Great Britain and Turkey.
[972J
C
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