Percy Cox - Remaining Term As High Commissioner of Iraq (1922-1923)

Remaining Term As High Commissioner of Iraq (1922-1923)

On 23 August 1922, King Faisal was struck with appendicitis and rendered unable to rule for several weeks. At this moment, a debate was raging over the nature and extent of British control over Iraqi affairs through treaty obligations. In perhaps the boldest action of his political career, Cox seized control and instituted direct British rule. Cox, in effect, became acting King of Iraq and undertook such measures as jailing and transporting those hostile to foreign intervention; silencing opposition parties and media; and even ordering the bombing of tribal insurgents. Interpretation of these events varies greatly depending on the source: John Townsend writes that Cox’s actions “demonstrated British infallibility, illusory though it might have been” and that what transpired amounted to “perhaps greatest single achievement.” Ahmad Shikara is not as kind, calling Cox’s measures “severe and unpopular” and noting that Faisal himself held “strong objections to the High Commissioner’s actions.” Cox’s own account conflicts, as he writes that not only were his actions necessary for the stability of the state, but that Faisal, upon recovery, “thanked me cordially for the action taken during the interregnum.” Whatever the case, Cox’s actions succeeded in preserving the status quo for the British, and Faisal resumed his rule in September.

The remainder of Cox’s term as High Commissioner was spent negotiating the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty, years 1921 and 1922. Faisal’s objection to the British Mandate of Iraq and his insistence on formal independence necessitated a fine diplomatic touch. Britain wished to keep its interests alive in Iraq while at the same time appearing to have no control over its government. To this end, Cox negotiated the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty, which forced many of the original terms of the Mandate system on Iraq but which avoided the term “mandate” and granted British protection to Faisal against rivals such as Ibn Saud. This treaty was signed 10 October 1922; shortly thereafter, Cox utilized his good relationship with Ibn Saud to establish the boundaries between the Saudi kingdom, Iraq, and Kuwait in order to ensure that Britain would not have to defend Iraq from the Saudis.

In her letters, the famed adventurer, archaeologist, and author Gertrude Bell writes of the effectiveness of Cox’s diplomacy: “Ibn Saud is convinced that the future of himself and his country depends on our goodwill and that he will never break with us. In point of fact the treaty is on exactly the lines that Sir Percy stipulated.” This was to be Cox’s final significant act as High Commissioner of Iraq, as he retired on 4 May 1923 and was succeeded by Sir Henry Dobbs, High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Iraq till 1929, a.k.a.Sir Henry Robert Conway Dobbs, GBE, KCSI, KCMG KCIE (1871-1934)