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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [203r] (421/687)
The record is made up of 1 volume (326 folios). It was created in 23 Oct 1918-2 Nov 1919. It was written in English, French and Arabic. 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.
_[This_DocHment is the Property of His Britwrn
Ai
tk
CONFIDENTIAL.
*
-ptain Wilson proposes a British
protectorate.
MESOPOTAMIA AND THE ARABS.
British assurances
Husein.
to King
CAPTAIN WILSON in his telegram of the 11th
December gives reasons in favour of establishing a British
protectorate over Iraq, but although we do not yet know
what exactly is meant by this proposal, I agree with
^ rJe° yn u ee | h ?u t> d ® cl 1 ared protectorate could hardly
be reconciied with British assurances to King Husein
Lt mk ’ r reov r\ that Mr - T °y nbee is substantially
f^ m u hl3 r C0 ? teilt1011 . ^ hat these proposals imply the
stabbshment of a special regime in Mesopotamia which
anTth g fr ° m t ’i' e rest of the Arab countries,
fhe‘‘T 1 * h " r ? 'i 8 a mlsunde rstanding-based perhaps on
the I imes telegram respecting the re-creation of the
ancient Arab Emp.re, which Colonel Wilson quotes—
as to the nature of the policy which has been suggested
m Foreign Office memoranda. Our objects are not
dissmular from Captain Wilson’s. We both aim at
establishing British influence in Mesopotamia. But
the Foreign Office consider that His Majesty’s Govern
ment are precluded from establishing a protectorate or
liom, annexation, and that our object can be effectively
attained by the establishment of a native administra 7
tion controlled by British advisers.
I. The following assurances have been given to Kin?
Husem on the 14th April, 1915. His Majesty’s Govenf
ment committed themselves to a public declaration that
they will make it an essential condition in the terms
of peace that the Arabian Peninsula should remain in
me hands of an independent sovereign Slate." In July
1915 King Husein raised the question of the extent of
• *f rr ‘ t °y t0 be m <duded i n this State. His terms were
the loilowing :—
“England to acknowledge the independence of the
Arab countries, bounded on the north bv Mersina ami
Adana up to 37° of latitude, on which decree falls
iripk, Urfa, Mardin, Midiat, Amadia Island, up to the
border of Persia ; on the cast, by the borders of Persia
up to the Gulf of Basrah; on the south, by the Indian
Ocean, with the exception of the position‘of Aden to
remain as it is; on the west, by the Bed Sea, the
Mediterranean Sea up to Mersina.”
r eply of His Majesty’s Government was sent on
the 24th October, as follows:—
Subject to the above modifications, Gi'eat Britain is
prepared to recognise and support the independence of
the Arabs within the territories included in the limits
and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca.”
• 5t -k Novein k er tlie Sherif agreed to the exclu
sion of Mersina and Adana, but formally reiterated his
claim to the rest :—
“ In order to facilitate'an agreement and to render a
service to Islam, and at the same time to avoid all that
may cause Islam troubles and hardships—seeing, more
over, that we have great consideration for the distinguished
qualities and dispositions of the Government of' Great
Britain—we renounce our insistence on the inclusion of
the vilayets of Mersina and Adana in the Arab Kingdom
[1116]
I hi
.— A
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding the administration of, and situation in, Mesopotamia [Iraq] following the Asia Minor Agreement of 1916, more commonly known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, between the French and British governments, and the Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918. The volume also concerns the subject of self-determination in Persia [Iran].
The papers notably cover:
- Discussion of advance interpretations of the 1916 Agreement
- The Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918, which publicised their intentions and policy in the former Ottoman territories of Syria and Iraq
- Presentation of the 1918 Declaration to the President of the United States of America by the French Ambassador to the US, Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand
- Disagreement between the British and French visions of the future administration of Mesopotamia
- The situation in southern Kurdistan
- The 1919 Paris Peace Conference
- Apprehensions of the Baghdad Jewish community about the tenor of the Anglo-French Declaration, including a petition to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, requesting to be made subjects of the British Crown
- Reaction to the Declaration from the across the Arab world
- Disagreement among the British over the form that Britain’s control in Mesopotamia should take
- The views of the principal sheikhs [shaikhs] of Mesopotamia on the 1918 Agreement
- Discussion among British officials of the benefits of control over Mesopotamia and the view of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, Arnold Talbot Wilson, on the situation in Mesopotamia
- Discussion of the potential candidates for the head of the new state of Iraq
- Reports on consultations with political and religious leaders and inhabitants from across Iraq on the future Government of Iraq
- The views of Sir Percy Cox and Arnold Wilson on the situation in Mesopotamia
- The question of the future political status of Mesopotamia, including the views of British officers serving in Syria and the Hejaz
- Discussion of the question of Iraqi self-determination.
Notable documents in this volume include:
- Text by Sir Percy Cox regarding ‘The Future of Mesopotamia’ (ff 308-310 and ff 270-272)
- Extracts from The Times , 26 November 1819, including a series of articles under the title ‘The Arab Campaign’ (ff 230-232)
- The statutes for the independence of Iraq (ff 127-130)
- A memorandum by Major W H Young regarding the future of Mesopotamia (ff 99-112)
- Copies of ‘Self-determination in Iraq’ in Arabic (ff 75-97) and English (ff 57-73).
The principal correspondents are: 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. , Political Department; the Governor-General of India; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Military Governor and Political Officer, Baghdad; Government of India, Military Department, the French Ambassador to the United States; and the British Embassy, Paris.
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.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (326 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the volume are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
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 334; 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 mixed foliation/pagination 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 two anomalies: f 181a and f 181b.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/755
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:127v, 128ar, 128r:175v, 176ar, 176r:181v, 181ar:181av, 181cr, 181br:181bv, 182r:182v, 186r:229v, 232v:325v, 327r:334v, 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