Britain's Man on the Spot in Iraq and Afghanistan - by Ann Wilks (Paperback)

About the Book

"A little-know figure now, Sir Henry Dobbs was at the heart of Britain's imperial administrations of Iraq and India in the twilight decades of the Empire. Drawing upon a recently discovered trove of meticulous records and correspondence, in this book Ann Wilks reconstructs the professional life of this career civil servant and Britain's longest serving High Commissioner of Iraq to give a unique picture of life in Britain's most important colony and one of its most newly acquired. The book reveals the nuts and bolts workings of colonial administration, as Dobbs in his letters details the problems Britain encountered as it conquered the former Ottoman province of Mesopotamia during WWI, as well as crises and decisions of singular and lasting significance, such as settling the borders of Imperial India and Afghanistan and establishing those of the future state of Iraq, the first of Britain's colonies or protectorates to become independent, a process which Dobbs oversaw. In his negotiations on the 1921 Anglo-Afghan Treaty, he manoeuvred between the different views in London and Delhi with great dexterity to negotiate alone with the Amir and to arrive at what he considered an acceptable agreement. In the crisis over the 1922 treaty between Britain and Iraq, Dobbs not only disregarded the unhelpful approach recommended by London but risked using his own wholly unauthorised tactics to achieve a breakthrough. The 'man-on-the-spot' perspective offered by Dobbs, written contemporaneously, thus provides a unique source on key international treaties from an insider who was though a man of his time and its prejudices nonetheless an advocate for Iraqi independence, curious about the peoples over whose lives the administration he served ruled, and frequently at odds with attitudes displayed by his famous superiors, such as Sir Percy Cox"--

Book Synopsis

The newly discovered papers and colourfully-written letters of Anglo-Irish Sir Henry Dobbs, which form the backbone of this book, reveal his importance in the development of the modern Middle East.
An influential civil servant and Britain's longest serving High Commissioner in Iraq at a time when the British empire was facing increasing challenges to its once dominant position, he describes the difficulties of governing first in India then in the formerly Ottoman Mesopotamia during WW1. Here, Dobbs had to devise administrative systems while often at odds with his superior, Sir Percy Cox. In the discussions that followed the Third Afghan War, Dobbs manoeuvred between the different views in London and Delhi with great dexterity to negotiate alone with the Amir of Afghanistan the enduring 1921 Anglo-Afghan treaty.

Having accepted from the League of Nations the responsibility for taking the newly-created Iraq to sustainable independence in the aftermath of WW1, the cash-strapped British government came under great domestic pressure to abandon it. Key to British support continuing was Iraqi acceptance of the controversial 1922 treaty with Britain. This Dobbs achieved by disregarding the unhelpful approach recommended by London and, risking his career, he pressed on with his own wholly unauthorised tactics. In other initiatives, Dobbs ensured that Mosul province remained within Iraq. Dobbs consistently pressed for Iraq's early independence - granted in 1932, the first territory in the former Ottoman Empire to gain it.

An early advocate of self-determination Dobbs was frequently at odds with the more traditional imperial approach of his superiors. He always endeavoured to balance the aspirations and needs of overseas communities for whom he was responsible with the interests of Britain which he represented.

Review Quotes

Scholarship on the modern history of the Near and Middle East seems always to be relevant, and this book is no exception. Based upon new archival research and the judicious use of published material, Ann Wilks has written a revealing biographical study of an indispensable 'man-on-the-spot' during the high point of the British Empire
C. Brad Faught, Tyndale University, Canada

Sir Henry Dobbs was a key figure in establishing British interests in Mesopotamia after World War One and in negotiating the Anglo-Afghan treaty of 1921. This remarkable book, based on a recently discovered trove of family correspondence reveals what an able officer, able to speak the local languages, could do to further British imperial interests. Dobbs' letters, which are quoted frequently, bring a sense of immediacy to the story and show how the man on the spot could make a real difference
Francis Robinson, Professor, Royal Holloway, UK

Wilks has masterfully reassembled Dobbs' career from these letters, supplementing them with papers from the official record and the relevant secondary scholarship. The result is a tautly written study that ably situates its protagonist and his career in the context of this period of remarkable change
Benjamin Fortna, Professor, The University of Arizona, USA

About the Author

Ann Wilks, CBE, is an independent historian and former Senior Civil Servant. She has published articles in The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and the Royal Asiatic Society Journal.