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'File 53/33 II (D 15) Koweit Baghdad Railway' [‎17r] (46/210)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (104 folios). It was created in 3 Jun 1907-18 Aug 1908. It was written in English and French. 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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27
(5). It appears to me essential to British commercial interests that (1)
the railway should be contiDued from Bagdad to Khanikio, so
that our trade may compete on favourable terms with the Russian
trade in the north-west of Persia, which is the chief market for
goods imported into Bagdad, and (2) that either the railway
should be continued from Bagdad to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , or that
the Tigris and Euphrates should be open commercial routes.
With the railway opened as far as Bagdad only, and the river
traffic a monopoly (for Lynch's steamers can carry only a frac
tion of the present trade), we might find ourselves in the awkward
position that it would cost more to transport goods by sea to
Bussorah, and thence to Bagdad, than to import them to Bagdad
by rail. Should such a state of affairs exist, our trade from the
south would be materially hampered, and any diminution of trade
with Bussorah, or the port which replaces it, would probably
have a bad effect on our carrying trade in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
generally—ships with cargo for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ports might
find it difficult to get full loads, if the trade with Mesopotamia
was reduced. Any obstacles in the way of trade from the south
would most seriously affect Indian trade, which could take no
advantage of improved means of communication from the north.
If the railway is made without British participation, the
extensions to the south and east of Bagdad may long remain
uncompleted, and it is only these portions of the line which will
serve British interests.
5. Briefly stated, my opinion is that the political effect of a railway made
without British participation will be fatal to British interest and influence in
Mesopotamia, and that the effect of such a railway on British commercial
interests may be very serious unless the Euphrates and Tigris are open to trade
with such rates of freight as may be settled by open competition. With the
rivers closed, British trade migiit be made to pay under the guise of freight, a
considerable share of the guarantee given by the Turkish Government to the
Bagdad Railway Company.
I have, etc.,
J. BAMSAY.
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Consul Longworth to Me ,. G. Barclay.
Aleppo,
4th January 1907.
(No. 4. Confidential.)
S ir,
In reply to your telegram of yesterday's date, I would submit the
following observation on the question as to the effect of the Bagdad Railway
on British interests in Egypt and Aden, should it be completed as far as Adana
and Aleppo.
The construction of the three sections—namely, from Eregli southwards
to Adana, eastwards to Tel-Habesh, and south again to Aleppo—w T ould result
in linking together the lines made and being made from Constantinople to
Mecca.
"Viewed from a general standpoint—political, military and economic—
such an attainment, reached by the exertions of whatever Company, would
I think be in no way prejudicial to our interests in Anatolia Peninsula that forms most of modern-day Turkey. or Syria, Arabia
or Egypt.
The more these regions are open to facilities of communication and inter
course the more are we likely to gain popularity with the inhabitants and
influence with the authorities.
5351 f. d.

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Content

This file contains correspondence between British officials concerning the construction of a railway line between Koweit [Kuwait] and Baghdad as a part of the German Government's broader effort to construct a railway connecting Berlin to Baghdad. The correspondence discusses the route of the line, German-Turkish [Ottoman] relations, Turkish debt and the sources of funding for the line's construction.

On ff. 20-24, the file contains an extract from the War Office Hand Book on Eastern Turkey in Asia , Volumes III and IV (February 1907) that contains descriptive notes on several towns situated along the Baghdad railway (through modern-day Turkey, Syria and Iraq).

A report concerning a rail journey from Constantinople [Istanbul] to Eregli written by David Fraser, a correspondent of The Times in November 1907, is contained in the file on ff. 78-80.

Extent and format
1 volume (104 folios)
Arrangement

File is arranged in chronological order, from earliest at beginning of the file to most recent at end.

An index of the topics discussed in the file is contained on folio 1A.

Physical characteristics

Condition: A bound correspondence volume.

Foliation: The file's foliation sequence commences at the title page and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found 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. A pagination sequence ,which labels each page of text, runs between ff. 1c-97; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in either the top left or right corners of the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. and recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. sides of each folio respectively.

The file contains the following foliation errors: 1, 1A, 1B and 1C.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'File 53/33 II (D 15) Koweit Baghdad Railway' [‎17r] (46/210), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/507, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023528935.0x00002f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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