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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [330r] (675/687)
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.
4722]
I'rom Secretary of State to Viceroy, Foreign Department,
28th October 1918.
(Repeated to Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.)
Fore£rOffice S TeWraST n n &- iS M r T"' T? collfideutial infonnation.
October as follows H Ma;|e J S Ambassador - Washington, 23rd
■ j i ,^ S 5, resi i 1 lt of our advance interpretation of our Agreement of IQIfi
^^^other^ources, bofSbs^nd French'pubbetere
awaie of general tenour of Agreement, and it became necessary to reneh
some working arrangement with the French in oX t^ 3 1.
complications which might hamper our further military operations. '
2. Modus vivendi has accordingly been arranged whereby while
supieme authority in all matters is left with Commander-in-Chief civil
spSlaHutere^t f™th e F d ' etr h tS , te t 08! '' a '! <l S the Agreem.nt a. having
•j. In intimating to French Government our acceptance of this
ocmfied’oftirf 6 tllat , i ‘, is t0 Wly only to the territories
occupied, 01 to be occupied by General Allenby’s force. With regard to the
future government of the other territories mentioned in the 1916 Agreement
we have pointed out that the provisions of that Agreement no longer appear
suitable m all respects, to present conditions in that the entry of the United
btates into the war and the defection of Russia have radically changed the
whole situation We have therefore suggested that as it would be useless
to attempt a settlement at present this question should form the subject of
fresh conversations m which the United States and Italian Governments
should also be invited to take part. We have ground for believing that the
rrencn Government will accept this suggestion.
i. In inhuming the Italian Ambassador of the substance of the above
communication to the French Government, we have invited Italian participa
tion m the proposed conversations, while assuring His Excellency at the
same time that there is no intention of calling m question the validity of the
Ireaty of London of 1915.
“ 5 - addition to these measures for meeting the immediate
practical difficulties with the French, and placing the question in its wider
aspect on a proper inter-Allied footing, it has become essential to make some
public declaration in order to allay the misgivings and suspicions of the
Arabs and Syrians which may be dangerously exploited by our enemies
It has therefore been decided to publish an Anglo-French declaration
outlining the policy which the two countries wish to pursue in the territories
in Syria and Mesopotamia delivered from the Turkish yoke, and we have
stipulated that this declaration should be communicated to President Wilson
before publication. The text will be telegraphed to your French colleague,
and you should co-operate with him in communicating it to the President
with the least possible delay, and telegraph when this has been done.
“ 6. You should also explain frankly to the State Department the whole
situation as set out in this telegram.”
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' [330r] (675/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328445.0x0000a5> [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