Abstract

The British government sought to control the Anglo-Persian Oil Company after the discovery of oil in Persia, in order to support its expansion projects in the Arabian Gulf region. They established a (colony) in the Abadan area, resembling a complete city for refining and producing oil, on the shores of the Shatt al-Arab. This sea passage became a commercial market for the company at the expense of the local population, as oil-laden commercial ships sailed through the waters of the Shatt al-Arab, disregarding the ruling Ottoman authority. The situation worsened when one of the oil tankers capsized in 1913, leading to a mixture of oil with the waters of the Shatt al-Arab, causing severe environmental pollution for the residents of Basra province and the coastal areas. Potable water became nonexistent, agricultural crops suffered, livestock was wiped out, and the livelihoods of the people were destroyed, while the Ottoman authorities were completely powerless. They resorted to diplomatic correspondence and sent reports about the problem to the British government, forming joint committees with neighboring countries made up of engineers and experts, without any effective response from the company or the British government to alleviate the pollution. This situation continued until the outbreak of World War I, after Britain took control of the entire region with the collapse of Ottoman authority there. This study did not receive much attention in the writings of researchers despite the availability of numerous Ottoman documents and others, and it revealed an important phase of the difficult political and economic conditions in the Arabian Gulf region and Iraq before the fall of the Ottoman Empire.