Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969

Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969

 

“Anyone working on the Modern Middle East will find the Confidential Print: Middle East collection extraordinarily useful. This collection is an absolutely invaluable resource for both researchers and teachers because of the range of documents available and the ease with which one can access them. The database is straightforward, simple to use, and is readily searchable. Anyone accustomed to popular databases such as JSTOR will find the Confidential Print: Middle East collection immediately familiar. One can bring up an original document on one’s own computer and/or download a PDF facsimile. The database also provides all the documentary information needed by researchers in an easy-to-use format.”

Professor Michael Gasper, Yale University

Editorial board:

Ahmed Abu-Zayed (Qatar Foundation)
Houchang Chehabi (Boston University)
Peter Catterall (Queen Mary College, University of London)
Niall Ferguson (Harvard University)

Michael Gasper (Occidental College)
Greg Grandin (NYU)
Abi Husainy (The National Archives, Kew)
Howard Malchow (Tufts University)

Jeremy Martens (University of Western Australia)
Bill Noblett (Cambridge University Library)
Christian Ostermann (Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington DC)

An essay introducing Confidential Print: Middle East, complete with links to, and discussion of, key documents and events, is being provided by Ahmed Abu-Zayed.

Source Library:

The National Archives, Kew

Nature of the Material:

We include the following classes from The National Archives, Kew, in their entirety:

CO 935/1-25 Middle East General, 1920-1956
FO 402/1-33 Afghanistan, 1922-1957
FO 406/1-84 Eastern Affairs (Middle East), 1812-1946
FO 407/1-237 Egypt/Sudan, 1839-1958
FO 416/1-113 Persia, 1899-1957
FO 423/1-70 Suez Canal, 1859-1947
FO 424/1-297 Turkey, 1841-1957
FO 437/1-9 Jordan, 1949-1957
FO 464/1-12 Arabia, 1947-1957
FO 481/1-17 Iraq, 1947-1969
FO 484/1-11 Lebanon, 1947-1957
FO 487/1-11 Middle East General, 1947-1957
FO 492/1-11 Israel/Palestine, 1947-1957
FO 501/1-10 Syria, 1947-1956

Material type:

• Reports
• Dispatches
• Correspondence
• Descriptions of leading personalities
• Political summaries
• Economic analyses

Scope of the Collection:

With full text search and top level meta-data, this collection covers complete volumes of all Colonial Office and Foreign Office Confidential Print for the Middle East as listed above.

CO 935/1-25 Middle East General covers the years 1920 to 1956 and is focused on the countries of the Arabian peninsula. Topics include the contemporary political situation in the British mandate of Palestine, the finances of Palestine and Transjordan, relations between the British colony of Aden and its associated Protectorate, as well as foreign concessions in Bahrain and Kuwait.

FO 402/1-33 Afghanistan covers the period from 1922 to 1957. Topics include the arms trade, relations with the government of British India, King Amanulla’s foreign visits of 1928, the rebellion of 1929, the short-lived emirate of Habibullah Kalikani, the succession of King Mohammed Nadir Shah and the evacuation of the British legation in Kabul, Nadir Shah’s assassination in 1933, relations with the Soviet Union and Germany, the Afghan air force and competing British and Italian aspirations to influence it.

During 1941 Britain was concerned about the Afghan’s Government interpretation of neutrality, the lavish send offs given to German and Italian officials and agents, influence from the Soviet Union in the region, and continued uncertainty about the outcome of the war in the Middle East.

“I spoke to the Soviet Ambassador, when he came to see me this afternoon, about Afghanistan and explained the difference in the position we had to deal with there from that which had previously existed in Persia. After consultation with the Government of India, we had come to the conclusion that the best line of action to start with would be for us to make representations to the Afghan Government for the removal of all non-official German and Italian subjects. Sir F Wylie would be instructed to keep in touch with his Soviet colleague, but in the first instance we thought it might be wiser for us to make the representations alone. The Ambassador said he would report what I had said to his Government and give me a reply urgently.”
(Anthony Eden to Sir Stafford Cripps in Moscow, Foreign Office, London, 23 September 1941, FO 402/22.)

