McMahon–Hussein correspondence

The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence , or the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence , was a protracted exchange of letters (July 14, 1915 to January 30, 1916) during World War I , between the Sharif of Mecca , Husayn bin Ali , and Sir Henry McMahon , British High Commissioner in Egypt , concerning the future political status of the lands under the Ottoman Empire .

The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence , or the Hussein–McMahon Correspondence , was an exchange of letters (14 July 1915 to 30 January 1916) during World War I , between the Sharif of Mecca , Husayn bin Ali , and Sir Henry McMahon , British High Commissioner in Egypt , concerning the political status of lands under the Ottoman Empire . The Arab side was already looking toward a large revolt against the Ottoman Empire; the British encouraged the Arabs to revolt and thus hamper the Ottoman Empire , which had become a German ally in the War after November 1914. The letters declared that the Arabs would revolt in alliance with the United Kingdom, and in return the UK would recognize Arab independence. Later, the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement between France and UK was exposed showing that the two countries were planning to split and occupy parts of the promised Arab country.

Letters describing an understanding between Britain and Hussein bin Ali The McMahon–Hussein letter of 24 October 1915. George Antonius – who had been the first to publish the correspondence in full – described this letter as "by far the most important in the whole correspondence, and may perhaps be regarded as the most important international document in the history of the Arab national movement... is still invoked as the main piece of evidence on which the Arabs accuse Great Britain of having broken faith with them." The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence is a series of letters that were exchanged during World War I in which the United Kingdom government agreed to recognize Arab independence after the war in exchange for the Sharif of Mecca launching the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire . The correspondence had a significant impact on Middle Eastern history during and after the war, and a dispute over Palestine continued thereafter. The correspondence is composed of ten letters that were exchanged from July 1915 to March 1916 between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry McMahon , British High Commissioner to Egypt . Whilst there was some military value in the Arab manpower and local knowledge alongside the British Army, the primary reason for the arrangement was to counteract the Ottoman declaration of jihad ("holy war") against the Allies, and to maintain the support of the 70 million Muslims in British India (particularly those in the Indian Army that had been deployed in all major theatres of the wider war ). The area of Arab independence was defined to be "in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca " with the exception of "portions of Syria " lying to the west of "the districts of Damascus , Homs , Hama and Aleppo "; conflicting interpretations of this description were to cause great controversy in subsequent years. One particular dispute, which continues to the present, is the extent of the coastal exclusion. Following the publication of the November 1917 Balfour Declaration , which was a letter written by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild, a wealthy and prominent leader in the British Jewish community, which promised a national home for the Jews in Palestine, and the subsequent leaking of the secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement in which Britain and France proposed to split and occupy parts of the territory, the Sharif and other Arab leaders considered the agreements made in the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence had been violated. Hussein refused to ratify the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and in response to a 1921 British proposal to sign a treaty accepting the Mandate system stated that he could not be expected to "affix his name to a document assigning Palestine to the Zionists and Syria to foreigners". A further British attempt to reach a treaty failed in 1923–24 and negotiations were suspended in March 1924; within six months the British withdrew their support in favour of their central Arabian ally Ibn Saud , who proceeded to conquer Hussein's kingdom . The correspondence "haunted Anglo-Arab relations" for many decades thereafter. In January 1923 unofficial excerpts were published by Joseph N. Jeffries in the Daily Mail and copies of the letters circulated in the Arab press. Excerpts were published in the 1937 Peel Commission Report and the correspondence was published in full in George Antonius 's 1938 book The Arab Awakening , then officially in 1939 as Cmd. 5957 . In 1964 further documents were declassified. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

