‘Baghdad Railway.’

IOR/L/PS/18/B160

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The record is made up of 4 folios. It was created in 18 Dec 1906. It was written in English. 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. .

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Content: Printed confidential memorandum (B 160), written by Major Lindsay Sherwood Newmarch, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. , dated 18 December 1906. The memorandum addresses the associated risks and benefits to be incurred and gained from not being involved in the construction of the Baghdad railway. Newmarch refers to: imperial competition over the line and the region more broadly, chiefly from Russia, France and Germany; the alternative prospect of gaining a monopoly on river traffic south of Baghdad (on the Tigris and Euphrates) if the railway were extended to Baghdad; the prospect of negotiating a concession for a steam ship monopoly south of Baghdad with the Turks, and German competition for any such concession; the difficulties that would be faced in attempting to construct a railway line south of Baghdad, to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the easier prospects for a line from Baghdad to Urfa [Şanlıurfa; al-Ruhā] or Mosul; economic advantages to other branches of the line, in terms of transporting pilgrims, goods; his own recommendations for British involvement and control of railway construction and steam ship routes, and his conclusion that Britain should ‘secure the waterways’ south of Baghdad, at the cost of involvement in construction of the railway line to the north.
Extent and format: 4 folios
Physical characteristics: Foliation: The file comprises two separated folded sheets, foliated from 1 to 4. The memorandum also has its own original pagination, running 2 to 7 from ff 2v-4.
Written in: English in Latin script
Type: Archival file

Archive information for this record

Original held at: 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.
Access conditions: Unrestricted
Archive reference: IOR/L/PS/18/B160
Former external reference(s): B 160
Date(s): 18 Dec 1906 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects: SteamshipsRailway construction
Places: Mesopotamia
People & organisations: Baghdad Railway

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‘Baghdad Railway.’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B160, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001b1> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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Reference: IOR/L/PS/18/B160
Title: ‘Baghdad Railway.’
Pages: 1r:4v
Author: East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
Usage terms: Open Government Licence