Relations with the governments of independent India and Pakistan after 1947, particularly in respect of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, the Durand Line (the Afghan-Pakistani border), the Anglo-Afghan treaties of 1919 and 1921, which remained in force, are also a strong feature of this material. Frontier disputes with Iran, disagreements about the waters of the Helmand River, relations with the United Nations and with Arab states, communism in Afghanistan and developing relations with the Soviet Union are well covered. The documents suggest that educational improvements led to a decreased feeling of isolation and a growing interest in world affairs, at least amongst some of the population.

FO 406/1-84 Eastern Affairs comprises further volumes on Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq (including the Baghdad Railway and international disputes concerning the completion of the line from Constantinople to Basra 1903-1911), Lebanon, the Levant, Turkey, Persia and Afghanistan, 1812-1946. Around 50% of the volumes focus on the 1920s or 1930s. Many of the earlier documents reflect increasing tensions in the region and amongst the Great Powers in the decade leading up to the First World War.

FO 407/1-237 Egypt and Sudan

Spanning the decline of Turkish power and its replacement by a British power base, the volumes on Egypt cover the period 1839 to 1958. Later material encompasses the rapid decline and end of British influence in the 1950s. There is a subsidiary focus on Sudan. Early topics addressed include Muhammad Ali’s declaration of effective independence in 1839, which reduced the Ottoman sultan’s rule in Egypt to a nominal one, the progress of triangular Anglo-French-Egyptian relations which characterised the subsequent decades, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the establishment of effective Anglo-French control of the Egyptian government, particularly its finances, in the 1870s, the Egyptian financial crisis of 1875-9 which led to this control, the British deposition of the khedive, Ismail Pasha, in June 1879, the proposed all-power conference on Egypt (to include Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary as well as France and Britain) of 1882, the British reaction to anti-European riots in Alexandria (1882) and the issue of refugees fleeing the city, and the subsequent occupation by British troops of the area around the Suez Canal. Many documents highlight the central importance of the Suez Canal to British imperial policy and Britain’s willingness to assert control by whatever means possible to secure such a vital artery for British use:

“I have to state to your Excellency that, in view of the uncertainty that exists as to the movements of Arabi Pasha and his forces, Her Majesty’s Government have telegraphed to the British Admiral at Port Saïd, authorizing him to concert with the French Admiral for the protection of the Suez Canal, and to act in the event of sudden danger.”
(London, Earl Granville to Viscount Lyons, 16 July 1882, FO 407/21.)

The volumes for the last two decades of the nineteenth century are dominated by the Mahdist War in the Sudan (which occurred sporadically between 1881 and 1899), and by Britain’s frequent setbacks in the conflict – including the siege of Khartoum (1884-5) and the death of General Gordon at the city’s fall (January 1885) – until the battle of Omdurman, at which the British under Kitchener inflicted a decisive defeat on the Mahdis (1898).

“The general situation is excessively serious. There are no less than 20,000 rebels round Suakin. The number of friendly Arabs is very limited. […] There can no longer be any doubt that we are faced with a most formidable fanatical religious movement, which is organized and directed with considerable skill, and which is spreading rapidly over the whole country. [… The Mahdi] is sending his agents everywhere to preach his power, his victories, and his divine mission, and these agents are meeting with extraordinary success. The once-despised Arab tribes of these parts have changed their character. […] They have felt their power, and utterly despise State troops, whilst latter have completely lost all their morale.”
(abridged from a letter from General Baker at Suakin to Sir Evelyn Baring, Cairo, 27 December 1883, FO 407/60.)

