Kurds and Kurdistan in the view of British travellers in the nineteenth century
This thesis is the first critical study of British travel writing on Kurdistan in the nineteenth century based upon travellersâ accounts and unpublished reports of diplomats. The principal aim is to identify which aspects of Kurdish society and culture were highlighted by the British and to analyse what factors influenced British representations of the region and its people. The travellersâ emphasis upon Kurdish culture and the Kurdsâ tribal culture, for example, is discussed in terms of contemporary interest in enlightenment sociology and the emergence of anthropology. A second key aim is to establish how far the British understood Kurds from their perspective on people in the East, whether they saw them as part of a homogeneous group of people, and the extent to which they recognised Kurds as culturally, socially, politically, and geographically. Finally, this thesis examines the importance of the Kurdish regions to the British imperial agenda. This research has made some important findings: firstly, it has confirmed that the British travellers were inclined to represent the Kurds as different from the other Muslim societies and therefore complicates our understanding of British views of the Ottoman
Muhammad, Qadir Muhammad
Kurds and Kurdistan in the view of British travellers in the nineteenth century. This thesis is the first critical study of British travel writing on Kurdistan in the nineteenth century based upon travellersâ accounts and unpublished reports of diplomats. The principal aim is to identify which aspects of Kurdish society and culture were highlighted by the British and to analyse what factors influenced British representations of the region and its people. The travellersâ emphasis upon Kurdish culture and the Kurdsâ tribal culture, for example, is discussed in terms of contemporary interest in enlightenment sociology and the emergence of anthropology. A second key aim is to establish how far the British understood Kurds from their perspective on people in the East, whether they saw them as part of a homogeneous group of people, and the extent to which they recognised Kurds as culturally, socially, politically, and geographically. Finally, this thesis examines the importance of the Kurdish regions to the British imperial agenda. This research has made some important findings: firstly, it has confirmed that the British travellers were inclined to represent the Kurds as different from the other Muslim societies and therefore complicates our understanding of British views of the Ottoman
kurdistan view british traveller first critical_study british travel write kurdistan base_upon traveller account unpublished_report diplomat principal_aim identify aspect kurdish society culture highlight british analyse factor_influence british representation region people traveller emphasis_upon kurdish culture tribal culture example discuss_term contemporary interest enlightenment sociology emergence anthropology second key aim_establish far british understood perspective people east whether saw part homogeneous_group people extent recognise culturally socially politically geographically finally examines importance kurdish region british_imperial agenda make_important finding firstly confirm british traveller represent different muslim society therefore british view ottoman