1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday everybody. Today we are picking up where we 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: left off in our two parter on Gertrude Bell. This 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: two parter originally came out in twelve and it was 4 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: the work of previous hosts Sarah and Doublina, and today's 5 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: installment gets into the work that Bell did that influenced 6 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: the founding of modern Iraq. So enjoy. Welcome to stuff 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: you missed in history class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, 8 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:35,479 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Deblie a Chalk reporting 9 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: and I'm far A Dowdy, and we're continuing on here 10 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: with our discussion of Gertrude Bell, who is a British archaeologist, 11 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: mountain climber, and desert explorer, and as we'll see in 12 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: this episode, also an intelligence officer and a diplomat too. 13 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: She said to have been one of the most powerful 14 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: women in the British Empire at one time, but today 15 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: her name really isn't that widely known, so we wanted 16 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: to take a look at her life and why she 17 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: was called the uncrowned Queen of Rock. So let's recap 18 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: just a little bit before we get too far into this. 19 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: In part one of this podcast, we talked a bit 20 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: about Gertrude's scholarly pursuits, plus some of her daredevil adventures 21 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: as a young woman climbing the Alps. We followed her 22 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: on some of her early adventures through the Middle East, 23 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: during times when she explored areas that no woman, in 24 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: many cases, nobody at all, had ever explored before, places 25 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: that were considered extremely dangerous. One of the most exciting 26 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: of these adventures was when she explored the territory of 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 1: the secretive Druz sect and charmed the Drews King. And 28 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: in these cases, and I mean especially with that example, 29 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:44,759 Speaker 1: it was her bravery and her charm that really seemed 30 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: to pay off, really seemed to win over the locals, 31 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: and in doing so, by by becoming so friendly with 32 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: the people she met, she was really able to learn 33 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: a lot about the area and its history, things that 34 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: really were not previously known by foreigners, and also to 35 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: her with her various archaeological pursuits though too, which we 36 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: outlined a bit in the last episode, And we also 37 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: discussed her first meeting with Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known 38 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: as Lawrence of Arabia, and we haven't seen the last 39 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: of him. He's going to pop up again in Gertrude 40 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 1: Bell's story, so stay tuned for that. But although she 41 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: didn't necessarily think this of all women, Gertrude also obviously 42 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: believed herself capable of many things, but as we'll see 43 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: in this episode, there were some instances in which people 44 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: were ready to challenge that before that, though, we should 45 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: really dwell on this idea of Bell being capable of 46 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: anything that I just mentioned for just for a second, 47 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: because it certainly seemed like she was when it came 48 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: to most pursuits. But we do know that up to 49 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,679 Speaker 1: this point in our story, she hasn't been able to 50 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: sort things out in her personal life really that well, 51 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: especially in the marriage department, even though it would have 52 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: been expected of a woman with her background to have 53 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: worked that out early on. So we talked about her 54 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: first love a little bit in that first episode. It 55 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: was a young British diplomat named Henry could Suggan, whom 56 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: Bell's father didn't approve of because he just didn't have 57 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: the financial exactly the financial means to take care of her, 58 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: and he actually passed away soon after their courtship, closing 59 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: that door for good for her. But somehow in the 60 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: midst of all these adventures and scholarly pursuits, Gertrude did 61 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: manage to find love again. I mean, she sounds kind 62 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 1: of like she's our sitcom hero and we're talking about 63 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,359 Speaker 1: right now, But she she did find a second love. 64 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: When she was in her forties. She'd come across the 65 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: British diplomat and army officer Richard Doughty Wiley while traveling 66 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: in Turkey, where he had been stationed, and when the 67 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: two of them were back in London for a time 68 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirteen, they really clicked. Finally they started up 69 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: an affair, and according