“Sinkat has fallen. [British] Garrison made a sortie, but were cut to pieces.”
(Cairo, Sir Evelyn Baring to Earl Granville, 12 February 1884, FO 407/60)

Later events covered include the Fashoda Incident (1898), in which competing British and French colonial ambitions in Sudan almost led to war, the Italian conquest of Libya from the Turks (1912) and the subsequent boundary dispute with Egypt. Other material covers the connections during the First World War between Egyptian nationalists (the Wafd) and the Young Turk movement, the British declaration of a protectorate over Egypt in 1914, negotiations with France about this decision and the British deposition and replacement of the khedive, Abbas Pasha, the exiling of the Wafd leader Saad Zoghlul Pasha to Malta in 1919, the subsequent ‘First Revolution’ and its suppression, Zoghlul’s second deportation after further disturbances (1921), the termination of the British protectorate over Egypt and Sultan Fuad’s proclamation as king (1922), Fuad’s appointment of Zoghlul as prime minister, his attempts to achieve a full union with Sudan, his subsequent threats to resign and an attempt on his life (1924), the assassination of Sir Lee Stack, governor-general of Sudan, and Zoghlul’s resignation (1924), King Fuad’s death and the accession of Farouk (1936), the subsequent negotiations leading to the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian treaty, by which Britain agreed to remove its troops from Egypt (except from the Canal Zone) within twenty years, and Britain’s threats to force a change of government in Egypt if cooperation on war with Italy was not forthcoming (1940). Viscount Allenby and Sir Percy Loraine as High Commissioners, and Sir Miles Lampson, as the British Ambassador to Egypt and High Commissioner for the Sudan, 1936-1946, feature prominently during this period.

“After to-night’s interview [with] the [Egyptian] Prime Minister […], I am far from happy as to his good faith. What I fear is that unless we take a really strong line with him (which means with the King too), we may find ourselves duped and in the cart; issue at stake is so vital we cannot risk that. Please do not think me an alarmist, but if need for action comes it may come quickly. I think it would lie in insisting upon the formation of a broader Government with some Prime Minister prepared to stand by us loyally, and later a definitely strong hand towards Italy. There are such men – for example: Hassan Sabri, Hussein Sirry, Hafez Afifi, and maybe others. The King would certainly object: but I feel that we should be prepared, in case of need, to face that, and tell him he must comply or get out. In Prince Mohamed Ali we have a staunch loyal supporter on whom we could confidently rely. And I believe the bulk of the Egyptian people would be relieved.”
(Cairo, Sir Miles Lampson to Viscount Halifax, 11 June 1940, FO 407/224.)

During and after the Second World War, topics addressed include reactions to the subsequent Italian invasion of Egypt from Libya and the political confusion arising from it; Egypt’s role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and its subsequent occupation of the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty (1951), the deaths of 41 Egyptians in Ismailia at the hands of British troops, subsequent anti-British riots, and the overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy by Neguib’s Free Officers Movement (1952). Further material documents Egyptian efforts to frustrate shipping to and from Israel in the Canal Zone, the Anglo-Egyptian agreements on Sudanese independence (1953) and the phased withdrawal of British troops from the Canal Zone (1954); the proclamation of Sudanese independence (1956) and the events of the Suez Crisis. This encompasses Nasser’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China, the withdrawal of US aid for the Aswan Dam, Egypt’s nationalisation of the Canal and the subsequent Anglo-French-Israeli invasion and withdrawal (1956). See also FO 423 below.

FO 416/1-113 Persia (Iran) covers the period 1899 to 1957. The material addresses topics such as the important oil concessions and the development of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, the development of railways and telegraphs, the Constitutional Revolution which led to the establishment of the first parliament (1906), the activities in Iran of France, Germany and Russia (and later the Soviet Union) - in particular the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 that demarcated spheres of influence in Persia and later British attempts to counter Bolshevik influence – as well as border disputes with Afghanistan and the Ottoman Empire, international loans, plagues, the Imperial Bank of Persia and the military coup bringing Reza Pahlavi to power in 1921. Further volumes cover his acclamation as shah (1925), the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran of 1941 (in order to use the country’s ports and railway system to supply Allied war material to the Soviet Union) and the Allies’ replacement of Reza as shah by his son Mohammed Reza, post-Second World War Iranian-Soviet agreements on oil and the extension of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s concession, disputes with Afghanistan over the waters of the Helmand River, the assassination attempt on the Shah (February 1949), government efforts to suppress the Tudeh (communist) party, the assassination of prime minister Ali Razmara (March 1951), the decision of the Majlis (parliament) to nationalise the oil industry and British protests against it (1951), the subsequent breaking of Iranian-UK diplomatic relations, the Anglo-American-backed coup that deposed prime minister Mossadeq and reversed the nationalisation (1953), and the subsequent renegotiating of the terms of AIOC’s activities, increasing US involvement in the region.

