File 3579/1916 'Turkey: the future of Constantinople' [35r] (78/530)
The record is made up of 1 volume (259 folios). It was created in 5 Sep 1916-27 Mar 1919. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
[This Doctjffient is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
4
Printed for the War Cabinet. January 1919.
C ONFIDENTIAL.
P.-85.
THE FUTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
56
Memorandum by Lord Curzon.
THE Eastern Committee having discussed at some length the future of
Constantinople, Mr. Balfour asked me to place on record the arguments that had been
used for or against the various solutions. . . r i
Upon one point all were agreed, viz., that the Straits should be internationalised,
that there should be a free passage for all merchant ships and men-of-war through the
Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora, and the Bosphorus ; that the forts which command
ail or any of these waters should be either dismantled or razed to the ground and that
under whatever control Constantinople were left or placed, guarantees should be
provided that the above conditions were not either evaded or infringed Similar
strategic considerations would probably demand the prohibition either o a unne
beneath or of bridges over the Straits.
The following larger questions then emerged:
(I.) Whether the Turk should or should not be allowed to remain as a governing
* Power in Europe. , , -p
(II.) Whether, in the event of his being expelled, any, and if so what, Cower
should be invited to take his place; or ^ _ ,
(III.) Whether an international body, or Commission, should be set at
Constantinople to supervise the execution of the suggested _ conditions,
and if so, whether this would be compatible with the retention m any lorm
of the Turk, or whether it would necessitate his expulsion.
I.
It was pointed out that the expulsion of the Turk from Constantinople was
one of the avowed objects of the war. Great Britain and France agreed m l 915
to hand it over—together with the Straits and a considerable stnp^ of land on bo
European and Asiatic shores-to Russia, as the prize o victory m tp conflict At a
later date, in the Statement of the War Aims of the A1 hes, promulgated m reply to
President Wilson in January 1917, the ejection ot the Turk from Europe was explicitly
included, la^ ^ President Wilson pointed to a similar conclusion. Neither the
Turk nor anyone else could therefore have any ground for surprise if the rea
were now carried out. It has been made known both to him and to the entire
The arguments that were used in favour of its fulfilment were the following. For
nearly five centuries the presence of the Turk in Europe has been a source of distraction
intrigue, and corruption in European politics, of oppression, and “ Isrule . t0 .p 6
nationalities, and an incentive to undue and overweening ambitions in the Moslem
world. It has encouraged the Turk to regard himself as a Great Power, and
enabled him to impose upon others the same illusion. It has placed him m a position
to play off one Power against another, and in their jealousies and his own machinations
to find pretexts for his continued immunity. It has been an inexpugna ile barrier o
the solution of the Balkan problem or the full emancipation of the Balkan peoples.
It has been an equal obstacle to the proper or good government of his own peop 1 ^.
whose resources have been squandered in the polluted coulisses of C onstantinople or
in the expenditure required for the upkeep of military and naval forces dispropoiDonate
to the real strength or requirements of the Turkish nation. „ , ,
An opportunity of cutting out and getting rid for ever o: this plague spot
such as has not arisen for centuries, has now presented itself. It may not recu
for generations. The world is looking for great solutions. Let not this occasion it was
argued, be missed of purging the earth of one of its most pestilent 100 s o evi .
[7511
About this item
- Content
The volume contains papers regarding the future of Constantinople [Instanbul]. It includes: 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. minute papers; copies of correspondence between the Foreign Office and Sir George Buchanan, HM Ambassador at Petrograd [St Petersburg], and other British diplomats; draft telegrams from the Secretary of State for India addressed to the Viceroy of India; correspondence between 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 the Foreign Office; and other papers. Some of the correspondence is in French.
Issues discussed in the papers include: whether the Constantinople Agreement, concluded between the British, French and Russian governments in March 1915 (under the terms of which Constantinople and the Straits of the Dardanelles would be annexed to the Russian Empire), should be made public; the possible effect upon Muslims in India of the announcement of the agreement; and the question of the re-conversion of the St Sophia [Hagia Sophia] mosque in Constantinople into a Christian church.
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (259 folios)
- Arrangement
The subject 3579 (Turkey: the future of Constantinople) consists of one volume, IOR/L/PS/10/623.
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 259; 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. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves have not been foliated.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/623
- Title
- File 3579/1916 'Turkey: the future of Constantinople'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:4v, 5v:9v, 10v:25v, 26v:30v, 32r:115r, 116v:137v, 139r:140v, 142r:147v, 150r:196v, 198r:222v, 226r:234r, 235r:257v, 259r:259v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence