All the earth is seamed with roads, and all the sea is furrowed with the tracks of ships, and over all the roads and all the waters a continuous stream of people passes up and down - traveling, as they say, for their pleasure. What is it, I wonder, that they go out to see?
I will have no locked cupboards in my life.
For an Ohio hillbilly, I have known, worked with, served, and educated a surprising number of members of the privileged classes. I admit I was a bit of a reverse snob at one point, really not expecting much from those graced with inherited money and status, and the education and opportunities that went with them. It is safe to say that my automatic opinion of them was rather low.
However, the odd trajectory of my life has caused me to intersect with writers, actors, artists, a governor, a senator, a congressman, millionaires, a network news anchor, publishers, a Nobel laureate, and some of the great thinkers of our era. I have educated the children of accomplished parents, at least three from families significant in the history of our country. I have learned that they are not the stereotypes of their socio-economic class any more than I am of mine. From them, I have seen examples of great insight, true compassion, and genuine labor too many times to ever again make assumptions.
While there may have been a time when I would have snorted at the story of Getrude Bell, daughter of the 2nd baronet and sister to the 3rd, born of wealth, privilege, and connections, I appreciate her life, effort, passions, and accomplishments more each decade. Given our current world situation, I especially appreciate her noble, if inevitable, failure.
Bell was born in Durham, England in 1868. While still a toddler, her mother died giving birth to Bell's younger brother. Her father, who was doting by Victorian standards, raised Bell to enjoy the country life with all of its outdoor pursuits and energies. When he remarried, Bell's step-mother, an author of children's stories and mother of three of her own children, made sure that young Gertrude was well-read and well-mannered, despite the general wildness of the household.
While she was never an unpleasant child or young adult, Bell could be willful and occasionally reckless. Some of this may be traced to being her father's tomboy; some of it to the energizing personal freedom that was being discovered by English women in the late 19th century. When she was of age, Bell matriculated from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University's first college for women. She earned a degree in history in just two years.
I imagine there may have been the expectation that she would return to the Yorkshire Dales and find an appropriate land-owning husband, raise a brood, and maintain the ramparts of British verve for another generation. Instead, she set off to visit her uncle, the ambassador to Persia. Intoxicated by travel in exotic lands, Bell continued to journey throughout the Middle-East and The Levant for several years. She would employ her degree in history and her talent as an amateur archaeologist in visiting sites of interest and discovery throughout the region. In the decade before World War I, she would write four influential travelogues and a collection of poetry that were well-received among the literate.
She also spent the turn of the century perfecting her technique climbing mountains, an interest sparked by those youthful rambles with her siblings. Between 1899 and 1904, Bell climbed several Alpine peaks, discovering a number of ascent paths. She was the first person to summit what came to be called Gertrudspitze, which was named for her.
While she made ample use of guides on her ascents, Bell was never protected from the realities and dangers of mountain climbing. Once, over a particularly fretful 48-hour period, she and her team clung to safety ropes suspending them from a cliff during a brutal storm that featured punishing hailstones and what overexcited contemporary meteorologists refer to as "thunder-snow". Bell and her guides were eventually able to descend, with Bell very close to death.
With the onset of World War I in 1914, Bell offered her services to the British forces in the Middle East. Naturally, as she had traveled extensively in the area, had drawn maps of heretofore unknown areas, was familiar with the customs of the local tribes, and had developed in her travels a working knowledge of many of the Levantine languages and dialects, including fluency in Arabic, she would be of considerable aid to the war effort. If the reader knows anything at all about military logic, regardless of culture or place in world history, it will come as no surprise that her offer was denied.
Not one to be daunted, Bell volunteered for the Red Cross and was sent to Europe. As the war continued, and more sensible officers were granted command, a couple of bright fellows, who had read her books and knew of Bell's time in the Middle East before the war, insisted that she be transferred immediately to British Intelligence in Cairo. One of those bright fellows had already met Bell when she had visited his archaeological site during her travels in 1909. His name was T.E. Lawrence, although popular history knows him best as "Lawrence of Arabia".
Reunited with Lawrence at the Arab Bureau, an eccentric Anglo-French cooperative venture to ensure continued European influence in the Middle East, Bell, although a civilian, began the process of organizing all known intelligence about the Arab tribes. While mostly neutral, the tribes had outrages perpetuated against them again and again by the Turks, thus encouraging them eventually to align themselves with the British. She was then transferred to Basra, the Judaeo-Christian city in Mesopotamia [Ottoman Empire], to prepare maps and gather intelligence for the march on Baghdad. Upon the seizure of that famous and ancient city, Bell was named Oriental Secretary for His Majesty, King George V.
During her considerable travels throughout the region during the final two years of the war, Bell was witness to portions of what is now known as the Armenian Genocide. By the time the Turks had finished their attempt to eradicate the Armenians from the world's population, 2 million were dead and remarkable atrocities had been perpetrated. Clearly, the end of the conflict in Europe would be just the beginning of conflict in the Middle East. As was the practice in earlier times, the colonial powers did what they could, for better or worse, to try and prevent it.
