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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [105r] (218/687)
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.
j
tnat they demand a very high standard of altruism from
the tutelary power, and unless we are prepared to act
accordingly we shall run the risk of becoming as unpopular
in Arabia, as I am told that we are in Egypt,
conclusion is that a figure-head is essential
if we are to accept the desirability of patriarchal
goverment to retain the confidence of the Arabs, and to
avert the suspicion of not acting up to the altruistic
ideas at present professed by all the Allied powers.
ii'ch d should nS| 4 ' AS 80Cn aS We besin to corlB ider what qualifica-
Sverii choice tions a local figure-head should possess, we are at
r figure-
“once confronted with the questions outlined in para*l of this
Memorandum. I do not propose to discuss the functions
iadT
of a puppet who is to act as a blind to the pre-War diploma
cy of the power which is backing him. Any figure-head
set up on the hypothesis which I have postulated, namely
that the two questions asked in para*!* are answered in the
negative, must be a man who will hold the reins of govern
ment firmly and prudently, under expert guidance, until
such time as his subjects are capable of deciding for
themselves whether they wish to keep him as an integral
part of their scheme of self-government or not. He should
also belong to a family whlchls recognised by the population
of the area as being on a higher social level than the
lesser patriarchs over whom he must hold sway. It does
not necessarily follow that the tutelary power should take
steps to remove an existing figure-head who does not in
their opinion fulfil these requirements. The very fact
that in all areas which were not under effective Turkish
domination such figure-heads exist goes to show that they
at least satisfy their own subjects, who could easily un
seat them if they were really unsatisfactory. But the
only chance for any figure-head under the new regime,
whether or not he existed as such before ohe waxy oO conso
lidate his positien is for him to encourage and recognise
tribal
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' [105r] (218/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328443.0x000071> [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