Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) was an English author and adventurer who influenced the formation of the country, Iraq, when that state gained independence from [[Britain] in 19XX] after World War I. "The best known traveler in the Middle East and Arabia in the years before World War I, the British intelligence bureau in Cairo hired her as an advisor on Arabia." (reference for quote: "Gertrude Bell." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 22. Gale Group, 2002. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007).
Bell's life was unusual, and her accomplishments were unique for a British woman living during the reign of Queen Victoria. Bright, athletic, and talented at languages, she became fluent in both Arabic and Persian. An accomplished equestrian, she spent years leading her own personal expeditions across the sands of Middle Eastern deserts - on either horse or camel. Reputedly a person of a forthright charm, she managed to befriend British men, including T.E. Lawrence, British women, including Vita Sackville-West, Iraqi and Bedouin men, including Faisal, and women. To a large extent, she was accepted by both the British and Iraqi societies of her time and the perspective she gained from understanding these peoples became invaluable during her career. When the lands that are now Iraq became removed from the political domination of the Ottoman Empire by mandate from the League of Nations in 19XX, the next step in government of the region was an open question. The fact that rich supplies of oil were likely to be present intensified the interest of all concerned.
Gertrude Bell argued that, rather than be allocated to Indian rule, that the native people of Iraq should control their own government.
She initially travelled to the Middle East to visit an uncle, who was then the British Ambassador to Persia, stationed in Tehran. "In 1899 Bell studied Arabic in Jerusalem. During the spring of 1900 she went to visit the Druse in the mountains of southern Lebanon. Bell also visited Palmyra, the ruins of a Roman city in Jordan. She described it as "a white skeleton of a town, standing knee-deep in the blown sand." She then went mountain climbing in the Alps and took two trips around the world with her brother." ((reference for quote: "Gertrude Bell." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 22. Gale Group, 2002. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007. )
She spent months crossing uncharted portions of the desert in XXX and XXX during the years 19XX-19XX, mostly on camelback. Unlike most English travelers of her day, she was fluent in both Persian and Arabic and had a propensity to make maps.
Further reading
Gertrude Bell. The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914. Rosemary O'Brien, ed. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2000. xvi + 258 pp; ill. ISBN 0-8156-0672-9 (hb).