'Field notes: Mesopotamia. General Staff, India. February, 1917.' [‎5r] (16/350)

Field Notes, Mesopotamia
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY.
The Political Situation in Mesopotamia.
The political situation in Baghdad and Mesopotamia is
intimately connected with that in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
During the 19th century the British gradually built up for
themselves a special position in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and in Lower
Mesopotamia.
Great Britain undertook and maintained single-handed: —
1. The suppression of the slave-trade and piracy.
2. The preservation of peace and the development of trade
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
3. The opening up of the Tigris and Euphrates to navi
gation.
4. The survey of the coasts and rivers and the production
of navigation charts, sailing directions, etc.
At the end of the 19th century the British occupied a para
mount position at Baghdad and held practically a monopoly
of the navigation of the Tigris. Almost the whole of the trade
of these regions was in British hands. In 1910, 87 per cent,
of the trade of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. was still British.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, great
changes have come about—changes so great that our position
at Baghdad has been seriously challenged.
The main factors which have produced these changes have
been the building of the Baghdad Railway and the advent to
power of the Young Turkish Party.
In 1908 the Young Turkish Party rose to power and embark- Intrigues
<?d on a policy m the Baghdad region and in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Kuwait -