FO 423/1-70 Suez Canal
These volumes provide details on construction, relations with the French, dues levied and Suez Canal Company business, its financial difficulties and the resultant International Commission. External debts forced Said Pasha's successor, Isma'il Pasha, to sell his country's share in the canal for £4,000,000 to the United Kingdom in 1875, but French shareholders still held the majority. Britain, originally to the construction of the Canal, now wanted full control. Disraeli had used funds from the Rothschilds for the purchase, without recourse to Parliament for consent. Disraeli and Gladstone continued to argue about policy in the region and the volumes are a good source for information on subsequent events through to 1915. The Convention of Constantinople in 1888 declared the canal a neutral zone under the protection of the British; British troops had moved in to protect it during a civil war in Egypt in 1882 and again in 1915 when the waterway was threatened by a major Ottoman attack. The final 20 volumes cover the period 1920-1947. Under the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 the United Kingdom insisted on retaining control over the canal. It continued to be of great strategic importance during the Second World War.

FO 424/1-297 Turkey
These volumes cover the Ottoman Empire and then the republic of Turkey from 1841 to 1957. There is interesting information on the Anglo-Ottoman commercial convention of 1838, refugees from the Hungarian Revolution in the Ottoman dominions in 1849-1850, the rights of Christian churches in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman diplomatic relations with Greece after Greek independence, administrative reform, railways, postal services, relations with Russia, border disputes with Montenegro, as well as successive commercial treaties between the Ottoman state and Britain. Later material focuses on the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and the territorial changes in the region which resulted, the lead up to the First World War (with much correspondence to and from Sir Edward Grey), the development of the oilfields in Ottoman Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in the early decades of the twentieth century, the military conflict between the new Republic of Turkey and Greece in 1922, Greek attempts to occupy Constantinople and their evacuation of Smyrna, and Turkish military successes under Atatürk, the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), recognising Turkish claims to all Anatolia and abrogating the Treaty of Sèvres, under which Anatolia was substantially dismembered by the Allies, and the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate (October 1923). The single party period, 1923-1946, began with the foundation of the new republic on 29 October 1923. The Turkish Government was formed from the Ankara based revolutionary group led by Mustapha Kemal Atatürk. He became the republic’s first President and the next decade was dominated by Atatürk’s westernising reforms which continued into the 1930s. There are many volumes for the inter-war period tracking developments through to the death of Atatürk in 1938 and the succession of İsmet İnönü, as well as an increasing number of items monitoring relations between Turkey and Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Turkey was admitted to the League of Nations in July 1932, but the British Foreign Office continued to be very wary of German, French, Italian and Soviet influence in the region.

“…it is unfortunate that ill-feeling should be unnecessarily stirred up in this way, for there are numerous outstanding questions which Comte de Chambrun still has to settle with the Turks, and his task will not be rendered any lighter by these effusions. Incidentally, harm may be caused to British interests in such Franco-British questions as the Ottoman Debt and the Constantinople Quays Company, which are among the difficult questions which France is pressing Turkey to settle.”

(Sir George R Clerk to Sir John Simon, Constantinople, 9 June 1932, commenting on newspaper article criticizing the action of the British Government in presenting a copy of the history of the Dardanelles campaign to the Gazi. FO 424/276.)

“Mr Berson understood that the Soviet Government would raise no objection to Turkey joining the League of Nations so long as she – ie Turkey – agrees to raise the question of the abolition of the international control of the Straits as soon as possible after becoming a member.”

(Sir Esmond Ovey to Sir John Simon, Moscow, 20 June 1932. FO 424/276.)

There are documents on Turkish reactions to the Italian invasion of Greece in 1940. Other items focus on the loss of the Republican People’s Party’s grip on political power with the election of the Democratic Party in 1950 and Turkey’s entry into NATO in 1952.

