File 5876/1920 ‘Mesopotamia:- King for. Question of suitability of Feisul; French protest against Feisul; Feisul proclaimed “King of Iraq”; Treaty with Feisul’ [‎224r] (458/1003)

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Content

The volume contains correspondence regarding the election of Sherif Feisal [Fayṣal al-Awwal bin al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī, also written as Faisal and other variations in the volume] as King of Iraq, and negotiations leading to the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922. Specific topics discussed include:

• Considerations over supporting Feisal’s candidacy, particularly in the face of significant French opposition, and other possible options for the country’s future government
• Perceived public support for Feisal’s candidacy, and a referendum in which he received 96% of the vote
• Negotiations between Feisal and the High Commissioner, Mesopotamia [Iraq], over which powers he will hold and which will be retained by the British Government
• Feisal’s coronation as King on 23 August 1921
• Negotiations for the Treaty, and its signing on 10 October 1922
• Opposition to the Treaty, including a fatwa issued by Khalisi [Muḥammad bin Muḥammad Mahdī al-Khāliṣī] against participating in the subsequent elections
• An agreement to terminate the terms of the Treaty upon Iraq’s admission to the League of Nations, or within four years of ratification of the peace treaty with Turkey [Treaty of Lausanne]
• Election of the Iraqi Constituent Assembly
• A perceived likelihood that the Assembly will reject ratification of the Treaty, and British considerations of possible subsequent actions
• A vote by the Assembly in favour of ratifying the Treaty on 10 June 1924.

The primary correspondents are the High Commissioner and the Colonial Office. Other correspondents include: the Civil Commissioner, Mesopotamia (prior to the appointment of the High Commissioner); General Headquarters, Mesopotamia; the Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom; HM Ambassador to France; HM Ambassador to Italy; the Foreign Office; 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 War Office; and HM King George V.

Draft copies of the Treaty are on folios 161-63, 187-89, 276-82 and 289-94, and the final text (under the title ‘Treaty with King Feisal’) is included on folios 69-71. Other agreements subsidiary to the Treaty are included on folios 72-91, and draft copies of the Financial Agreement and Military Agreement are on folios 150-52.

The volume includes three items in French, a letter from the French Ambassador (ff 478-81) and two articles from French newspaper L’Écho de Paris (ff 448 and 452).

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format

1 volume (497 folios)

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 492; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 176-186 and ff 204-209; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly, f 406a.

Written in

English and French in Latin script

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