to Janet Wallack's article in The Smithsonian, 70 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: they apparently had a lot of passion between them. At 71 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: least early on. They had a lot in common they 72 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: were both adventurers. But their relationship didn't last very long. 73 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: It flamed out pretty quickly. For one thing, Doughtie Wiley 74 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: was married, and he also got reassigned. He was reassigned 75 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: to the Balkans. And after that, Gertrude just really threw 76 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: herself into another great adventure, this time going to the 77 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: desert of northern Arabia, where no westerner had traveled. In 78 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: twenty years, so really looking for something new to do 79 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: after this this second flame, right, and not only was 80 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: this area not well traveled, I mean, just to give 81 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: an idea of how dangerous it really was, there were 82 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: two tribes in the area that were they had a 83 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: brutal war going on between them at the time, so 84 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: dangerous exactly, and the British, because of that, advised her 85 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: not to go. And she also didn't have permission from 86 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 1: the Turks to travel there, but she did it anyway. 87 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: She went ahead and and set off on this journey, 88 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: and she reached her goal of making it to Hail, 89 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: which is a walled city which was once a stop 90 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: for pilgrims on route to Mecca. But among other misadventures, 91 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: she ended up during this journey being held captive by 92 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: a powerful tribe there for nearly ten days. You can 93 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: imagine during this time she really thought she wasn't going 94 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: to get away. The tribe apparently had quite the reputation 95 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: for for murder and mayhem, so she she just feared 96 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: for her life, really, but finally her anger just sort 97 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: of overcame her fear, I guess, and she demanded that 98 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: they set her free, and surprisingly they did not really 99 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: sure why they did that. Maybe they were just really 100 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: shocked and impressed. She she spoke up for herself. I 101 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: don't know. Maybe they said of charm is sometimes effective. 102 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: It seems true. Um. By the summer of nineteen fourteen, 103 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: she was back in England and um, you might think 104 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: she'd be relieved to be home and be safe and 105 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,160 Speaker 1: be alive, but she was feeling kind of down, feeling 106 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: a letdown that you might feel after a particularly exhilarating trip, 107 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: or in her case, a life threatening trip. According to 108 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: Walax article, she wrote to Doughtie Wiley at this time 109 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: and said the end of an adventure always leaves one 110 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: with a feeling of disillusion, just nothing, and she went 111 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: on to say dust and ashes in one's hand, dead 112 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 1: bones that look as if they would never rise and dance. 113 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: So she's feeling poetic, but also clearly sad about where 114 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: she is. She needs This is a woman who needs 115 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,720 Speaker 1: something to do, so in nineteen fourteen she was kind 116 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: of presented with some new possibilities. In June of that year, 117 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was aired to the throne of 118 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: Austria Hungary, was assassinated, which helped set world War one 119 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: into motion, and the Turks entered into a secret treaty 120 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: with the Germans and they became allies. So suddenly Gertrude's 121 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: singular knowledge of the Arabian desert and its people became 122 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: really invaluable to the British because they wanted to keep 123 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: their influence in the Middle East. She'd explored, as we mentioned, 124 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: and mapped places that most Westerners have never been, so 125 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: what she knew was then a hot commodity. It was, 126 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: and according to Carrie Ellis's History Today article, the British 127 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 1: director of military operations in Cairo did ask Bell to 128 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: to get him a report including basically everything that she 129 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: had ever learned on her travels in Syria and Mesopotamia 130 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 1: and Arabia. And she had, you know, she she hadn't 131 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: just observed all this time, she had formed some opinions 132 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: of her own too, and clearly with the world so 133 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: in balance at this point she was ready to speak 134 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: her mind. Right. She believed in a strategy of organizing 135 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: the Arabs in a revolt against the Ottoman Turks, because 136 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: she knew that the Ottomans were losing their influence with 137 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: the Arabs, and so she shared her knowledge of this, 138 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: but she wanted to go beyond that. She really thought 139 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: that she could help with this, with organizing this revolt, 140 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: and so she asked for an official post in the 141 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: Middle East, but she was denied that because it was 142 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: thought to be too dangerous for a woman. So she 143 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: went off to France for a while to volunteer with 144 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: the Red Cross, probably also pretty dangerous. Right by November 145 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: of nineteen fifteen, though, the military had had a bit 146 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: of a change of heart and Gertrude was called to 147 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: the Arab Bureau and Cairo to work for a small 148 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: espionage team that they had there in the Savoy Hotel. 