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The record is made up of 1 volume (76 folios). It was created in Feb 1919. 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.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
iNo. 9!i
competing lines have to work to a fixed rate, the
German rate is flexible, and can be adjusted to
suit the requirements of the situation from time to
time.
Similarly, the " through-rate system can be used
by the Germans to circumvent the agreement not to
load at English ports. The London merchant is offered
through terms from London to Basra by the agent of a
line allied to the Hamburg-Amerika line, and ships of
that line collect cargo in the port of London, and trans
port it to Hamburg or Antwerp for trans-shipment.
The London merchant will benefit by a lower rate of
freight, but he is providing the Germans with the
means of ultimately substituting German-made goods
for his own commodities.
It will thus be seen that the " through-rate system,'
worked in conjunction with rate agreements, is the
chief weapon of the German competitive policy, and it
follows that every effort should be concentrated) on
refusing to make rate agreements with German lines,
even if as an alternative a subsidy of the British lines
engaged in the trade over a period of years should
become a necessity.
In a report made to the Advisory Committee on
Commercial Intelligence of the Board of Trade, after
a visit to Mesopotamia in 1907, Sir George Lloyd
pointed out various other methods by which the Ger
mans had secured trade. These may be summarised
as follows:—
(1) The Germans realised the fact that the main
demand in the East was for cheap goods of low quality.
(2) They closely studied native habits and language,
and made personal acquaintance with their customers,
so that they could safely offer longer credits than their
rivals.
(3) They were willing to deal in any and every
article, to take small orders, and to have new patterns
made to please customers.
(4) They obtained more elaborate show-cases and
ranges of samples than the English.
About this item
- Content
This volume is a confidential handbook on Mesopotamia prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office, dated February 1919. There is a table of contents which includes the following chapters:
- I: 'Geography Physical and Political', including 'Position and Frontiers', 'Surface, Coast and River Systems', 'Climate', 'Sanitary Conditions', 'Race and Language' and 'Population';
- II: 'Political History', including 'Chronological Summary', 'Introduction', 'Early period of Turkish Occupation, 1638-1834', 'Later period of Turkish Occupation, 1834-1914', and 'Commercial Developments';
- III: 'Social and Political Conditions', including 'Religious', 'Political', 'Public Education' and 'General Observations';
- IV: 'Economic Conditions', including 'Means of Communication', 'Industry', 'Commerce', 'Finance' and 'General Remarks'.
There is also an appendix which includes tables of 'Exports to Principal Countries from Baghdad', 'Imports from Principal Countries to Baghdad', 'Principal Exports from Basra' and 'Principal Imports to Basra'. This is followed by a section entitled 'Authorities' which is a bibliography of references used for the preparation of the volume. This section is divided into 'Historical' (including 'Confidential Sources'), 'Economic' ('Official' and 'General') and 'Maps'. There is a pocket at the back of the volume to house maps, but there are no maps present.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (76 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Pagination: The volume contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Mesopotamia' [58v] (116/152), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C190, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023514036.0x000075> [accessed 8 August 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C190
- Title
- 'Mesopotamia'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:75v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence