"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٥‎٤‎٦] (١٧٨٢/١٧٠١)

Bearing of
the Baghdad
Railway on
British in
terests.
immaann
mmsm
15461
into existence; and that finally, on the 5th March 1903 » • j ,
i /» .j /~4 d revised ant]
definite Convention was concluded, authorising the enterprise and nrp
scnbrng in great detail the manner of its execution, I„ the Conveutioi of
03 it was laid down that the concessionnaire, viz., the Anatolian
Railway Company " formera unc soci^ anonyme ottomane sous le nom do
bociac Tmpenale ottomane du Chemin de Per de Bagdad nui i-omr,!,,
" era la Socirt.5 dn Chemin de Per ottoman d'Anatolie pour tout oe qui con"
« eerne la nonvelle ligne de Kouia au Golfe Persique avec ses embranche-
" ments, et qu. sera rtgie pas les statute ci-annexfe" Statutes governing
the constitution and proceedings of the Baghdad Railway Company were
accordingly attached to the Convention and signed along with it. '
Up to the end of 1905 no construction or work under the concession
had as yet taken place m the province of Turkish 'Iran-
Setting questions of detail aside, we may observe that the aspect of
re Scheme most nearly concerning Britain was its ultimate effect on the
ntish military, political, and commercial position in the Persian Gulf
It was generally considered that the completion of a railway from Con
stantinople to the shores of Persian Gnlf under auspices predominantly
if not exclusively, German and Turkish involved a potential menace to
hat position ; and it was therefore held necessary to prevent the execn-
ion of the scheme, if possible, unless and until a sufficient share in the
control of the railway should be obtained by Britain, and in any case to
oppose the formation of a port at the Gulf terminus of the line except
::: 8 t: n,1, rr u ; h wou,d preciude it8 becomi "K a ^ ^ British
acceptance however, theso opinions did not command universal
e *' ew ® M 16 Government of India on the general question were
conveye o is Majesty's Government in February 1901 in a despatch
from which the following is an extract
consbuctton^ofXe K," 1 "' Ve be ' m e5 P rc »»«l in some quartera upon the
Britain in Soutiiern P^sia ami Uie G^If ^ t ^ ^ t0 ^ ^ ^
and strategical interest, in th tbe 0 " lf ' and we de PK»te the idea that our pnlitical
understanding with Germany T„ ',1?°°' T / "dequalely protected by an
and the Persian fnlf i in terests of Germany in Mesopotamia
and we see m ^ ^ ^ be anta g onisti e than favourable to our own ;
to which we hhould lo I 1 " 011 " T tllinl<ing t,iat tliere is an J international combination
ThelvTewrare^ t0 0Ur Crests or influence in that quarter,
to us for 0T)ini^n P®ndently of the question, which ha. never been refeired
' Gulf • for we mes m T Completlon of the German Asia Minor Railway to the
1 that 'should be line 8 18 ^ aCCepted P rillci P le with His Majesty's Government
h0Uld be hne 0Ver 1)6 ^tmaed south of Baghdad, this cannot be done without
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