'Mesopotamia' [‎18v] (36/152)

HISTORY
[No. 02
between Irak and India and the construction by British
agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. of lines of telegraph from Baghdad to India,
Constantinople, and Teheran. In the latter part oi the
century, however, the development of British com
merce and influence, together with the emphasising oi
British protection over the Sheikhs of Koweit and
Muhammera, aroused considerable hostility on the
part of the Turkish authorities. This attitude became
increasingly pronounced with the growth of German
influence at Tonstantinople.
(c) Influence, of other Euro peon A low-ranking infantryman, orderly or assistant (South Asian context). Powers
Until 1881 the only European Power represented at
Baghdad besides Great Britain was France, who had
no local interests except such as were connected with
the Roman Catholic religious orders. Russia obtained
a certain influence through her mediation in the Turko-
Persian frontier disputes; and it was believed that the
Russian Government kept themselves informed of
affairs in Irak through Armenian agents. A Russian
Consulate was created at Baghdad in 1881, and was
raised in 1901 to a Consulate-General. The purpose of
this step was political, as the material interests of
Russia in Irak were small. Belgium, Germany, Spain,
Sweden, and the United States of America each
acquired certain commercial interests in the country,
and established Consulates at Baghdad. During the
reign of the Sultan Abdul Hamid, Germany was the
only foreign country maintaining constant good rela
tions with Turkey. " The beginning of modern German
interest in Ottoman affairs may be traced in the
writing's of List, von Moltke. and others ; and when Bis
marck had in some measure secured the maintenance of
Germany's position in Europe he allowed the rising
stream of commercial prosperity to follow its own
course. This resulted in the eighties and nineties in
the Drang nack Osten, which took more definite shape
in 1898 on the occasion of the Emperor's visit to Con
stantinople. Thenceforth Germany's influence was