The De Bunsen Committee was the first committee established by the British government to determine their policy toward the Ottoman Empire during and following World War I. It was established on 8 April 1915 by British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, and was headed by Sir Maurice de Bunsen. The report of the De Bunsen committee established the foundation for British policy in the Middle East.
Contents
The committee was established in response to a French initiative, to consider the nature of British objectives in Turkey and Asia in the event of a successful conclusion of the war. The committee's report provided the guidelines for negotiations with France, Italy, and Russia regarding the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.
Members
The members of the committee were was follows:
The impact of Mark Sykes, who later negotiated the Sykes-Picot Agreement, on the committee was said to be "profound".
Report
The De Bunsen committee considered four possible solutions: partition, leaving only a small Ottoman state in Anatolia; preservation subject to Great Power control zones of political and commercial influence; preservation as an independent state in Asia; creation of a decentralised, federal Ottoman state in Asia.
The Committee's report, titled "Committee of Imperial Defence: Asiatic Turkey, Report of a Committee" was issued on 30 June 1915, and recommended the last option as the best solution for meeting the British Empire's defence needs.