In his role as Great Britain's Secretary of State for War, Winston Churchill asked Bell and T.E. Lawrence to aid in the Middle East peace negotiations that were an extension of the Treaty of Paris. Beginning in 1921, Bell and Lawrence were to participate in one of the most controversial actions of the 20th century; so controversial that it is easy to claim that their work still greatly affects our contemporary world.
With the defeat of the Turks in World War I, the Ottoman Empire was no more. This left a great portion of the world without a government, however barbarous and cruel, to permit its structure. Bell was asked to continue in her role as Oriental Secretary and to design a new government for the recently liberated states of Arabia and Mesopotamia. Both Bell and Lawrence felt strongly that the time had come to the various tribes to self-govern and, if provided with a workable structure, be permitted independence. It was a bold plan, thoughtful in its execution, and reflective of Bell and Lawrence's knowledge and familiarity with the Arab tribes. Ultimately, it was also naive.
Despite his heroic work during the war, and a degree from Oxford, Lawrence was still remembered for being the illegitimate issue of a nobleman. In English society, it was easy to dismiss his notions. As he had witnessed countless battlefield deaths, atrocities, and had been captured and tortured by the Turks, he was beginning to show the signs of that compounded trauma and was starting his gradual withdrawal from the world. Bell, on the other hand, was to the manor born and was of considerable influence as both her family and friends were well-placed in high office. She proved to be formidable in her attempt to grant the promised independence to the tribes and to prevent future conflict.
Over the period of ten months, Bell produced her masterwork: a comprehensive re-structuring not just of governmental systems, but of the very borders of countries themselves. Her report, "Self Determination in Mesopotamia", became the focus of debate for the next few years, as the European powers struggled to re-structure the Middle East in such a way that conflict could be minimized. That was Bell's intention, anyway. However, the Europeans desired to still be able to harvest much of the wealth of the area for their own purposes.
Whole books have been written about this process, and for those who appreciate backroom shenanigans, betrayals, and exercises of wanton power, it is hard to top what eventually produced the Cairo Conference of 1921. TV shows about dragons and duplicity are nothing compared to the reality of great world powers struggling for dominance. While Bell did not achieve her vision of an independent Middle East, with tribes empowered by self-determination, her work did transform Mesopotamia into modern-day Iraq. With Bell serving as liaison between the Iraqi leadership and the European powers, she convinced Winston Churchill that it would be far more profitable for all involved if Iraq could make its own way in this new world. While troubled with a harsh dictatorship and religious strife in recent years, Iraq existed through much of the 20th century as a model of what could be achieved by an independent state. Without her efforts, this would not have been possible.
In addition to, in essence, creating the nation of Iraq, Bell also established the National Library of Iraq and, in relation to her work as an amateur archaeologist, the Baghdad Archaeological Museum, both institutions of venerable quality and influence.
[A personal note: My mentor, a Baghdad native and man of considerable academic achievement, first realized his potential as a boy roaming the vast stacks of that library. I like to think, in more whimsical moments, that given his influence over my own work, Bell's labors influenced my life and work, as well]
Those old enough to remember, and who lived through the early days of Iraq, especially during the 1920's, regard that period as a golden age of peace and growth. While those Middle Eastern map lines drawn by a collection of Europeans in the early 20th century have also lead to much of the strife of the early 21st century, as surely as one generation's solution is the next generation's problem, Gertrude Bell is fondly recalled by Iraqis, even in the roiling religious cauldron of their contemporary reality.
Bell, exhausted by the labors associated with nation building, returned to England in 1925 to find her native country decimated by the war, with a disrupted economy, gross unemployment, and one-third of the male population dead. The graceful days that she recalled from her youth were long gone and never to return. As the victims of World War I suffered even into the next decades, so Bell joined their company. Gertrude Bell committed suicide in 1926.
Bell was interred in the British Cemetery in Baghdad. Her funeral was attended by every British and Iraqi official. The king of Iraq, himself, observed her funeral procession from his balcony in great solemnity and respect.
David George Hogarth, the eminent archaeologist and one of those men who originally recognized Bell's talents in Middle Eastern intrigue, wrote the following for her obituary in the journal of the Royal Geographical Society:
While she made ample use of guides on her ascents, Bell was never protected from the realities and dangers of mountain climbing. Once, over a particularly fretful 48-hour period, she and her team clung to safety ropes suspending them from a cliff during a brutal storm that featured punishing hailstones and what overexcited contemporary meteorologists refer to as "thunder-snow". Bell and her guides were eventually able to descend, with Bell very close to death.
With the onset of World War I in 1914, Bell offered her services to the British forces in the Middle East. Naturally, as she had traveled extensively in the area, had drawn maps of heretofore unknown areas, was familiar with the customs of the local tribes, and had developed in her travels a working knowledge of many of the Levantine languages and dialects, including fluency in Arabic, she would be of considerable aid to the war effort. If the reader knows anything at all about military logic, regardless of culture or place in world history, it will come as no surprise that her offer was denied.
