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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [305r] (625/687)
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.
b rom Political, Baghdad, 1 6th October 1018.
[P 4635]
♦ i
(Repeated to Foreign.)
(Received 18th, 10 a.in.)
9i4o. In the event of an armistice being asked for by Turkey and
granted 1 venture to express opinion with which General Officer Commanding-
m-wnied has expressed his concurrence that we should insist on military
occupation of Mosul, at all events till the end of the war, and that in this
connection 1 submit following remarks for consideration : —
n i i ie i cor ) r T ct i° n between Baghdad and Mosul is as close as between
Baghdad and Basra. It will be remembered that when in 1910 the Ottoman
Government turned its attention to military reorganisation and administrative
rehabilitation of Baghdad Vilayet, the first step was to entrust to the Wali of
ag idad, i^azirn 1 asha, supreme command over the Vilayets of Basra and
Mosul also. 1 he eight months of his tenure of office demonstrated great
advantage of administrative centralisation in Baghdad. It may, therefore
be laid down on general lines that it is vital to the welfare of Irak province
that the province of Mosul should be under an administration not only
iriendly but m active co-operation with that of Irak.
Baghdad has always been the commercial outlet of the Mosul Vilayet
and will long so continue owing to cheapness of downward river-borne traffic
?,? r 7^. 1 0n Tl g' ri s. It is of utmost importance that the products of
Mosul \ dayet should continue to find their market at Baghdad, as Baghdad
is dependent for wheat on the great wheat-growing area around Arbil north
ol Lesser Zab. I he export to Europe of barley and wheat from the Irak
cannot be fully developed until the Baghdad Vilayet has its |>roup
undecipherable] access to Mosul wheat lands.
Ihe laige Christian population in Tell Kaif and the villages east of
Mosul supply the great part of the men and boys engaged in domestic
services in Baghdad. It may be regarded as certain that unless special
provision be made if Ottoman administration continues in the Mosul Vilayet,
the Christian population will within a short period migrate in bulk to the'
Irak province. This exodus of cultivators would be so disastrous to Mosul
that m. a *l probability an attempt would be made to stop it which would
result in dangerous complications ; on the other hand, though Baghdad might
benefit by accession of cultivators, the fact that a considerable proportion of
Mosnl wheat area would fall out of cultivation would be almost equally
disastrous to Baghdad.
The link between Moslem population of two cities is no less close than
those of the Christian. . Innumerable Moslem families are divided between
Mosul and Baghdad. Personal questions such as inheritance will constantly
occur, and their settlement can only be effected with goodwill of both
administrations.
The inclusion of Mosul Vilayet, in the Mesopotamia administration if
by any means possible, has therefore everything to recommend it from the
local point of view.
It would, moreover, enable us to control Kurdistan, and build up a
Kurdish confederation independent of Turkish rule.
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief has seen above, and has no
objection to its despatch.
warn
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