England's eastern policy and Baghdad Consulate General (1875-1879)

From the early ages, India was the main source of the most important products of east-west trade such as thousands of spices, perfumes, medicinal plants and dyes, textiles, shawls, especially silk and silk weavings, furs and leather varieties. In addition to all these, India was a raw material warehouse in terms of underground and surface resources and also the leading open market of the east in terms of its human population. All the material assets of this great country were turned into British colonies by the East India Company in the middle of the 18th century. From this point on, the main issue for British politics has been the preservation of this colony at all costs. The security and protection of sea, land and river routes, all passages and straits reaching this colony have been the main philosophy and focus of British foreign policy. In this sense, Baghdad and the Basra region have become one of the strategic geographies on which British foreign policy focuses on sensitively, since they are one of the shortest ways to reach India. This is the reason why the duty priority of the general consulate established here is "political". The commercialpolitical activities carried out by the British Consulate in Baghdad, especially on the eve of the days when Britain gave up the policy of Ottoman territorial integrity, give important clues to understanding the regional policy of England. The Consulate is both the main information source and intelligence base of the British Foreign Office in the region and a center that directs the regional policies of the British foreign ministry. For this reason, it is thought that our study will make important contributions to the political history approach in understanding the commercial, political and military strategy of the British foreign policy towards the Baghdad-Basra region as of the last quarter of the 19th century. Keywords : Baghdad, Basrah, Consul, Consulate, British Consulates, Baghdad Consulate General, Ottoman-British.