FO 437/1-9 Jordan
In 1946, Britain had requested that the United Nations approve the ending of the British Mandate in Transjordan and as a consequence King Abdullah was proclaimed as the first ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. King Abdullah I continued to rule until a Palestinian Arab assassinated him in 1951 as he was departing from the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Jordan occupied the area of Cisjordan, now called the West Bank, which it continued to control in accordance with the 1949 Armistice Agreements and a political union formed in December 1948. The Second Arab-Palestinian Conference held in Jericho on 1 December 1948 proclaimed Abdullah as King of Palestine and called for a union of Arab Palestine with the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. The Transjordanian Government agreed to the unification on 7 December 1948, and six days later the Transjordanian Parliament approved the creation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The step of unification was ratified by a joint Jordanian National Assembly on 24 April 1950. The Act of Union contained a protective clause which preserved Arab rights in Palestine without prejudice to any final settlement. These events provide the backdrop to these nine volumes which cover the period up to 1957.

Abdullah took the title King of Jordan, but following the annexation of the West Bank, only two countries formally recognised the union: Britain and Pakistan. The documents confirm Britain’s continued interest in the region and flag up certain aspects that the United States disliked. Members of the Arab League granted de facto recognition of Jordan, but the kingdom relied upon international support from the United States and Britain.

It is clear that King Abdullah took a moderate line on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Neighbouring Arab nations viewed as a liability as he was “wedded to Britain” and because his nephew was the Iraqi regent. King Talal was only in power for a year and he was succeeded by King Hussein who established clear nationalist credentials and had firmly asserted his authority over the entire kingdom by 1956. All British officers in the Army were quickly replaced by Jordanians. Any remaining vestiges of British influence were severely discredited with the onset of the Suez Crisis and disappeared very quickly. Under King Hussein’s careful stewardship, the kingdom of Jordan became an “oasis of stability” in the Middle East. He was to become an important international statesman engaging in regular secret meetings with the Israelis from the 1960s onwards.

FO 464/1-12 Arabia
These 12 volumes cover Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Yemen, 1947-1957. Significant discoveries of oil in Saudi Arabia in 1938 had transformed the economic outlook for this country. After the death of King Abdul Aziz in 1953, his eldest son, Saud, succeeded and he reigned for the next 11 years, before being forced to abdicate in favour of his half-brother, Crown Prince Faisal.

Because of severe fiscal difficulties, King Saud had been persuaded in 1958 to delegate the direct conduct of Saudi Government affairs to Crown Prince Faisal as Prime Minister. The material here traces the developments under both Adbul Aziz and Saud. After 1953, Saud embarked on a lavish and ill-considered spending program that included the construction of a massive royal residence on the outskirts of the capital, Riyadh. He also faced pressure from neighbouring countries, especially from Nasser in Egypt. The inept handling of foreign affairs and fiscal policy caused concern in Britain and the United States as they did not want to see further instability in the region. Nasser was already seen as a threat. Mounting tensions between Saud and Faisal were unsettling.

The British Headquarters of the Persian Gulf residency in Bahrain monitored trade and strategic issues in the region. Sir (William) Rupert Hay was the Chief Political resident until 1953 when he was replaced by Sir Bernard Burrows. British control, as the correspondence shows, was exerted through a network of representatives known as political agents, operating in Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Further political officers were retained for the remaining Trucial States, acting under the British Agency. Foreign relations in Muscat were conducted by a Consul-General, who was also, administratively, answerable to the resident in Bahrain. Through his political agents the resident preserved close connections with Persian Gulf rulers – simultaneously protecting their political and economic interests and the British government's on the basis of established treaties and agreements. According to Rupert Hay, the sheikhs enjoyed control over internal affairs, whilst Britain “ordinarily only exercises control in matters involving negotiations or the possibility of complications with foreign powers, such as civil aviation, posts and telegraphs.” However, Hay added that “constant advice and encouragement are… offered to various rulers regarding improvement of their administrations and development of their resources, mostly in an informal manner.”