149 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: There were a couple of other archaeologists working for this 150 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: little intelligence outfit to including Leonard Woolley who we mentioned recently, 151 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: I think in the Agatha Christie podcast, and also Lawrence, 152 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: and they were making maps and geological reports, and Gertrude 153 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: was drafted to catalog Arab tribes which she had learned 154 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: a lot about on her travels too, So she was 155 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: catalog of these tribes in detail so that British officials 156 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: could reach out to their leaders and form alliances. And 157 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: just incidentally, you just mentioned Lawrence again. This is where 158 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: he and Gertrude Bell got to be really good friends, 159 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: really tight. They'd share meals together, they would talk all 160 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: the time. In her article while it even calls them 161 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: quote soul mate, so good buddies. But the work that 162 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: Gertrude was doing during this time, well clearly very valuable 163 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: to the British still wasn't really in an official capacity. 164 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: It was idle. It was increasingly influential, but it wasn't official. 165 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: Just some examples though, the kind of stuff she was doing. 166 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: She was sent to India to convince the viceroy there 167 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: to put up men in cash and support of the 168 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: Arab revolt. In March of nineteen sixteen, she was sent 169 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: to Mesopotamia to use her relationships with various tribes there 170 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,439 Speaker 1: to try to convince locals to cooperate with the British effort. 171 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: So she's really on the ground, getting people involved, stirring 172 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: up British loyalties. Um. And then her maps too, I mean, 173 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: that's just a very practical side of things. Her maps 174 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: really helped the British Army reach Baghdad. So as a 175 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: result of all these contributions, her work in Mesopotamia under 176 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: the leadership of Chief Political Officer Percy Cox. Gertrude was 177 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: given the title of Liaison Officer Correspondent to Cairo, which 178 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: made her official and, according to Ellis, made her the 179 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: sole female political officer in the British forces, and then 180 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventeen, after the British Army took Baghdad, she 181 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: was given the title of Oriental Secretary. By late nineteen 182 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 1: eighteen things changed. Though the Allies had made peace with 183 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: Germany and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, the Arab world 184 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: was pretty much in a total state of chaos as 185 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: France and England tried to figure out how they were 186 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: going to divvy up their sphere of influence in the 187 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,680 Speaker 1: Middle East, and there was also the question of how 188 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: these areas were going to be governed. For example, would 189 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: the areas under British influence, which at the time included Mesopotamia. 190 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: Would these be under British rule or would they be 191 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,199 Speaker 1: allowed to govern themselves? And of course, as you can imagine, 192 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,960 Speaker 1: Bell had an opinion on this. In January of nineteen nineteen, 193 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 1: she was asked for a report that addressed this very question, 194 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: which was a task that she was understandably quite passionate 195 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: about having known the people and and studied and worked 196 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: with them for so long, and according to Ellis's article, 197 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: it took her ten months to put something together, though 198 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: she was so thorough on it, and the idea that 199 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,319 Speaker 1: it ultimately got across her report was her belief that 200 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: the Arab should be able to govern themselves. She wrote, 201 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: quote an Arab state in Mesopotamia within a short period 202 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 1: of years is a possibility, and the recognition or creation 203 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: of a logical scheme of government on those lines and 204 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: supersession of those on which we are now working on 205 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:24,720 Speaker 1: Mesopotamia