Skip to item: of 12
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

‘Germany, Turkey, England and Arabia. [extracts from ‘The Fight for Arabia between Turkey and England’ by Dr Franz Stuhlmann]’ [‎3v] (6/12)

The record is made up of 1 file (6 folios). It was created in 31 Oct 1916. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

clearly the head of the Cabinet d'Etudes techniques des houilleres et du
port 'le C heikh Said, visited Djibouti in October. Apparently he received
no encouragement from the Governor of Djibouti or the French Vice-Consul
at Aden ; and when it proved impossible to go to Sheikh Said owing to the
presence oE the Turkish garrison, he was obliged to return to France.
Extract (page 120).
" It is very important at the conclusion of a peace favourable to Turkey
to examine the question of Sheikh Said closely, and if possible to secure that
the frontier with English territory is carried at some distance from the Cape
and not in accordance with the demarcation of 1905. It will be for
consideration later, after careful military and technical study, whether not
only strong Turkish fortifications but also harbour works can be constructed
there, and whether it is possible to bring a railway from the north there. At
all events Sheikh Said is for the Red Sea an extraordinarily important
place."
Chapter 9. " The English Possessions and Spheres of Interest in South
Arabia " (pages 120 to J 50).
Chapter 10. "Muscat or Oman " (pages 151 to 19-1).
Extract (page 191).
" But it is not only the arms traffic that is in question. Muscat has a
very good harbour protected by an island which affords a first-class base
where coal depots and fortifications can be erected now that 1 ranee no
longer affords resistance ; and the harbour of Muscat means for the Persian
Gulf what Aden is to the Red Sea, namely, a strategical key of this sea,
which the English now treat as their own. Apart from the question of its
terminus at Koweit our Bagdad railway has access only to an English lake
so long as the exit from the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. is exclusively in English hands.
And that is now the case ; for on the Persian side also the English possess
the cable station at Jask, Basidu on the island of Kishm, and the little
islands of Tamb and z \bu Musa off the Strait of Hormuz. Lastly they have
full control over the pirate coast. Even if the war ends favourably, formal
assurances on the part of England will not avail us to secure the freedom of
the sea there, and to protect the Baghdad Railway from being throttled at
the suitable moment. The only remedy is that the English should be
compelled to abandon their exclusive claims in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and to
allow some other Power which does not belong to the Entente to secure a
firm point there. For this purpose the huge sheltered bay at CapeMusandim
(in which the whole English fleet could find anchorage) would be very
suitable, if the climate were not so unendurably hot that the English
themselves had to give up the place, which they occupied from 18G4 to 1869
when they wished to erect a cable station there. But it will be difficult
to get England out of Muscat, to which she attaches the greatest
importance ....
" But the freedom of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. is for our Baghdad Railway a vital
question, and there, as in the Red Sea, we cannot, or can only with great
difficulty, reach open waters. Therefore something must happen which will
secure freedom for us and other Powers." 1
Chapter 11, " Bahrein and the Turkish Province of El-Hasa :> (paees 195
to 205).
Chapter 12. " The Wahabis and their successors in Xejd " (pages 200
to 217).
Page 212. Captain Shakespear's visit to Bin Sand in April 1913 is
mentioned, and it is suggested that he arranged for the ejection of the Turks
from El-Hasa.
1 See Appendix.

About this item

Content

Confidential memorandum containing a list of chapters and translated extracts from the book Der Kampf um Arabien zwischen der Türkei und England [The Fight for Arabia between Turkey and England] by Dr Franz Stuhlmann of the Hamburgischen Kolonialinstitut [Hamburg Colonial Institute], and published by George Westermann in Hamburg, 1916. The extracts, which begin on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of folio 1, are preceded by a note, written by Arthur Hirtzel, Secretary to the Political Department of 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. , and dated 31 October 1916, which draws attention to the academic credentials of Stuhlmann’s book.

The extracts from Stuhlmann’s book cover topics including: the province of Hejaz and the Hejaz railway; the Trans-Arabian railway; the University of Medina; Turkish reforms; Yemen and Asīr, including the railway from Hodeida [Al-Ḥudaydah] to Sanaa [Ṣanʻā']; English interests in southern Arabia; Muscat and Oman; Bahrein [Bahrain] and the Turkish province of El-Hasa [Al-Hasa]; the Wahabis [Wahhābīs] and their successors in Nejd [Najd]; Koweit [Kuwait]; oil deposits in Mohammerah [Khorramshahr]; navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates; Mesopotamia during the War; and extracts from Stuhlmann’s conclusion, which comments on the strategic importance to England of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the importance to Turkey and Germany of the Shatt al-Arab.

An appendix to the memorandum, entitled ‘The importance to Germany of an open Persian Gulf’ is a review of an article that appeared in the journal Europäische Staats und Wirtschafts Zeitung , 18 August 1916, entitled ‘Der persische Golf und die Verkehrspolitik der Mittelmächte’ [The Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and the Commercial Policy of the Central Powers], written by Professor Gerhard Schott of the Deutsche Seewarte [German Hydrographic Office].

Extent and format
1 file (6 folios)
Arrangement

The memorandum, which chiefly comprises extracts from a book, is arranged by the book’s chapters, with the pages covering each chapter indicated, and the page numbers for each extract also indicated.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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.

Pagination: The booklet contains an original typed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

‘Germany, Turkey, England and Arabia. [extracts from ‘The Fight for Arabia between Turkey and England’ by Dr Franz Stuhlmann]’ [‎3v] (6/12), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B241, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023493274.0x000007> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023493274.0x000007">‘Germany, Turkey, England and Arabia. [extracts from ‘The Fight for Arabia between Turkey and England’ by Dr Franz Stuhlmann]’ [&lrm;3v] (6/12)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023493274.0x000007">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x000264/IOR_L_PS_18_B241_0006.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x000264/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image