Colonial Racism

The racist attitude among many of Britain's colonialists towards "natives"  is well-known. I recently found another example in a quote from the British Consulate in French Syria dated 5th of September 1924. Syria was at the time not very fond of Britain, especially if you believe the Syrian newspapers. The Consulate, who also represented the merchants from Nejd in Arabia at the time, was frustrated by this anti-British attitude and it's influence on Nejdian merchants:

‘The local Newspapers, in common with others in the Near East, are filled with artilces [sic] that are anti-British, either openly or by insinuation and poison the minds of unthinking simple folk like Nejdians, and in fact most Arabs‘ and ‘the erroneous news is widely accepted as the truth.’

Representing the Sultanate of Nejd in Syria was apparently not the easiest task in the world. According to officials at the Consulate:

‘the Oriental is always on the look out for verbal traps, and it is not easy to convince him that none are intended.’

This attitude might not be so strange considering Britain's diplomatic history of verbal traps.

Source: FO 684/1

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