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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [16v] (41/687)
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.
4
That the Wilayats of Basrah and Mosul should be united with Baghdad.
That the position of British Political Officers should be as it is now, and
that the relations between them and the Shaikhs and between the Shaikhs
and their tribes should remain unchanged. They add that they will not
accept Prenchmen or Americans. This follows a long discussion on the
possibility of an Arab Amir. The general opinion on this subject is that
whilst in thory it is a good thing, in practice no suitable candidate could be
found. There was free^discussion of the candidature of a son of the Sharif
which they definitely rejected.
On the same day and in ignorance of the decision came to in £ Amarah, the
Shaikhs of Qurnah came to almost^ exactly the same conclusion. They have
presented written document^ to this effect. It is difficult to gauge opinion
m Basrah. The Political Officer has, however, entered into very frank dis
cussion on the subject with leading personalities and has recorded their in
dividual personal views. Opinion is_ unanimously in favour of direct British
dministration with the ultimate aim, as in India of instructing Arabs in
the Art of Government. There is a general desire to see the Arab element
th i Government encouraged. This indeed is already the case. They
regard the idea of the appointment of an Amir as in accordance with Arab
sT n iT“n’dldAe?: n p d “*r^; nattainable ’ as tlie SM ‘ ahs wouid ^
By the end of the year I hope to be able to submit a final report.
+n rfri! r i S ^ d i°A t i e S 1 ecr ? tar y of State for Ind ia, repeated Delhi. Copy
to General Baghdad, who has not seen this before despatch.
Political, Baghdad.
Telegram—P.
Prom Political, Baghdad.
T° Secretery^of State for India, repeated Delhi, Arbor Cairo, and Prodrome
No. 11454 .
Dated 22 nd of November, 1918 .
a candWaTeAoTlbfhShf A fnt la oPSa a ’‘ t^Ttl ^ He is
and Najaf Wia tKteXn^/testingZbHc'f^r Eahala
pear favourable, of workino- it 1]T , if;, 1C aut l if the omens ap-
briefly this:- ° 1 Up ’ Hls case ’ as ^e stated it to me, is vefy
suitable candidate fas presented himself. ^ ““ A “ ir for Meso Potamia, no
Shi‘I s A VeAmL t mLttl 0 s 1 o e bra P ShPa°h of r “-opotamia, nine-tenths are
born and bred on the Shatt-al-Arab Mv Ivflt" and was
prince from other countries has been'mmil W p ty 18 pro 1 ved - Choice of a
alter the situation. . My place at Muhammarah wST ? U , d A l baIlia does not
the position of Amir I slnll sArv-o r> +1 . ^ taken by my son In
States. My.acts will b?^ accmdance w^tHhe wT® Arab
High Commissioner and in :ioc-nr-<b, i,,.„ ..-ui wishes and orders of the
in need of an Amir, well and good, I will say no reoord , 1 If you are not
ii you do want one, I am flip Laq+Nx -i ^ ^ ^9 mo:r e on the subject "Rnf
and a hereditary Shaikh, who has hfd politicaTel-W’ “d a8 , a lo yal'friend
o Aiabs lor twenty years, I should like to have^^ 161106 t j - e Crovernment
the acceptance o the public by means ofIhUpiWi™^^ ° f *' aiai “S
I should add that the cost nf iLio ^ la ® e<
amount to twenty or thirty thousand Dauud^ 111 !?^ to Meso Potamia will
assure him beforehand that his amhiGmfc 1 d and that unless Government
to what nce ’ ’I 6 W T 0ul , d not -dertatet I a r r e e oSH: e Mp\ beIleToIellt
7 aat ffPlw I should make to him. H .-M.G. to instruct me as
probably the most acceptable of oossiKm , ■ Shaikh of Muhammarah is
fc f €Iv' u ‘ ab ^
feasons: ™ W ’ 1US SU ° CeSS would Uttle shoft of a dhTte? “'PlS
whi/h L by fTtt mosTadvance^anjf best edta^lfy “n ^pot^d’
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' [16v] (41/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328445.0x0000ac> [accessed 9 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