would be practical and popular. So very report kind 206 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 1: of language there, but clear what her what her view 207 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: on on the situation is. Unfortunately, though her superior at 208 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: the time A. T. Wilson, because Cox had been called 209 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 1: away to another post, Wilson didn't agree with her at 210 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 1: all on this point. He sent her report over with 211 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: a cover letter that expressed how he felt her ideas 212 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: were quote erroneous. So Wilson basically believed that the British 213 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: should retain control there and he wasn't. Incidentally, the only 214 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: British officer in Baghdad that Bell didn't get along with 215 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: in general, she was pretty much disliked by her peers 216 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: in those postwar years. According to Wall article, colleagues express 217 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: this in a number of different ways. For example, they 218 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: would keep her out of the loop on cables and 219 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: secret documents. Maybe on a lighter note, maybe not as serious. 220 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: They would shun her in the dining hall. They would 221 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: make jokes about her and laugh behind her back. So 222 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 1: just an example here, she used to throw these teas 223 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: for British and Arab dignitaries to get together and sort 224 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 1: of get to know each other a little better, and 225 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: the other officers referred to them mockingly as p s 226 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 1: a s, which stood for Pleasant Sunday Afternoons. They also 227 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: referred to her house as chastity Chase, which is pretty mean. 228 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 1: It is pretty mean. I mean all of the shunning 229 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 1: her in the dining myth, that's pretty mean, pretty childish. 230 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: And we certainly don't want to make it sound as 231 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: if she invited this kind of behavior, because it just 232 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: sounds like mean stuff to do, But in some cases 233 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: she may have encouraged it a little bit. With the 234 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,959 Speaker 1: officers wives especially, she was quite rude to them. She 235 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,040 Speaker 1: would make pointed remarks about what they wore. You know, 236 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: if they were wearing things that she didn't consider very 237 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,080 Speaker 1: culturally appropriate, like a low cut dress, um, she would 238 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,680 Speaker 1: she would call him out on it. She even said 239 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: about that quote, I do wish that our women would 240 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: show some suitability in attire um. But but basically she 241 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: didn't do anything to try to be friendly to most 242 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: of the people she worked with. So meanwhile, eighteen months 243 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: after the Ottoman Empire collapsed, there still wasn't an Arab 244 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: government in place in Mesopotamia and the British were still 245 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 1: in control, so the Arab tribes rebelled. Wilson basically tried 246 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: to squash this uprising with brute force, bombs and the like, 247 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: but this only made things worse. Ten thousand Arabs lost 248 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: their lives during this time, and a few hundred British 249 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 1: did as well. Things changed though by October eleventh, nineteen twenty. 250 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 1: By then Wilson had been forced out and Belle's old 251 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: friend Percy Cox returned. He shared her view that the 252 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 1: Arabs should govern themselves, so this helped to kind of 253 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: set things in motion well. It also coincided nicely with 254 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: the fact that the then Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill was 255 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: ready to put a stop to the enormous economic drain 256 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: of these Arab rebellions. They were quite expensive, so he 257 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: called his best experts in the Middle East together to 258 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: a conference in Egypt to figure out how exactly they 259 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: were going to make this new Arab government work. He 260 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 1: invited forty experts total, only one woman was there, Gertrude. 261 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: Of course, her old buddy Lawrence was in attendance as well. 262 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: And while it describes her showing up in Cairo in 263 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: her signature accessories, which were a hat and furs and 264 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 1: really getting right down to business, she helped determine the 265 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: borders of the new nation of Iraq, and the real 266 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: tricky part that was figuring out not where the country 267 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: would be, where its borders would be, but who was 268 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: going to lead this new nation. Yeah, because there were 269 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: so many different groups to consider, just to name a few, 270 00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 1: the Shiites, the Sunanees, the Kurds, the Jewish community as well. 271 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: Who could they find this was the question. Who could 272 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: they find who would be accepted by all of these people. 