On Monday morning 3/1/2021, a PhD thesis, entitled (the administrative, social and economic conditions in Basrah through the administrative inspection reports 1923-1939, historical study), was discussed in the History Department at the College of Arts / University of Basrah.
The thesis presented by the student Hameed Silawi Lafta included four chapters. The first chapter discussed the administrative conditions in Basrah and the development of the administrative inspection system in Iraq 1914-1939.
The second chapter included the municipalities of Basrah in the administrative inspection reports 1923-1929. The third chapter discussed the social conditions in Basrah in light of the administrative inspection reports 1923-1939. The fourth chapter dealt with the economic activity in Basrah in the light of the administrative inspection reports 1923-1939.
The thesis aims to shed light on aspects of the local history of Basrah by relying on various sources through the administrative inspection reports written by the administrative inspectors who toured the districts and subdistricts of the Basrah for the purpose of reviewing the general conditions in it with the aim of conveying a picture of the reality experienced by the Basrah citizen to the concerned authorities in the Basrah and in the capital, Baghdad.
The thesis concluded that the work of the British authorities in the period that followed their occupation of Basrah to arrange its conditions in line with the higher British interests and to enable them to manage the affairs of the areas they occupied easily and smoothly. After completing its control over Iraq, it created many administrative jobs to ensure its oversight of the work of ministries and government departments. Among the most important of these jobs was the job of British consultants, which enabled it to intervene in the work of the ministry and facilitate it in line with its ambitions and interests in Iraq.
