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File 978/1917 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration; occupation of Baghdad; the proclamation; Sir P Cox's position' [‎82r] (168/402)

The record is made up of 1 volume (195 folios). It was created in 6 May 1917-8 Oct 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. .

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No. U of 1917.
*
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
FOREIGN AND POLITICAL DEPARTMENT.
SECRET.
War.
To
The Right Honourable AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN,
His Majesty's Secretary of State for India,
Simla, the 25th May 1917.
Sir,
As promised in our telegram of the 27th of April 1917, we have now
the honour to address you further regarding the policy proposed by the
Committee of the War Cabinet for the future administration and political
control in Mesopotamia and Arabia.
2. The proposal that India should he relieved of the administration of
the occupied territories in Mesopotamia together with the whole Arabian
littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and also of Aden together with Hadramaut and,
we presume, other areas at present under the political control of Aden, has
our full concurrence. Not only shall we ourselves be glad, laden as we
are with vast responsibilities in India itself and on its frontiers, to be relieved
of this burden, but we readily recognise the advantages that will accrue from
the bringing of the Empire’s responsibilities in Arabia under one central
control. Nor have we any hesitation in endorsing the general policy outlined
by the Committee for adoption in the occupied territories. There are however
a number of considerations arising out of this policy to which we think it
right to call specific attention.
3. It seems doubtful whether it would in practice be wise to adhere rigidly
to the geographical dividing line between the two Vilayets laid down by
the Committee, and we offer the suggestion that the boundary eventually
decided upon should as far as possible be tribal and not merely geographical,
that it should, in other words, follow and not cut through the main tribal

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Content

This volume contains correspondence, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding negotiations and administration, largely 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. , Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Cox, and the Government of India, after the occupation of Baghdad (Fall of Baghdad) on 10 March 1917. The negotiations concern the administrative organisation and political control of Mesopotamia, as well as the external and internal boundaries of Iraq (also spelled Irak in the volume).

Related matters of discussion include the following: the text of the Baghdad proclamation; the future administration of the territory by the Foreign Office instead of the Government of India; the regulation of the new territory; the responsibilities of the Chief Political Officer in the new territory; the Turco-Persian frontiers. The correspondence in the volume is internal correspondence between British officials. The principal correspondents are as follows: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Cox; Lieutenant-General Sir Stanley Maude; the War Office; the Secretary of State for India; the Political Department, 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. ; the Under-Secretary of State for India; the Viceroy of India; the Government of India’s Foreign and Political Department; the Foreign Office; the Government of India.

In addition to this correspondence, the volume contains reports of the War Cabinet's Mesopotamia Administration Committee, as well as the following documents: memoranda on external frontiers and internal boundaries of Iraq (ff 17-18) (ff 20-25); a map of Arabia and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (f 28);

The file 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 front of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (195 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 5320 (Mesopotamia Negotiations) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/666-667. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 197; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 3-195; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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File 978/1917 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration; occupation of Baghdad; the proclamation; Sir P Cox's position' [‎82r] (168/402), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/666, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100075826204.0x0000a9> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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