273 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: So they finally decided on making them a key the 274 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: Sunni holy Man of Baghdad, the Prime Minister and for 275 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: that King position that was so key. They thought of 276 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: Prince Faisal, whose family was said to be descendants of 277 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: the prophet Muhammad. Because of that connection, he'd appealed to 278 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,880 Speaker 1: both the Shiites and the Sunni Muslims, but he also 279 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: had military administrative experience that he'd proven during the war 280 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: and during the rebellion. Both Belle and Lawrence argued heavily 281 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: in his favor. They wanted Faisel as king, and they 282 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 1: convinced Churchill too, but of course the real test was 283 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: going to be whether they could convince the Iraqi people. 284 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: One major problem was that Fisel didn't have any roots 285 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: in Iraq. He had never even been to the the 286 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: future country before, and according to Ellis, he even spoke 287 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: a different dialect of Arabic, so he really had a 288 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: lot to learn. But the Arabs didn't want to ruler 289 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: who was just so obviously a puppet of the British. 290 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 1: So it wasn't just about him learning things, it was 291 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: coming across authentic almost so after he arrived in Baghdad, 292 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: Gertrude really took him under her wing, and again she 293 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 1: used her vast knowledge of the region to help bring 294 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: him up to speed, you know, helping him learn about 295 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: the different tribes and tribal geography, teaching him little things 296 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: like how to deal with businessmen and Baghdad, and using 297 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: her influence with tribal leaders to to win them over. 298 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: I mean, it's kind of ironic when you think about it, 299 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: if this British woman is training this man to be 300 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: king and helping him really be authentic by sharing all 301 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: of her knowledge. But it seemed to work well. She 302 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: and Fisil ultimately became good friends. It took a few months, 303 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 1: but Fisel did win the widespread support of the Iraqis 304 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: and he won the throne by a virtually unanimous vote. 305 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: He was crowned king on August twenty nine, and after 306 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: he took the throne, Gertrude remained one of his closest advisers, 307 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: both personally and politically, for for some time, and that's 308 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,400 Speaker 1: how she became known in England and in Baghdad as 309 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: the uncrowned Queen of Iraq. So of course this whole 310 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: process was a huge thrill for Gertrude, I mean, nation 311 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: building and and being almost the personal tutor for the king. 312 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,400 Speaker 1: Um She wrote home at one point quote, I feel 313 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: at times like the creator about the middle of the week, 314 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: he must have wondered what it was going to be like, 315 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: as I do. I think that's kind of a little 316 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: nod to some of the earlier notes we made about 317 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: Gertrude being quite confident. Sure so um. But as Iraq's 318 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: government strengthened under its new leadership, Wallec writes that Bell 319 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: became more of a social secretary defisal than anything else. 320 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 1: He he had learned what he needed to to function. Also, 321 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,959 Speaker 1: Percy Cox retired, so her duties there were sort of 322 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,640 Speaker 1: diminished in her all, uh, phasing out a little bit 323 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: at this point. For a while, she went back into 324 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: her roots in archaeology, just kind of to have something 325 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,919 Speaker 1: to do because she was a little bit bored. She 326 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: went to the Sumerian city of Ric and found all 327 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: of these relics, and with fiss permission, she founded the 328 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:21,120 Speaker 1: country's first museum of antiquities, temporarily housed in the Palace 329 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: at Baghdad, and that became her focus for a while. 330 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 1: She would supervise digs and she would save and catalog 331 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: these treasures of ancient Iraq that she found. In June 332 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,919 Speaker 1: of her archaeological museum officially opened with a collection of 333 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: more than three thousand items. Still, though, and despite that accomplishment, 334 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:45,639 Speaker 1: I mean opening a museum, Gertrude still felt really depressed 335 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: and lonely, and had become increasingly so in the years 336 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 1: leading up to to this point. She had lost a 337 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: lot of her influence in in Baghdad, as we mentioned, 338 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: and also many of her friends had left by this 339 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 1: point to her health had deteriorated her, her family fortune 340 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:04,080 