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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [220r] (455/687)
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.
(P 5619)
’.y 'i
u
I 1 ) om Political, Baghdad, December 1918
(Repeated to Foreign.)
(Received 8 a.m., 15th.)
I visited Hillah iN'ejaf and Kerbela by air on 11th December and
(R.) 11109.
12th December.
fro 1 -b , met . P |e principal Sheikhs and notables of the (? division) and
frankly assed their views as to the future Government of Iraq. They advocated a
single Iraq State, including Mosul, but definitively and unhesitatingly rejected idea of
be W and Xat n e o gr S° mid ‘'‘“b T ^^ Shkh'^ld
Be Amir and that no Sunni could possibly be accepted by Shiah who form nine
tenths of the population. They added that having escaped from tvranny of the
They 8 desfred d n n° ° f ) enc . 0l,ra «“'? or tolerating a new form of Arab tyranny.
1 bey desired no Arab officials m positions of responsibility; they wished for
maintenance of present system of administration, but hoped ’it would be hnproved
and elaborated by addition of more British officials. Their verdict whfob had bee,
thought out beforehand as the result of conversations' witlf Politick Officer was
unanimous, and was delivered with an emphasis which it is difficult to convey in
forced arms 16 ParaU ’° Unt fehelkh made 14 clear he w ould oppose any other rcgiml by
The same evening (? at) Nejaf I was received by the whole body of Committee of
1 leik , li i and . J y. vehgious dignitaries and merchants of Nejaf. The yerdict of
assembly which ,s being confirmed in writing shortly was practically ident cal but
emphasised as was to be expected the deep-rooted objections of Shiahs in Iraq and
predominance. aUy ^ " m,ght reStore t0 Slulni minority their former
v Cn morm n g of 12th I was privileged to visit the aged Saiyid Muhammad Kazim
hazdi the leading living Shiah Mujtahid, whose reputation for' piety and wisdom all
founJSoned. eS ° POtamla ' 8 mlnvaIled and whose authority as a religious leader
i i - T ? hlm f ! ?° 1 pu4 tfuestion prescribed by His Majesty’s Government; Mr Wingate
had informed him of their tenour two days before, and he had his reply ready and
delivered n with solemnity of a “ Fatwa.” He prefaced it by remarking that he had
u\ed all Ins life apait fiom the world and had no part in polities:
“I speak,” he said (unconsciously quoting John Bright) “ for those who cam„,t
speak for themselves. \\ hatever Government do let them consider well the interests
ami rf f* ai8 T, 0f bhiahs , U1 P arti cular and especially the masses (of) the inarticulate
a helpless. These people are not civilised ; the installation of Arab officials will
cause anarchy. They have not yet learnt honesty; until they have done so they n s
reman, under the orders of Government. No man can be found who would be
accepted as Amir. The thing is not possible.”
. He sa { more t0 jne but he has discussed matter in greater detail with
l ohtical Officer who has tarnished me with a written record of his conversation
somewhat'oracular declaration 611 ^ 10US ^ ° f giveS Special 8i S“ ificaflce to tbis
f visited Kerbela the same day and saw the focal notables; their views
had already been ascertained by Political Officer and were substantially those
of Nejal, though they lacked fiery emphasis of the independent Sheikhs of the Neiaf
division, f he people volunteered statement that they had fought and turned out
lurks, not on religious grounds, but because they had proved'their incapacity to
govein and then ill-will to governed ; and recalled fact that the Arab officials of the
old regime were not better than the Turks.
On Monday I am visiting Amarah, Gurnah and Basra bv air, and shall
ascertain views of the Sheikh of Mohammerah.
C’:'!
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