British Hegemony over the Iraq and Persian Gulf in the Late Nineteenth Century: The Case of Müşir Nusret Pasha’s Report

Özet

This article examines the Great Britain’s political and economic intervention into the Ottoman Iraqi province and Persian Gulf in the late nineteenth century. It aims to show that how Britain's political and economic hegemony imposed towards the Iraqi region and Persian Gulf by both militarily and politically. There is a large literature of academic study on the British policy towards Iraq and Persian Gulf in the nineteenth century. To contribute to this considerable literature, this article will examine the factors of the growth of British economic and political hegemony in Iraq and Persian Gulf by referring to the report of Müşir Nusret Pasha who had served long years in Iraqi province as the Honorary Inspector of the Sixth Army. The principal point of this article is to investigate various aspects of the Britain’s expanding penetration into Persian Gulf and Iraqi region given the detailed report of Müşir Nusret Pasha. Another focal point of this article is to show how the British penetration into Persian Gulf and Iraqi region was perceived by the Ottoman official Nusret Pasha. Müşir Nusret Pasha pointed out that Britain’s growing influence in these regions is a potential threat and security risk for the Ottoman Empire in the near future. For this reason, Nusret Pasha warned the Ottoman central administration to take immediate action against Britain’s political and economic penetration. However, Ottoman Empire did not take necessary measures due to the lack of Ottoman military and administrative capacity.