British policy on Iraq (1798-1876)

This study sheds light on the political activities carried out by the British Empire in the Iraqi region over the period 1798-1876, through an exhaustive analysis on the archive documents obtained from various archive offices, mainly from the Ottoman Archives of the Turkish Prime Minister's Office and also from the British National Archives. In that period, Iraq was a key region in the Ottoman State mainly due to its geopolitical and geostrategic importance and also in terms of its religious, social, and cultural features. In addition to these key features, the cohabitation of different ethnic groups and celestial religions in Iraq was another factor that added to its importance. For these reasons, the Ottoman State, in an attempt to protect Iraq and neutralize the foreign interventions, carried out various political acts both by itself and through the agents recruited in Istanbul and Iraq. However, the revolts triggered by the French Revolution, which broke out in 1789 and was quickly disseminated to the whole world, influenced the Ottoman State as well. Because the revolts were uncontrollable and some of them simultaneously broke out in several locations, the Ottoman State was significantly weakened throughout the 19th century. Amidst these adverse events, Iraq was virtually left to its fate. The country turned to a region of conflict of interest where the British Empire was aspiring to control the Indian Trade Route and to dominate the alternative routes stretching from that region to India, where the Russians were intending to keep the British Empire away from that region and to outreach to Istanbul, where the French desired to recapture its former colony, India, from the British Empire and to deal a big blow to the British Empire, and where the Persians aimed to recapture the second holiest cities for the Shiites after Mecca and Medina, such as Karbala and Najaf, and to remove the Ottoman State and other states from the region by seizing full control of the Basra Region. This predicament of the Ottoman State not only barred the State to preserve its interests in Iraq due to the battles occurring between the states above mentioned both in Iraq and other territories but also prevented the State to neutralize the destructive events looming around its territory. The British Empire acquired political, religious, cultural, and economic gains in Iraq parallel to those it did in other locations around the world. With these achievements, it became impossible to break down the British force in Iraq and this force became gradually stronger. The region was invaded by the British Empire during the World War I and became a British Mandate. The monarchic state was founded in 1921 and thus it replaced the mandate regime. Nevertheless, the British Control over Iraq persisted despite the regime change. The Iraqi State was established in 1958 and Abdülkerim Kasım became the first Prime Minister of the State. From that date on, although Iraq has officially been recognized as an independent state, it is wise to assert that the British Rule over Iraq has never been abolished. Key Words: Iraq, The British Empire, England, Indian Trade Route, Persian Gulf