BRITISH MISSIONS AROUND the GULF, 1575–2005 IRAN, IRAQ, KUWAIT, OMAN by Hugh Arbuthnott, Terence Clark and Richard Muir

2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page i 2 3 BRITISH MISSIONS AROUND 4 5 THE GULF, 1575–2005 6 IRAN, IRAQ, KUWAIT, OMAN 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 2 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 3 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 4 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 5 5 5 2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page ii 2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page iii 2 3 British Missions Around the 4 5 Gulf, 1575–2005 6 8 9 IRAN, IRAQ, KUWAIT, OMAN 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 by 2 2 3 Hugh Arbuthnott, Terence Clark 4 & 5 Richard Muir 6 8 9 3 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 4 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 5 5 5 2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page iv BRITISH MISSIONS AROUND THE GULF, 1575–2005 IRAN, IRAQ, KUWAIT, OMAN by Hugh Arbuthnott, Terence Clark and Richard Muir First published 2008 by GLOBAL ORIENTAL LTD PO Box 219 Folkestone Kent CT20 2WP UK www.globaloriental.co.uk © 2008 Hugh Arbuthnott, Terence Clark, Richard Muir ISBN 978-1-905246-58-8 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library Set in Garamond 10.5 on 12pt by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd R Printed and bound in England by Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham, Wilts 2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page v 2 3 4 5 6 Contents 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 Introduction by J. E. Hoare vii Acknowledgements xi 8 Disclaimer xiii 9 Maps xv-xviii 2 List of illustrations xix 2 3 Part One: IRAN 4 5 by Hugh Arbuthnott 6 Chapter 1 The Embassy 3 8 1. Persia under the Qajars 3 9 2. Iran under the Pahlavis 27 3 Chapter 2 The Consulates 54 2 3 4 Part Two: IRAQ 5 by Terence Clark 6 Chapter 3 Iraq 81 8 1. The Beginning: first in Basra and then in Baghdad 1635–1800 81 9 2. Early Diplomatic Relations with Turkish Arabia 1800–1914 89 4 3. Major changes in Baghdad and Basra 1900–32 114 4. A new relationship and the end of an era 1932–58 137 2 5. Epilogue – 1958–2006 157 3 4 5 Part Three: KUWAIT 6 by Richard Muir 8 9 Chapter 4 Kuwait 169 5 1. 1904: The first agency 169 5 2. Curzon, Mubarak, the 1899 bond and its consequences 172 5 2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page vi vi CONTENTS 3. Aftermath of the First World War 188 4. Dickson, the Ikwhan and oil 193 5. The Second World War 205 6. The impact of Suez 209 7. Iraq invades: the embassy under siege 216 8. Conclusions 220 Part Four: OMAN by Terence Clark Chapter 5 Oman 229 1. British representation in Muscat 1645–2005 229 2. The embassy site in Old Muscat 241 3. Moving with the times – a fresh start outside Old Muscat 248 Annex: Contents of the time capsule buried on 10 May 1994 in the entrance to the new British embassy, Muscat 251 Heads of Mission in the Gulf Posts 254 Bibliography 261 Name Index 271 Place Index 278 R 2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page vii 2 3 4 5 6 Introduction 8 9 J. E. Hoare 2 3 4 5 6 mong the books cited in the following pages is Elizabeth Monroe, Britain’s 8 AMoment in the Middle East.1 In that study, the author confines herself to the 9 years 1914–71, thus implying that the ‘moment’ was a relatively short one. But 2 as the present book shows, the British – at first, the English – have been involved in the Middle East since before there was a British Empire, and indeed, before the 2 first English settlers established themselves in North America. If moment it was, 3 it was by no means a fleeting one. And even today, when Britain’s international 4 role is much reduced from the heady days of the Empire, the Middle East and its 5 many countries and traditions are seen as a vital concern. The ‘Camel Corps’, the 6 somewhat disparaging term used to describe those who have studied Arabic and who have worked in the region, still counts as do those who know Iran and its 8 very different traditions.2 9 Trade first brought the English to the region, and trade still remains at the 3 heart of present-day contacts. Readers will find, as with studies of areas further east, the East India Company3 (EIC) – ‘John Company’ or just ‘the company’ as 2 the years went by – was heavily involved in developing trade with the Middle 3 East from its founding in 1600 until the late eighteenth century, and indeed, had 4 some lingering trade concerns until its final disappearance in the wake of the 5 Indian Mutiny in 1857. The EIC and its several international counterparts were 6 the global operators of their day, and like such operators, they played a political as well as an economic role. As the years passed, the EIC in the Gulf region began 8 to assume a political role far beyond the original trading remit. By the eigh- 9 teenth century, the strategic dimension of the EIC’s role overshadowed its com- 4 mercial role, as the defence of India and the routes to India became increasingly important. In due course, this strategic interest led to the establishment of 2 a number of political outposts in the region, which are the origins of today’s 3 embassy and consular posts. Those sent to man these posts came from the 4 EIC’s Indian establishment until the Mutiny, and then were often drawn from 5 the ranks of the Indian civil service. However, even if appointed from the Indian 6 service, these officers were expected to fulfil a wider duty to imperial interests, a dual role that could sometimes cause tension and confusion about policy, and 8 at a more local and practical level, conflict over which government would 9 pay for what. Governors general and later viceroys in India and officials in 5 London often had very different ideas of what should take priority. No doubt 5 5 2406_Prelims.qxd 5/20/08 5:00 AM Page viii viii INTRODUCTION this tension could sometimes be creative, but it could also be awkward for those on the spot. And before the telegraph speeded everything up, orders would be slow in coming, though this could have its advantages as well. Until well into the nineteenth century, the Middle East was important main- ly because of India, and the Great Game was played out in the region just as it was in the high Himalayas. EIC and later Government of India concerns about foreign threats to India led to determined efforts to combat French and Russian designs on India. There were also concerns about the Ottoman Empire, still a force in the region. Later, there would be German intrigues to combat during both the First and Second World Wars, and then renewed worries about Russian/Soviet policies in the region. The names of those such as Percy Sykes, Percy Cox, and Gertrude Bell crop up regularly in this account, all associated with those heady days, while Lord Curzon, to many the personification of the Great Game, appears and disappears from the scene like some mighty uncontrolled force. But this is not only a book about high politics. The people who feature in these pages were as fascinating and diverse as any other group of empire- builders. Many characters will be found here – some keeping troops of monkeys, others engaged in scholarship and not a few suffering from delusions of grandeur. There is much human drama. Political officers and later consuls and ambassadors had their homes burnt around them. Spouses suffered too, caught up in revolutions and riots.4 Remoteness and small communities produced ten- sions which could lead to bitter quarrels and sometimes murder. Then there are the buildings and their history. As always, ‘the diplomatic estate’ is a term that covers a wide variety of premises. Some officials lived in sumptuous palaces, close to the local centres of power. Fine carriages, sedan chairs, and later Rolls Royces, or in some cases, richly caparisoned boats, took them about their busi- ness. Even if sometimes, the grandeur was more illusion than reality – the boats in particular seem to have been quite dangerous – in such circumstances, it is not surprising that in a few cases, delusions set in. At least one ambassador seems to have taken his role as the monarch’s representative rather too much to heart. Others lived in far humbler surroundings, in places that offered little in the way of comforts or amenities. As elsewhere, visitors noted the tendency to reproduce houses and a style of living that appeared to belong more in the Home Counties than in the Middle East. But the gardens were usually much admired and much appreciated by weary travellers. The authors, all former senior British represen- tatives at various posts in the Middle East, bring alive the lives and work of their predecessors, and their way of life.

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