1915–16 letters on UK recognition of Arab independence The McMahon–Hussein letter of 24 October 1915. George Antonius —who had been the first to publish the correspondence in full—described this letter as "by far the most important in the whole correspondence, and may perhaps be regarded as the most important international document in the history of the Arab national movement... is still invoked as the main piece of evidence on which the Arabs accuse Great Britain of having broken faith with them." The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence is a series of letters that were exchanged during World War I in which the Government of the United Kingdom agreed to recognize Arab independence in a large region after the war in exchange for the Sharif of Mecca launching the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire . The correspondence had a significant influence on Middle Eastern history during and after the war; a dispute over Palestine continued thereafter. The correspondence is composed of ten letters that were exchanged from July 1915 to March 1916 between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry McMahon , British High Commissioner to Egypt . Whilst there was some military value in the Arab manpower and local knowledge alongside the British Army, the primary reason for the arrangement was to counteract the Ottoman declaration of jihad ("holy war") against the Allies, and to maintain the support of the 70 million Muslims in British India (particularly those in the Indian Army that had been deployed in all major theatres of the wider war ). The area of Arab independence was defined to be "in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca " with the exception of "portions of Syria " lying to the west of "the districts of Damascus , Homs , Hama and Aleppo "; conflicting interpretations of this description were to cause great controversy in subsequent years. One particular dispute, which continues to the present, is the extent of the coastal exclusion. Following the publication of the November 1917 Balfour Declaration (a letter written by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild, a wealthy and prominent leader in the British Jewish community), which promised a national home for the Jews in Palestine, and the subsequent leaking of the secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement in which Britain and France proposed to split and occupy parts of the territory, the Sharif and other Arab leaders considered the agreements made in the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence had been violated. Hussein refused to ratify the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and, in response to a 1921 British proposal to sign a treaty accepting the Mandate system, stated that he could not be expected to "affix his name to a document assigning Palestine to the Zionists and Syria to foreigners". A further British attempt to reach a treaty failed in 1923–24, with negotiations suspended in March 1924; within six months, the British withdrew their support in favour of their central Arabian ally Ibn Saud , who proceeded to conquer Hussein's kingdom . The correspondence "haunted Anglo-Arab relations" for many decades thereafter. In January 1923, unofficial excerpts were published by Joseph N. Jeffries in the Daily Mail and copies of the letters circulated in the Arab press. Excerpts were published in the 1937 Peel Commission Report and the correspondence was published in full in George Antonius 's 1938 book The Arab Awakening , then officially in 1939 as Cmd. 5957 . Further documents were declassified in 1964. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

1915–16 letters on UK recognition of Arab independence The McMahon–Hussein letter of 24 October 1915. George Antonius —who had been the first to publish the correspondence in full—described this letter as "by far the most important in the whole correspondence, and may perhaps be regarded as the most important international document in the history of the Arab national movement... is still invoked as the main piece of evidence on which the Arabs accuse Great Britain of having broken faith with them." The McMahon–Hussein correspondence is a series of letters that were exchanged during World War I , in which the government of the United Kingdom agreed to recognize Arab independence in a large region after the war in exchange for the Sharif of Mecca launching the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire . The correspondence had a significant influence on Middle Eastern history during and after the war; a dispute over Palestine continued thereafter. The correspondence is composed of ten letters that were exchanged from July 1915 to March 1916 between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry McMahon , British High Commissioner to Egypt . Whilst there was some military value in the Arab manpower and local knowledge alongside the British Army, the primary reason for the arrangement was to counteract the Ottoman declaration of jihad ("holy war") against the Allies, and to maintain the support of the 70 million Muslims in British India (particularly those in the Indian Army that had been deployed in all major theatres of the wider war ). The area of Arab independence was defined to be "in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca " with the exception of "portions of Syria " lying to the west of "the districts of Damascus , Homs , Hama and Aleppo "; conflicting interpretations of this description were to cause great controversy in subsequent years. One particular dispute, which continues to the present, is the extent of the coastal exclusion. Following the publication of the November 1917 Balfour Declaration (a letter written by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild, a wealthy and prominent leader in the British Jewish community), which promised a national home for the Jews in Palestine, and the subsequent leaking of the secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement in which Britain and France proposed to split and occupy parts of the territory, the Sharif and other Arab leaders considered the agreements made in the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence violated. Hussein refused to ratify the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and, in response to a 1921 British proposal to sign a treaty accepting the Mandate system, stated that he could not be expected to "affix his name to a document assigning Palestine to the Zionists and Syria to foreigners". A further British attempt to reach a treaty failed in 1923–24, with negotiations suspended in March 1924; within six months, the British withdrew their support in favour of their central Arabian ally Ibn Saud , who proceeded to conquer Hussein's kingdom . The correspondence "haunted Anglo-Arab relations" for many decades thereafter. In January 1923, unofficial excerpts were published by Joseph N. Jeffries in the Daily Mail and copies of the letters circulated in the Arab press. Excerpts were published in the 1937 Peel Commission Report and the correspondence was published in full in George Antonius 's 1938 book The Arab Awakening , then officially in 1939 as Cmd. 5957 . Further documents were declassified in 1964. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).