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Coll 6/81 'Syria: Status of Alexandretta and Antioch.' [‎40r] (80/576)

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The record is made up of 1 file (286 folios). It was created in 17 Sep 1936-31 Aug 1939. 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. .

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[This Docament is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Go$er
be
returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use."] ' J ’
A
FILE 0O«<
J
507
1938 J
i r
P 4067/29/89) 0
Cypher telegram to Sir M* Peterson (Bagdad)*
Foreign Off ice^ IFth Joly ^ 1958o
No 0 15. (Saving) .
tl u n,? n it tt st ti it i? it tt .t «t tt ;t n it it u it it ft tt ii tt .t tt n tt.. tt
Your telegram No. 55 Saving [of July 5th; Alexandretta],
1 have not yet studied text of France-Turkish Agreement, but,
from summaries which have appeared in the press, I am quite pre
pared to believe that it does not represent an ideal settlement of
the Alexandretta problem, I will bear in mind views expressed to
you by Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs. His Excellency will,
however, appreciate that the two parties directly concerned, viz.
Turkey on the one hand, and France representing the Syrian Arabs
on the other, are now in agreement, and it would in practice be very
difficult for His Majesty's Government, who are less directly con
cerned, to intervene with a proposal for some completely new solu
tion. In principle, His Majesty* sG-overnment have welcomed the
fact that Turkey and France, with both of whom, as with Iraq, they
are on terms of special friendship, have been able to reach an
agreed settlement of the disputeo They would be very reluctant to
take any step which migh'c lead to a revival of the differences
between Turkey and France.
2. In any case, it is not certain that an ideal solution of
the Alexandretta problem is now practicable. Iraqi Minister for
Foreign Affairs advocates partition of the Sanjak, and suggests
that His Majesty’s Government should intervene at Angora with a
view to persuade the Turks to give up their demand for Antioch in
return for acquisition of Alexandretta. There is, I consider, no
chance of persuading Turks to be more amenable on this point.
Turkish... c =

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This file documents the British response to developments regarding the status of the Sanjak [administrative district, referred to in Arabic as Liwa] of Alexandretta, including the cities of Alexandretta [İskenderun, Turkey] and Antioch [Antakya, Turkey].

The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Ambassador, Istanbul (Sir Percy Loraine, succeeded by Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen); His Majesty's Ambassador, Bagdad [Baghdad] (Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, succeeded by Sir Maurice Drummond Peterson); His Majesty's Ambassador, Paris (Sir George Russell Clerk, succeeded by Sir Eric Phipps); the British Consul, Aleppo (Archibald William Davis); the British Consul, Damascus (Gilbert MacKereth); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden); officials of the Foreign Office.

The correspondence includes discussion of the following:

  • The demography of the Sanjak of Alexandretta.
  • Turkey's claim for the Sanjak to be given autonomy.
  • The progression of Franco-Turkish negotiations, brokered by the League of Nations and resulting in the Sanjak's new autonomous status (in its internal affairs only), as granted in a League of Nations statute, concluded in January 1937 and brought into force on 29 November 1937.
  • Reports of both Arab and Turkish demonstrations in Alexandretta and Antioch during January 1937 (as well as Arab demonstrations in Aleppo).
  • Pressure from Syria and Iraq for the Sanjak to be partitioned between Syria and Turkey.
  • The reported registration of non-Turkish electors in the Sanjak as Turks.
  • Reported divisions in the Syrian Nationalist Government.
  • The conclusion of a treaty of friendship between France and Turkey in July 1938.
  • The announcement in September 1938 that the Sanjak of Alexandretta will in future be known as the Republic of Hatay, with Antioch as its capital.
  • The Franco-Turkish agreement regarding the change of status of Hatay to that of a Turkish province, concluded in June 1939.

The French language material in the file consists of several items of correspondence, plus copies of the aforementioned Franco-Turkish agreement (dated 23 June 1939) and the Turco-French treaty (dated 4 July 1938).

The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-3).

Extent and format
1 file (286 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 287; 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
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Coll 6/81 'Syria: Status of Alexandretta and Antioch.' [‎40r] (80/576), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2154, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049233824.0x000053> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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