The resident clearly had considerable power and influence. He administered British extraterritorial jurisdiction, which had been exercised in certain Persian Gulf territories since 1925. Regarding the resident’s role in concluding concession agreements between rulers and foreign oil companies, Hay wrote that: “The oil companies naturally bulk largely in the political resident’s portfolio. He has to closely watch all negotiations for new agreements or the amendment of existing agreements and ensure that nothing is decided which will seriously affect the position of the rulers or the British government…” In terms of all oil and concession agreements and all other “political” agreements, the oil companies were bound with the British Government. Britain tried, through such methods, to ensure that all negotiations with the local rulers were conducted through, or with, the knowledge of British political officers.

The situation began to change after 1956, but Muscat and Oman did not get independence until 1962 and Britain clung onto its position in the Persian Gulf until 1971. This is stepping ahead of the subject content of these files, but British power in the region was already well on the wane after the end of the Second World War. The material reflects British attempts to shore up and defend its position in the region despite limited resources. The United States and other competitors were keen to take advantage.

Britain had a key military base at Aden and had developed a Protectorate around this establishment in South Yemen. North Yemen had been granted independence in 1918. The material on Yemen reflects the tense relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden. The port was a vital entrepot of great strategic importance and it included the huge British Petroleum oil refinery. Again, the documents show that Britain was on the retreat in the region, but desperate to protect vital national interests. Britain was finally forced to withdraw from Aden in 1967.

FO 481/1-17 Iraq covers the period from 1947 to 1969. Important topics featured include the suppression of Iraqi communists, the Iraqi-Jordanian treaty of 1947 and the government crisis of that year, Iraqi attitudes concerning the Arab League and the idea of union with Syria, Anglo-Iraqi negotiations over oil and the oil industry’s prospects, the position of Jews in Iraq, US military aid, King Faisal II’s attainment of majority and the beginning of his active rule (1953), the military agreement between the UK, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries (the ‘Baghdad Pact’) of 1955 and the subsequent British gift of fighter aircraft, Iraqi-Saudi relations and civil unrest in Kurdistan (1961). Of particular interest is the file on 1958, when the new monarchical union of Iraq and Jordan was dissolved, after only a few months, following King Faisal’s overthrow and murder by a group of army officers; the documents record British reactions to these rapidly changing circumstances and notes that the new prime minister, Abdul Karim Qassim “has made it clear that his Government wish to be friends with anyone who is prepared to be friends with them, on a basis of equality and mutual interests”, as well as his “intention to keep the oil flowing” (FO 481/12). The remaining volumes track the slow rise to influence and power of the Ba’ath Party and the resultant waning of British influence in Iraq – the RAF, for example, left in 1959 (FO 481/13) – until, in June 1967, diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom were broken off altogether in the aftermath of the Six Day War.

FO 484/1-11 Lebanon
Granted independence during the Second World War, the Lebanon had been occupied by British and French forces. After the end of hostilities, General Charles de Gaulle affirmed Lebanon’s independence. These volumes cover the decade after 1947. Beirut had built up its position as a major centre for trade and finance, acquiring a reputation as “the Paris of the Middle East”.

Three champions of independence figure prominently in these documents: Camille Chamoun served as Lebanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom and then as their Ambassador to the United Nations, before returning home to become President of Lebanon, 1952-1958. Bechara El Khoury was the President of Lebanon until corruption allegations forced him to resign in 1952 and Riad as-Solh had served as Prime Minister until 1951, struggling to keep various religious factions in harness.

In the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Lebanon had become the home to more than 110,000 Palestinian refugees, and this significantly altered the internal dynamics of Lebanon. Some refugees had been expelled from the newly formed kingdom of Jordan, because King Hussein saw such large numbers of refugees as a threat to the stability of his kingdom. The Palestinian refugees in Lebanon were denied citizenship there and suffered other forms of discrimination. They were trapped as they could not return to their former homes. A tense and complex sectarian balance threatened to erupt – Britain, France, Israel and the United States continued to monitor the internal political situation closely.

