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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [100r] (203/380)
The record is made up of 1 file (187 folios). It was created in 1 Jul 1916-7 Dec 1918. 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.
7
policy, the following are suggested as the terms of a verbal assurance to he given to
King Husein:—
The policy of His Majesty’s Government in Central and Southern Arabia is directed
towards the establishment of freedom and independence of all ruling chiefs within their
own dominions. Furthermore, His Majesty’s Government would welcome the union of
all these independent States of Central and Southern Arabia in an Arab alliance, as
head of which they would welcome King Husein, with a suitable title to be decided
upon hereafter. His Majesty’s Government are prepared to use their influence to
secure the realisation of this policy in so far as is possible without the employment of
coercive measures against any friendly Arab chief. To use compulsion would be to
violate the established principles of self-determination of peoples which His Majesty’s
Government are resolved to uphold.
It is for King Husein to prove to all Arab chiefs concerned his fitness for the
position of head of an Arab alliance in Central and Southern Arabia.
As regards Syria and Mesopotamia, in which a purely military situation still
maintains, settlement must await the Peace Conference, at which the Allies will uphold
the principles of freedom and self-determination of peoples as the basis of settlement.
His Majesty’s Government must insist, as a condition of their continued support of
this policy, that King Husein, on his part, gives definite assurance that he will accept
and follow the advice of His Majesty’s Government on all matters of external policy and
in dealings with other independent Arab rulers and States.
G. F. CLAYTON, Brigadier-General, C,P.O.
Ramleh, September 8, 1918.
No. 3.
Sir R. Wingate to King Husein.
(Translation.)
Cordial greetings, September 15, 1918.
I WHITE to inform your Highness that your letter of the 28th August, 1918, has
arrived safely. It has been translated into English with all the care that the
importance and very confidential character of its subject matter required, and after
attentive perusal of it I am transmitting it to London for consideration by His Majesty’s
Government.
Pending receipt of their instructions and opinion, I cannot usefully say anything
beyond asking your Highness to believe that the happenings of the past few years have
only increased the appreciation and admiration of the Allied peoples for the noble cause
of which your Highness has been the chief promoter, and have fortified their desire to
see an era of peace, progress, and prosperity inaugurated in every part of the Arab
countries. I beg that your Highness will feel assured that it is in this spirit, and with
this single purpose in view, that His Majesty’s Government will examine and reply to
your Highness’s present communication.
Salutations.
REGINALD WINGATE,
High Commissioner.
No. 4.
Sir R. Wingate to Mr. Balfour.—(Received November 3.)
(No. 1600.)
(Telegraphic.) . Cairo, November 1. 1918.
YOUR telegram No. 1240.
I informed King Husein in accordance with your instructions. His Highness has
sent me two messages in reply.
First mainly acknowledges receipt of my communication, and states that
His Highness’s views have already been given in various papers, notably in his letter of
the 28th August (see enclosure with my despatch No. 219 of 21st September), to which
he invites His Majesty’s Government’s very [? careful] consideration. Tone of message
clearly shows his dislike of present arrangements in liberated territories.
About this item
- Content
This file contains correspondence, memoranda, maps, manuscript notes, and other papers relating to the political and territorial settlement of parts of the Middle East following the First World War. Many of the papers were collected for the attention of the Middle East Committee (later named the Eastern Committee, following the mergence of the Foreign Office's Russia Committee and the interdepartmental Persia Committee) of the War Cabinet. Contributors include officials from the War Office, Foreign Office, Admiralty, and 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. , as well as indivduals such as Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence. Correspondence comes from representatives of the French and Italian governments as well as British officials in Cairo and other parts of the Middle East.
The papers deal with plans for the region presuming and following an Allied victory in the First World War and take into consideration the imperial ambitions of the victorious European Powers (France, Italy, Russia, Britain, and the United States) and the multitudinous commitments made by the British to various groups. The plans are based on evolving agreements rooted in the Sykes-Picot, or Asia Minor, Agreement between the British and French of 1916. Regions under consideration include the Hejaz (sometimes written Hedjaz), Syria, Northern Iraq, Southern Iraq, Palestine, Armenia, Turkey, the Idrisi state, Yemen, Persia, and Afghanistan. Various matters are covered in the file, but particular focus is given to plans for the Sherifian family of the Hejaz, led by King Husein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī], which impacted upon policy in Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula. Other matters include the situation between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, wartime commitments to ruling shaikhs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the French position in the region, and desiderata of the Government of India for any peace settlement.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (187 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the front to the back.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front first page with 1, and terminates at the inside back last page with 187; 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 and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [100r] (203/380), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/277, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100079857499.0x000004> [accessed 7 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/277
- Title
- Papers on British policy and the Arab movement
- Pages
- 1ar:1av, 1r:14r, 14r:14v, 14v, 22r:59v, 62r:98r, 99v:120v, 125r:133v, 136r:165r, 166r:167r, 167av, 168r:173r, 175r:176v, 178r:187v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence