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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [271r] (557/687)
The record is made up of 1 volume (326 folios). It was created in 23 Oct 1918-2 Nov 1919. It was written in English, French and Arabic. 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.
a
SiX P. J
i-jiS
1^
play this role. I have always ventured fo dt- loiv 'd th f S,lerif of M«cea to
iutm-e of Iraq with the Sherif. as one of the ivirns in tf Ct dlsc ' ,lss '™ of the
ever permitted. I have also expressed my vieus ,'h nlv Im’tl 8 ' '"r 0118 ,'''’* 1 ' him ’ ™ s
objections to recognising him as Kiimof Vriii ' r J’ 1 d| o Po'dica! and practical
federate States. Tn my opinion a n ofe ii K, a " d , Soverel g n oJ ' a group of Con
tain King.of 1 lejaz, and de ’iied have"]! sohlfl011 that he should
I’owers while the foreign relations'of die Kao ^ f 018 ^
Aral) I otentates or States, sliould lie in onr h-inrl^ t/ li a ^i 0 r ler C01lf ederate
State a title mielit bo deviser! ; T- ^o r the-Arab Ruler of the Iraq
Hakim (Ruler), and all the Confederate 0 *!rulers \ U 1 ess Sidtan or
deference to King Hussein as Sherif of the Holy Pikes ddhe "nob pa L a PP ro .P riate
essential m view of their commitments to the Sherif His Vaiesh-’s C f '' on f d ? l 'f 1
even decide to guarantee the payment to him of an m, ual s fb 1 ^ 0vwnw f en ‘ ro *« b ‘
the revenues of Iraq,-as recognition of his sen iik “Unt ^Card ° nn Z'' 0111
dunug the war; or, as a religious contribution towards of 6 dTe Holy
II.
Observations on the more Detailed Issues.
romvHnul the Jccslmj m^Z^tfoTin^TeZr^TaZiwhflna^ % 'f l
A mg Hussein or his family carry with the local Arabs ? 9 dnr *
In my opinion, we have in the Naqib of Baohdad and his r., lll a,., • ,
which would carry the necessarv moral sanction in (he P ol i u-i ,,ynast ' C eIe,nellt
and, in my opinion, in Iraq ns a whole! I bkeve ^v
themselves with British interests The nresenl ir J10,1§ 11 to ld entily
prestige and influence not only in 2 ,t mT” “ V6ly ***“
India, and I feel sure his selection as Head of the StatC 8 i ’fi ^ ollam ™ edans of
appropriate solution, and he recH^ R , P- ! "'i ‘ ^ « ««
Mesopotamia. The Naqib con^himSf' up io Crpurh/'k 3 / 8 "? U “?
:? t tefc 1 ^
misnnderstood and resented by the Xaoib Tnd V-- f ’-i 1 ^ ]1! 'd 0 k JH10I b Ce greatly
onr most potent element of influence over, the Arabs of" r-uk' kifklk 1 " 1 ' 0
& It ^ ' Jmlant inferek ^
our military or ^
consideration that the inhabitants had not hecn at all mover hkl ; > d<1,berat ®
would, in our opinion, regard his failure with complete h,difference. ’ md
of a^uZuIZZtr^ f0r SeU,n0 UP a L ° Cal ^"rtaion or Ac,ministrations
There is adequate Arab or local material available or in the rnakino- r,„. H,,. ,
ordinate services of the administration. The difficulty we are con from, rl (yi ' Sub "
ami must be for some time to come, is to find individuals suitable for highei poskfnThe
administration, e.q., Mutessanfs, Qaimaqams, such as would be filled in th, T 1 f
Tkrkok- 01 C^ ga k tt d 0 tTU D T” fyC o“-i-io«ers,As4;akcZmL^
T , V 18 t iat ' aldel tdle } lll ' k ' s 1 fegime almost all these posts were filled bv mire
Imrlis ; these have been eliminated, and there is at present no one to fill thei • pLe
Wherever we have tried ex-officers of the late Administration they l.ave ahnost'
invariably proved unsatisfactory ; they are in fact saturated with the evil traditions of
t o ugime m .vlnch they have been brought up and trained. Until we can create
this element, enlisting as far as we are able the assistance of the Egyptian ami
Soudan Administrations, we must rely mainly on young British office,s ' J
rnen ion here hat whereas I have done my utmost to employ experimentally anv
inhabitants of the country at all likely to be suitable, this laudable ekleavour finds no
favour with the loca mhabiiants concerned. I am continually appealed to by Lk
not to place the conduct of their affairs in the hands of ex-officials of the late rea nt
A 2
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding the administration of, and situation in, Mesopotamia [Iraq] following the Asia Minor Agreement of 1916, more commonly known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, between the French and British governments, and the Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918. The volume also concerns the subject of self-determination in Persia [Iran].
The papers notably cover:
- Discussion of advance interpretations of the 1916 Agreement
- The Anglo-French Declaration of November 1918, which publicised their intentions and policy in the former Ottoman territories of Syria and Iraq
- Presentation of the 1918 Declaration to the President of the United States of America by the French Ambassador to the US, Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand
- Disagreement between the British and French visions of the future administration of Mesopotamia
- The situation in southern Kurdistan
- The 1919 Paris Peace Conference
- Apprehensions of the Baghdad Jewish community about the tenor of the Anglo-French Declaration, including a petition to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, requesting to be made subjects of the British Crown
- Reaction to the Declaration from the across the Arab world
- Disagreement among the British over the form that Britain’s control in Mesopotamia should take
- The views of the principal sheikhs [shaikhs] of Mesopotamia on the 1918 Agreement
- Discussion among British officials of the benefits of control over Mesopotamia and the view of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, Arnold Talbot Wilson, on the situation in Mesopotamia
- Discussion of the potential candidates for the head of the new state of Iraq
- Reports on consultations with political and religious leaders and inhabitants from across Iraq on the future Government of Iraq
- The views of Sir Percy Cox and Arnold Wilson on the situation in Mesopotamia
- The question of the future political status of Mesopotamia, including the views of British officers serving in Syria and the Hejaz
- Discussion of the question of Iraqi self-determination.
Notable documents in this volume include:
- Text by Sir Percy Cox regarding ‘The Future of Mesopotamia’ (ff 308-310 and ff 270-272)
- Extracts from The Times , 26 November 1819, including a series of articles under the title ‘The Arab Campaign’ (ff 230-232)
- The statutes for the independence of Iraq (ff 127-130)
- A memorandum by Major W H Young regarding the future of Mesopotamia (ff 99-112)
- Copies of ‘Self-determination in Iraq’ in Arabic (ff 75-97) and English (ff 57-73).
The principal correspondents are: 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. , Political Department; the Governor-General of India; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Military Governor and Political Officer, Baghdad; Government of India, Military Department, the French Ambassador to the United States; and the British Embassy, Paris.
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 (326 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the volume are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 4722 (Mesopotamia) consists of ten volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/755-764. The volumes are divided into twelve parts, with parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 comprising one volume each. Part 10 is missing. Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’, was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 334; 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. Multiple intermittent additional mixed foliation/pagination sequences are also present. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. The sequence contains two anomalies: f 181a and f 181b.
- Written in
- English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation' [271r] (557/687), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/755, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100188328445.0x0000a8> [accessed 8 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/755
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 1 'Mesopotamia: administration of policy and situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:127v, 128ar, 128r:175v, 176ar, 176r:181v, 181ar:181av, 181cr, 181br:181bv, 182r:182v, 186r:229v, 232v:325v, 327r:334v, 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