FO 487/1-11 Middle East General
These few volumes cover British relations with Middle Eastern countries from 1947 to 1957. Topics include British economic policy towards the Middle East in the aftermath of the Second World War, British attitudes to the Arab League (formed in 1945) and federal possibilities in the region, British military aid to Middle Eastern countries, Britain’s own defence interests in the region (under the auspices of Middle East Command), and the issue of Arab neutrality as Cold War tensions increased. Turkish membership of NATO and Turkey’s Middle Eastern policy, relations with France, French policy in the region (in particular French arms sales), British relations with Egypt in light of the Egyptian abrogation in 1951 of the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty and proposals for an Israeli-Jordanian conference in1953, are also well covered.

FO 492/1-11 Israel/Palestine
These volumes focus on the eventful period of Israel’s first decade as a nation state, from 1947 to 1957. The foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, noted in a statement to the House of Commons in February 1947 that “For the Jews [of Palestine], the essential point of principle is the creation of a sovereign Jewish State. For the Arabs, the essential point of principle is to resist to the last the establishment of Jewish sovereignty in any part of Palestine. The discussions of the last month have shown that there is no prospect of resolving this conflict by any settlement negotiated between the parties” (FO 492/1). There follows, over the next few years, discussion of the role in Palestine of the United Nations; the activities of pro-Israeli Jewish activists in the USA and British fears of a deterioration of the Anglo-American relationship over the Palestine question (1948-1950), the end of the British mandate in May 1948 and the near-simultaneous declaration of the State of Israel. The problems caused by Arab refugees from Palestine and huge Jewish immigration to the new state (1949-1953), the perceived concentration of political power in the hands of the first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, as well as Israeli relations with Jordan and their bearing on British treaty relations with Jordan and Egypt all feature prominently. Many other subjects, including the growth of the cooperative kibbutz movement and the wider development of the Israeli economy, the progress of Israeli parliamentary democracy, relations between Israel and West Germany in the light of potential Jewish claims to reparations for the Holocaust, the death of President Chaim Weizmann (1952), border skirmishes with Jordan and disputes over the waters of the River Jordan (1953), the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union (1953), the opposition of Orthodox Jews to the extension of compulsory military service to women, a survey of Israel’s armed strength and military thinking (1956) and Israeli access to the Gulf of Aqaba, are well covered.

FO 501/1-10 Syria
Although rapid economic development followed the declaration of independence, Syrian politics continued to be dominated by uncertainty and by upheaval. Between 1946 and 1956, the period covered by these volumes, Syria had 20 different cabinets and drafted four separate constitutions. In 1948, Syria was involved in the Arab-Israeli War, aligning itself with the other local Arab nations who were attempting to prevent the establishment of Israel. The Syrian army was forced out of most of the Israeli territory, but fortified their strongholds on the Golan Heights and managed to keep their old borders and cling on to some additional territory. This was then converted into "supposed" demilitarized zones under United Nations supervision, but this land was gradually lost to Israel over the following years. The status of these territories continued to prove a major stumbling-block for Syrian-Israeli negotiations.

As the material suggests, the humiliating defeat suffered by the army was one of several trigger factors for Colonel Husni al-Za'im's seizure of power in 1949, in a military coup d'état. This was soon followed by a new coup, by Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi, who was then himself quickly deposed by Colonel Adib Shishakli, all within the same year. After exercising influence behind the scenes for some time, despite the ravaged parliamentary scene, Shishakli launched a second coup in 1951, entrenching his rule and eventually abolishing the multi-party system altogether. Only when president Shishakli was himself overthrown in a 1954 coup, was the semblance of a parliamentary system restored, but it was fundamentally undermined by continued political manoeuvring, supported by the competing factions in the military. Power was increasingly concentrated in the military and security establishment, at the expense of most of the civilian population. Parliamentary institutions remained weak and ineffectual, dominated by competing parties representing the landowning elites and various Sunni urban notables, while the economy and political situation were mismanaged. Little was done to improve conditions for Syria's peasant majority. This process of mismanagement, the influence of Nasser, Pan-Arabism and other anti-colonial ideologies, created fertile ground for various Arab nationalist, Syrian nationalist and socialist movements representing disaffected elements of Syrian society, including various religious minorities, in their pursuit of demands for radical reform. The turmoil and the international ramifications of this instability are well documented here.

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