Great Britain and the Bagdad Railroad (1888-1914)

Abstract

In a study such as this, it is quite easy to over-estimate the importance of the Bagdad Railroad. Here the major events of the pre-war era have been mentioned only in the light of the railroad project. Yet when the subject is placed within its proper perspective, it can hardly be considered more than a second, or even third-rate international problem. The relative ease with which the settlements of 1913 and 1914 were concluded demonstrates how slight the real differences between the nations involved actually were. Throughout her period of opposition, Britain's objections and demands seem rather contrived, almost as if they were decided upon as an afterthought. Also the long and often interrupted negotiations attest to the relative unimportance of this issue. Although it is possible to attribute the various lapses in negotiations to hitches inherent in t he Bagdad controversy, it is much more plausible to construe them as an indication of the insignificance of the matter. The statesmen were simply too preoccupied with the major tensions of Europe to pursue the negotiations over a railway in Anatolia with any diligence or dispatch. Indeed the railroad cannot really be considered an international controversy until Britain began its opposition to it in 1903. This is hardly enough time for it to assume the proportions of a major diplomatic issue or rivalry. When seen in perspec tive the Bagdad Railroad can only be considered as a microcosm of the European scene, one manifestation of the rivalries and tensions which gripped Europe during this era. The railroad did not cause these, the final settlements did not end, or even modify them. Rather the European quarrels were applied to the railroad, and out of this the problems and controversies over it grew. [From Conclusion]