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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [365r] (742/995)
The record is made up of 1 volume (491 folios). It was created in 28 Jun 1920-11 Feb 1921. It was written in English. 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.
\
From
Dated
Reed o
Civil Commisaioner, Baghdad
24 o 7 o 20 o
9 poitio
8934 0 My telegx^n of 21st July 9 8784, I sulmit following
further obser/ation on financial aspects. 1 0 Large increase in
receipts during present and last financial year no doubt wrongly
attributed to rapid growth of taxation whereas really due largely
to payments for augmented services rendered by cint administration
to other departments chiefly the annyo 2 0 Customs duty is levied
at eleven per cent now as before war 0 Land revenue and taxes and
agricultural produce which constitute practically only direct
taxation and which alone affect vast mass of population total for
3 years ending March 1921 217 198 and 216 lakhSo 1918 was
year in which agriculture was specially stimulated for military
purposes and increase in 1920 is-due entirely to increased average
from new canals etOo 3 0 Estimates of receipts during current
year 0 i vide appendix 1 to my despatch 14th June i comprise only
following amounts payable by inhabitants of occupied territories
all in
lakhs
One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
of
rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
. Firstly direct taxing i it ana 1/5 on
receipts side i 216 secondly custom 100 i 0 eo 40% of total balance
falling chiefly on Persian ccnsumed thirdly miscellaneous charges
e 0 go Judicial fees 7 fines* 2 municipal contributions 4-1/2 fourthly
payments for services viz 0 sducation 0 Fees one third medical on®
posts ten telegraphs six 0 Total 347 0 Corresponding amount in two
previous years 308 and 250 0 (Four^ Out of total receipts there fort
for current year amounting to 5471 excluding payment for 1918 19
grain | local inhabitants contribute about three fifths the
remainder falling as to about 30% on Persian consumer and about 70 %
on department mainly military 0 (Five) Of total expenditure of 734
lakhs
One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
following items may be described as of direct benefit to local
tax myer four irrigation f excluding dead changes I fifty
culture
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of correspondence, memoranda, drafts, and departmental notes relating to rebellion against British mandatory rule in Mesopotamia [approximately corresponding to present-day Iraq], later known as the Iraqi Revolt of 1920.
The volume covers the period from the start of unrest in May 1920 to British imposition of control in October of the same year. The majority of the volume comprises reports from political officers across Mesopotamia on the situation in their respective divisions and districts.
Other matters discussed within the volume include:
- The suspected causes of the uprising, including fears of ‘Bolshevik’ and pro-Turkish influence
- Settlement of the border between Syria and Mesopotamia
- Military strategy and operations, including the need for reinforcements
- The severing of British lines of communication, particularly rail
- The efficacy and principles of the use of armoured cars and air raids as means of control following numerous cases of misidentification and disproportionate force that resulted in the deaths and injuries of innocent people
- Political and civil policy in the region
- Identification and arrest of some of the leaders of the rebellion
- The prominence of events in Mesopotamia in the British press
- The question of disarming the tribes following the suppression of the rebellion.
Principal correspondents include officials at: 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 Office of the Civil Commissioner in Mesopotamia (from November 1920, the High Commissioner); the War Office; General Headquarters of the military in Mesopotamia; and the Government of India, Foreign and Political and Army departments.
The volume contains cuttings from several publications, including: The Times , The Statesman , The Observer , The Daily Herald , The Daily Mail , The Baghdad Times , and The Near East .
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence. A second divider is included, for File 4722/1918 Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’. This was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (491 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in approximate chronological order, from the rear to the front.
The subject 4722 (Mesopotamia) consists of ten volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/755-764. The volumes are divided into twelve parts, with parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 comprising one volume each. Part 10 is missing. Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’, was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 489; 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. Multiple intermittent additional foliation sequences are also present. 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 89a.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [365r] (742/995), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/761, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100137804988.0x00008f> [accessed 8 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/761
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:89v, 89ar:89av, 90r:113r, 114v, 118v:120r, 121v, 127v:169v, 173r:192v, 194r:211v, 213r:223v, 225r:227r, 229r:261v, 262v:263v, 266r:279v, 280ar, 280r:293v, 294v, 295v:317v, 318ar, 318r:333v, 334v:341v, 342v:359v, 360v:400v, 404r:424v, 425ar, 425r:489v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence