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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [62r] (132/687)
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.
d .068 not favour tliG Eud'IisIi r riio lof+a /i i -, . own mind, but
the English 0 " Mr! St “f
same position as his Baghdad brother. Basrah has had a Ynm 0 ™ 1 ? ^ m ? e
t tggt stwas s-air,si*":-”**" •"
gr.at chang. ,n fa.lmg far th. letter tew.rda the Englteh te tlmThte ^‘inl
HAJI ‘ISA.
• Soi ? le of the Pro-Turk party seized on one of President Wilson’s 14
pom s as indicating that ‘Iraq would remain under Turkish dominion. I my
self know full well Basrah s importance to England as the gateway to India
and I know the British must remain here. -
, h ^ << 1 It - ls im P 0S fl bl e to find in ‘Iraq any man qualified to act as Amir. Let
there be m each district and m each department an Arab head, but he must
have an English adviser. Control must be British. So in time we will learn
the art of Government and then may-be will arise a man fit to act as Amir
i would not say this m public. I tell you my own opinion but people are
ignorant, and I would not show my true feelings in a crowd. ”
,r , <Isa wou ld not say what other people’s opinion was, but he suggested
that there was a good deal of talk of “ Kafir ” rule. oa ^
. . faji ‘Isa mentioned to Assistant Political Officer that Mosul must be
joined up with the rest of ‘Iraq for commercial reasons. Also said he would
very much like Sir P. Cox to be the head of the country until the Arabs and
more especially the tribes are educated enough to obey an Arab Amir and
accept his Government.
G. A. MARINE (CATHOLIC).
Local feeling greatly improved. Pleased o^er compensation. Introduc
tion of Indian Law here did harm and promise of introduction of Turkish Laws
has pleased people. Some say this last means return of Turks. President
Wilson’s declaration against annexation and indemnity caused some people
here to think that Turks will certainly be re-instated in the Baghdad
Vilayet, while some said the whole of ‘Iraq would go back to them. People
dealing with India have never thought that the Basrah Division—as far as
Qurnah—would return to Turkey. The working class people connected with
Government labour are so impressed with the idea of Government’s strength
and with work accomplished that they firmly believe the British will remain.
As for my own
fallahs
Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour.
when after the armistice I told them the Turks would
not return, they seemed genuinely thankful. Most land-owners do not want
the lurks back, but there is doubt as to the future. We have discussed the
question of an Amir. Some say he would be a figurehead under British
control. Whether the idea is popular or not I cannot say. There is no man
for the post. . Shaikh Khaz'al has been mentioned. The Khedive’s and
Sharif’s families have been mentioned. All think there will be English heads
of all departments. They may not want these. There is no unity here and firm
control is needed. People here do not care a fig whether Mosul is part of the
‘Iraq State or not. Muhammadan interests here in Basrah do not go beyond
‘Amarah.
There should be a Court of Appeal in Basrah. This would give popular
satisfaction.
SHAIKH AHMAD AL BASHA’IYAN.
He says the general idea is that ‘Iraq will be granted independence under
the British Government with an Arab Amir. Some people say Saiyid Talib
will be Amir—an impossible idea—and some that he will be chosen in
Baghdad. The people would like an Amir, but they could not select one. The
people would vote for British control of an Arab Administration, Arab
meaning all local classes. There should be Arab officials with British
advisers. If no suitable man can be found in ‘Iraq for post of Amir, there
should be none, and we should have only a British Governor. ‘Iraq includes
and should include Mosul.
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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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [62r] (132/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328445.0x000068> [accessed 22 June 2026]
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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