Not one to be daunted, Bell volunteered for the Red Cross and was sent to Europe. As the war continued, and more sensible officers were granted command, a couple of bright fellows, who had read her books and knew of Bell's time in the Middle East before the war, insisted that she be transferred immediately to British Intelligence in Cairo. One of those bright fellows had already met Bell when she had visited his archaeological site during her travels in 1909. His name was T.E. Lawrence, although popular history knows him best as "Lawrence of Arabia".
Reunited with Lawrence at the Arab Bureau, an eccentric Anglo-French cooperative venture to ensure continued European influence in the Middle East, Bell, although a civilian, began the process of organizing all known intelligence about the Arab tribes. While mostly neutral, the tribes had outrages perpetuated against them again and again by the Turks, thus encouraging them eventually to align themselves with the British. She was then transferred to Basra, the Judaeo-Christian city in Mesopotamia [Ottoman Empire], to prepare maps and gather intelligence for the march on Baghdad. Upon the seizure of that famous and ancient city, Bell was named Oriental Secretary for His Majesty, King George V.
During her considerable travels throughout the region during the final two years of the war, Bell was witness to portions of what is now known as the Armenian Genocide. By the time the Turks had finished their attempt to eradicate the Armenians from the world's population, 2 million were dead and remarkable atrocities had been perpetrated. Clearly, the end of the conflict in Europe would be just the beginning of conflict in the Middle East. As was the practice in earlier times, the colonial powers did what they could, for better or worse, to try and prevent it.
In his role as Great Britain's Secretary of State for War, Winston Churchill asked Bell and T.E. Lawrence to aid in the Middle East peace negotiations that were an extension of the Treaty of Paris. Beginning in 1921, Bell and Lawrence were to participate in one of the most controversial actions of the 20th century; so controversial that it is easy to claim that their work still greatly affects our contemporary world.
 |
| Churchill, Bell, and Lawrence on camels |
Despite his heroic work during the war, and a degree from Oxford, Lawrence was still remembered for being the illegitimate issue of a nobleman. In English society, it was easy to dismiss his notions. As he had witnessed countless battlefield deaths, atrocities, and had been captured and tortured by the Turks, he was beginning to show the signs of that compounded trauma and was starting his gradual withdrawal from the world. Bell, on the other hand, was to the manor born and was of considerable influence as both her family and friends were well-placed in high office. She proved to be formidable in her attempt to grant the promised independence to the tribes and to prevent future conflict.
Over the period of ten months, Bell produced her masterwork: a comprehensive re-structuring not just of governmental systems, but of the very borders of countries themselves. Her report, "Self Determination in Mesopotamia", became the focus of debate for the next few years, as the European powers struggled to re-structure the Middle East in such a way that conflict could be minimized. That was Bell's intention, anyway. However, the Europeans desired to still be able to harvest much of the wealth of the area for their own purposes.
 |
| Even in the Mesopotamian wilderness, there is time for tea. Bell with Arab and British officers. |
In addition to, in essence, creating the nation of Iraq, Bell also established the National Library of Iraq and, in relation to her work as an amateur archaeologist, the Baghdad Archaeological Museum, both institutions of venerable quality and influence.
[A personal note: My mentor, a Baghdad native and man of considerable academic achievement, first realized his potential as a boy roaming the vast stacks of that library. I like to think, in more whimsical moments, that given his influence over my own work, Bell's labors influenced my life and work, as well]
Those old enough to remember, and who lived through the early days of Iraq, especially during the 1920's, regard that period as a golden age of peace and growth. While those Middle Eastern map lines drawn by a collection of Europeans in the early 20th century have also lead to much of the strife of the early 21st century, as surely as one generation's solution is the next generation's problem, Gertrude Bell is fondly recalled by Iraqis, even in the roiling religious cauldron of their contemporary reality.
Bell, exhausted by the labors associated with nation building, returned to England in 1925 to find her native country decimated by the war, with a disrupted economy, gross unemployment, and one-third of the male population dead. The graceful days that she recalled from her youth were long gone and never to return. As the victims of World War I suffered even into the next decades, so Bell joined their company. Gertrude Bell committed suicide in 1926.
Bell was interred in the British Cemetery in Baghdad. Her funeral was attended by every British and Iraqi official. The king of Iraq, himself, observed her funeral procession from his balcony in great solemnity and respect.
 |
| Bell's grave in contemporary Baghdad, still under the stewardship of respectful Iraqis. |
No woman in recent time has combined her qualities – her taste for arduous and dangerous adventure with her scientific interest and knowledge, her competence in archaeology and art, her distinguished literary gift, her sympathy for all sorts and condition of men, her political insight and appreciation of human values, her masculine vigour, hard common sense and practical efficiency – all tempered by feminine charm and a most romantic spirit
