John Fisher - Curzon and British Imperialism in the Middle East, 1916-1919

191619

JOHN FISHER

First published in 1999 in Great Britain by
FRANK CASS PUBLISHERS
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon,
Oxon, OX14 4RN

and in the United States of America by
FRANK CASS PUBLISHERS
270 Madison Ave,
New York NY 10016

Transferred to Digital Printing 2005

Website http://www.frankcass.com

Copyright 1999 J. Fisher

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Fisher, John

Curzon and British imperialism in the Middle East, 191619

1. Curzon, George Nathaniel Curzon, Marquess, 18591925

2. Great Britain Foreign relations Middle East

19101936 3. Middle East Foreign relations Great Britain

4. Great Britain Territorial expansion History 20th century

I. Tide

325. 341095609041

ISBN 0-7146-4875-2 (cloth)
ISBN 0-7146-4429-3 (paper)

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Fisher, john, 1968

Curzon and British imperialism in the Middle East, 191619 / John Fisher.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 0-7146-4875-2 (cloth). ISBN 0-7146-4429-3 (paper)

1. Middle East Foreign relations Great Britain. 2. Great
Britain Foreign relations Middle East. 3. Curzon, George
Nathaniel Curzon, Marquis of, 18591925. 4. Great Britain Foreign
relations 19011936. I. Title.

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(Photograph 1, from the Imperial War Museum, A.T. Wilson Papers; 2, reproduced by kind permission of the Oriental and India Office Collections of the British Library; 3 to 8, reproduced by kind permission of the Illustrated London News.) While efforts have been made to obtain permissions from all copyright holders, we apologise for any omissions; these can be rectified in later editions.

For permission to quote from material in their care or possession, I am grateful to the following: The Trustees of the National Maritime Museum for the Norris Papers; Dr Caroline Barron for the Hogarth Papers at St Antonys College, Oxford; The Syndics of Cambridge University Library for the Crewe and Hardinge Papers; The Warden and Fellows of New College, Oxford, for the Milner Papers; Professor John Charmley for the George Lloyd Papers; The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Esher for the Esher Papers and Diaries; The Master and Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge, for the Hankey Papers and Diaries; Mrs Bridget Grant and The Somerset Record Office for the Diaries and Papers of Aubrey Herbert; The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum for the Sir Arnold Wilson Papers and Sir Henry Wilson Diaries and Papers; The Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge, for the Storrs Diaries and Papers; Sir Tatton Sykes for the Papers of Sir Mark Sykes; The London Library for papers of Sir Arnold Wilson; The Keeper of the Records of Scotland for the Lothian Papers; The Earl of Balfour for the Balfour Papers deposited at the Scottish Record Office; The British Library for the Balfour Papers and for the Bertie of Thame Papers; Professor A. K. S. Lambton for the Cecil of Chelwood Diaries and Papers; The Bodleian Library, Oxford, for the Asquith Papers; The Private Papers Collection, The Middle East Centre, St Antonys College, for the Hubert Young Papers; Crown copyright material in the Public Record Office is reproduced by permission of the Controller of Her Majestys Stationery Office; quotations from Crown copyright material in Oriental and India Office Collections of the British Library appear by permission of the Controller of Her Majestys Stationery Office. Every attempt has been made to contact the holders of copyright but if infringement has been made my apologies are due to the individuals or institutions concerned.

This book began as a doctoral thesis submitted to the University of Leeds. I am most grateful to my former supervisor, Dr Keith Wilson, and also to him and to Sally Wheeler for their hospitality on my visits to Leeds. Dr David Gillard and Professor Erik Goldstein kindly read the manuscript and made valuable suggestions, as did Professor Michael Dockrill and Dr Hugh Cecil at an earlier stage. The lectures of Dr Gillard and of Professor Keith Robbins on various aspects of International History at Glasgow University were inspiring and encouraged me to undertake research in this area. For support of various kinds I am most grateful to Michelle Tiernan, Jon Loken, John Edwards, to the Public Record Office, and to my family; and it is to my parents that I dedicate this book.

The outstanding account of this period remains Professor Elie Kedouries masterful book on England and the Middle East. I would not dissent from his main thesis, namely the tendency towards disingenuous behaviour among prominent officials and politicians in framing and executing British policy in the Middle East. Indeed, it is one of the underlying themes of this work also.

My preliminary research on British policies in the Middle East in the first years of World War I suggested that many civil servants, politicians and senior military figures aspired to expand British interests in the region. Their motives were several and their methods equally diverse. draws these ideas together in the context of the ailing Dardanelles Expedition and amid speculations about the likely reactions to British expansion in Russia and France.