Speaker 1: had dwindled and they lost their home in England. Her 341 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: her brother died, and she really regretted to not having 342 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 1: uh married earlier and having a family of her own, 343 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: something she she was upset about. So most people seem 344 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 1: to believe that it's this combination of reasons that on Sunday, 345 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: July she went to bed and purposely took an extra 346 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: dose of sleeping pills. She never woke up, but it 347 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:30,680 Speaker 1: is good to know that she was at least fully 348 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: honored in death. She was given a full military funeral 349 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,639 Speaker 1: by the British in Baghdad. She was buried there, which 350 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: seems quite fitting because at one point she even wrote quote, 351 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: I don't care to be in London much. I like 352 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 1: Baghdad and I like Iraq. It's the real East, and 353 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 1: it's stirring. Things are happening here, and the romance of 354 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: it all touches me and absorbs me. Um So clearly 355 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: she considered this her home and where she wanted to be, 356 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: and others there seemed to have connected with her as well. 357 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: Arabs apparently lined the streets to say goodbye to her, 358 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: and her influence was felt there for a while. The 359 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: regime that she helped establish with Faissal was in power 360 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:12,199 Speaker 1: for thirty seven years before it finally fell to revolutionaries again. 361 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: Just really, it's interesting, especially because of the way Iraq 362 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,400 Speaker 1: has made headlines in recent years, that Gertrude's name isn't 363 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: more widely known, but it may be more widely known soon. 364 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: Rumors of a movie project have been kind of swirling 365 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 1: around for a while. One rumor, I think connected a 366 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:37,040 Speaker 1: Riddley Scott idea to Angelina Jolie, who would have played 367 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:38,920 Speaker 1: Gertrude Bell, But I don't know. I think that maybe 368 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: that has fizzled out a little bit. But there's a 369 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: more recent rumor also involving do Law, Robert Pattinson, and 370 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: Naomi Watts as Gertrude Bell that's set to begin filming, 371 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: and I think in two thousand thirteen that may be 372 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,640 Speaker 1: more than a rumor that me that maybe. I mean, 373 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,119 Speaker 1: we'll see, because we'll know soon enough, don't we. It 374 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,119 Speaker 1: certainly seems like good movie material. Um, I think it 375 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,120 Speaker 1: is funny. I mean, you were just mentioning it's strange 376 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: she hasn't made, um, I don't know, made more news 377 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: or been connected to more news stories, or her name 378 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,159 Speaker 1: just isn't that widely known. I always have thought of 379 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,880 Speaker 1: her as one of the Lady Travelers, but clearly they're 380 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:19,879 Speaker 1: so much more going on. The Lady Travelers is probably 381 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:26,160 Speaker 1: not a great category to put her in. Um. Nation Builder, 382 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,239 Speaker 1: you know, something like that. So many things, and I 383 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: still love that mountain climber aspect of her personality too. 384 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: It's easy to forget with all this other stuff that 385 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 1: she has this stint in her youth climbing the Alps 386 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,400 Speaker 1: and a mountain that's named after her. Yeah, Gertrude Pizza 387 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:48,960 Speaker 1: or something. Um. Pretty pretty great all around, So very 388 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 1: interesting to learn about her. I'm glad that we now 389 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:55,360 Speaker 1: know the bigger picture, and I think it will certainly 390 00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:00,159 Speaker 1: inform just how I see current events too. I mean, 391 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: this is fairly recent history. It's not that long ago. 392 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: It's still pretty applicable in certain ways. Absolutely, I love 393 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: how these podcasts kind of and they give us more 394 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,480 Speaker 1: knowledge about how the world sort of came to its 395 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: present state, and we learn a lot more about about 396 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: different areas. Thank you so much for joining us for 397 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,959 Speaker 1: this Saturday classic. Since this is out of the archive, 398 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: if you heard an email address or a Facebook U 399 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: r L or something similar during the course of the show, 400 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,199 Speaker 1: that may be obsolete now. So here is our current 401 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: contact information. We are at history Podcasts at how stuff 402 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: works dot com, and then we're at missed in the 403 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: history all over social media. That is our name on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, 404 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: and Instagram. Thanks again for listening for more on this 405 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how staff works 406 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: dot com.