I know that
my posts are longer than your typical blog post, but I love to write about
history, and I love to womansplain, so bear with me until I get better at
editing myself.
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| Gertrude Bell in Iraq, 1909. Bell Archive, Public Domain. |
My main
area of interest in history is the 19th and 20th century
Middle East (Iraq in particular), so, it was inevitable that I would encounter
Gertrude Bell, who played a significant role in drawing the map of the Middle
East as we know it today. The blog “AmazingWomen in History” (one of many blogs like mine about those “left out
women”) I think does the best job of summarizing some of Bell’s major
historical achievements: she was the first woman to receive a first-class
degree in Modern History from Oxford, “the first person to climb all the peaks
of the Englehörner range in
the Swiss Alps…The first woman to do a solo journey into the uncharted Arabian
desert…The first female Intelligence officer employed by the British Military.”
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| Gertrude Bell in her mountain-climbing gear. University of Newcastle Library. |
Born in
1868, Gertrude Bell was the daughter of a wealthy British Industrialist, which
gave her access to a good education and enabled her to fund her unusual
lifestyle. After making a splash at Oxford, Bell went to spend some time with
her aunt and uncle in Romania, where her uncle was British ambassador. The
family hoped that young Gertrude might tame her “Oxfordy manner” and become
more marriageable – so much for that.
Gertrude
Bell never married, but not due to disdain for the institution or a lack of
femininity. She was quite feminine, and insisted on wearing skirts even when
riding camelback in the desert. Nor was Bell what we would think of as a
feminist. Despite her own array of impressive accomplishments, Bell saw herself
as an exception, not a role model and tended to be disdainful of other women.
In fact, she was against the suffrage
movement that agitated for women’s right to vote.
She was
interested in marriage, but her father refused her first suitor and the true
love of her life, Charles Doughty-Wylie, was already married when Gertrude Bell
met him. Doughty-Wylie remained married and he and Bell maintained a passionate
love affair through letters until he died in the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915.
After her
sojourn in Romania, Bell continued her travels throughout Europe and Asia,
pausing to climb some Alps (just for kicks) before spending some significant
time in Persia (Iran) to study Persian language. Thus began her travels
throughout the Middle East and her study of Arabic as well as Persian. During
this period of time – the early twentieth century, just before World War One –
Bell wrote books about her travels, mapped the uncharted territories she
travelled through, made important contacts with and developed an understanding
of various tribes and noblemen of the Arabian Peninsula, and contributed to the
archaeological digs of Syria and Iraq. (Incidentally, these digs were also
worked by young T.E. Lawrence “Lawrence of Arabia” and Agatha Christie’s second
husband, Max Mallowan.)
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| Having a picnic with the King of Iraq, you know, like you do. |
Although
Bell had already stacked up a major list of accomplishments prior to World War
One, her major historical legacy comes from her participation in the War, and
her attempts to establish a new order in the post war chaos. Patriotic, and
grieving for Doughty-Wylie, Bell offered her linguistic and cartographic
skills, as well as her unique understanding of Arab politics to the British
government. She returned to the Middle East to join an intelligence operation
underway in Cairo known as the Arab Bureau. It was the Arab Bureau, with Bell’s
guidance, that helped engineer the “Arab Revolt” against the Ottoman Empire
that made T.E. Lawrence famous.
This is
around the time when I launch into a long explanation of 1914-1918 geopolitics
in order contextualize Bell’s contributions. Since I have gone on long enough
already, I will save the diplomatic history for next week. In the meantime,
enjoy this cartoon about Bell’s early life.
Sources:
GertrudeBell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell
APeace to End All Peace by David Fromkin
Miss Bell’sLine in the Sand, by James Buchan, The
Guardian, March 11, 2003
If you are interested in Gertrude Bell, keep your eyes
peeled for this documentary, Letters from Baghdad.
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