Political (External) Collection 17: Iraq

This collection consists of files mainly relating to the administration of Iraq, relations between Iraq and the United Kingdom, and relations between Iraq and neighbouring states and other nations, during the period of the British Mandate (1921-1932), independence (1932-1941), and the subsequent military occupation by Britain (1941-1947). The records were accumulated by the India Office Political (External) Department (and the Commonwealth Relations Office following the abolition of the India Office in 1947), principally for information, and mainly consist of communications received from: British officials in Iraq (including the High Commissioner, then the Ambassador and Chargé d'Affaires), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and relevant departments within the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India. There are also numerous communications received from the Government of Iraq and from neighbouring countries, principally Persia [Iran], Kuwait, French-mandated Syria, and Turkey, as well as copy materials circulated by the League of Nations, and the Committee of Imperial Defence Standing Sub-Committee on Questions Concerning the Middle East. The files cover relationships with the following countries:. Yemen, including the negotiation of the Treaty of Friendship of 1931; Kuwait, including lawsuits concerning date gardens in Basra owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, the prevention of smuggling; Alleged Iraqi incursions into Kuwait, and the disputed frontier between Iraq and Kuwait; Turkey, including the division of the former Ottoman vilayets and the establishment of new borders; Persia, including the negotiation of treaties and negotiations regarding borders, especially along the Shatt el-Arab; Syria, specifically the Bon-Voisinage Agreement of 1937, and the Government of Iraq opening a Consulate in Aleppo; Saudi Arabia, mainly relating to the proposed demarcation of the frontier between Iraq and Saudi Arabia; The Soviet Union (USSR), specifically the establishment of diplomatic relations between Iraq and the USSR; The United States of America (USA), specifically the appointment of a new US Minister to Iraq; The files also cover relations between Iraq and the United Kingdom, and internal political and other issues, including:. The end of the British Mandate, and the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930; The series of cabinet crises and coup d'états in the 1930's; The Assyrian crisis in Iraq from 1933-1939, including League of Nations investigations into the resettlement of the Iraqi Assyrians; The ownership and management of the Iraqi Railways; The construction of a port in Um Qasr Creek; The 1941 Anglo-Iraq war, and the subsequent military occupation of Iraq from 1941-1947; The revised Treaty of Alliance between Iraq and the United Kingdom of 1948; Laws and budget estimates of the Government of Iraq; The Iraqi armed forces, primarily the introduction of conscription in Iraq under a system of National Service, and the intention of the Government of Iraq to form a small river fleet; The oil concessions and operations of the Iraq Petroleum Company and the British Oil Development Company in Iraq; Job vacancies under the Government of Iraq being filled by British subjects; The proposal of the Prime Minister of Iraq that Iraqi officials should be employed in British Consulates, for the purpose of training them in consular work until Iraqi Consulates could be established

The collections of the India Office Political (External) Department are arranged by file, and occasionally part number, for example the reference Coll 17/7(1) is composed of the collection reference 17 (Iraq), the file number 7 (Iraq and Palestine, transit agreements), and the part number 1.

Unrestricted