Colonialism in Practice

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Colonialism in Practice

• The Case of Iraq

King Faisal 1
Gertrude Bell
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Map of Iraq
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Background on IraqTwo Points

• Iraq did not exist as a state prior to 1921.
• Created from 3 Ottoman provinces of Mosul,
  Baghdad, Basra
• Diverse Population
• Religious divisions Sunnis, Shiites (
  Christians)
• Ethno-linguistic divisions Arabs, Kurds
• Population 60 Shiite Arab 15 Sunni Arab 20
  Kurd (mostly Sunnis)

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British colonial rule

• British invasion
• Basra 1914
• Baghdad 1917
• British plans (Dodge)
• Original plans
• Evolving plans
• How the British maintained influence
• Political structures
• Military force (warplanes)
• Arab Iraqi Resistance
• Political resistance
• Uprisings 1920 (southern tribes)

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Faisal I, 1st king of Iraq

• Goals
• Gradual eradication of British influence in Iraq
• Creation of a national state

Photos from Iraqipages.com
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Resistance to the new regime

• Kurds (opposed Arab nationalism)
• Shiite Arabs (opposed educational reforms
  exclusion from government)
• Landowners (opposed efforts to redistribute land
  and erode their power base)
• The masses (opposed conscription, etc.)
• In 1930s, at least 80 percent of Iraqs
  population was rural

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Major players in Iraqi Politics,1921-1936
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Results

• Fledgling sense of Iraqi national identity
• British presence state reliance on external aid
  to maintain power loss of monarchs legitimacy
• Centralization of power in Baghdad
• Catch-22 of Iraqi politics to create mass
  support, land reform needed, but narrow base of
  state support requires aid from landlords