Female Indiana Jones: Gertrude Bell
She played a substantial role in the establishment of the modern nation of Iraq.
When is a person Indiana Jones? If he is an archaeologist, cruising around the world, embarking on adventures, and simultaneously having exotic romances.
What if the person was a woman? Then she would be Gertrude Bell.
Until quite recently I’ve been wholly cut off from [the Shias] because their tenets forbid them to look upon an unveiled woman and my tenets don’t permit me to veil… Nor is it any good trying to make friends through the women — if they were allowed to see me they would veil before me as if I were a man. So you see I appear to be too female for one sex and too male for the other — Gertrude Bell, Baghdad, March 14, 1920.
In the time when women, who traveled, were frowned upon, she surpassed the stigma that surrounded female archaeologists and went on to establish modern Iraq.
Here are a few facts about this incredible woman who was a writer, traveler, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist.
Bell was close to her father and stepmother
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was born on July 14, 1868, to Sir Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet, and Mary Shield Bell. Bell lost her mother when she was giving birth to her brother, Maurice Bell.
The loss of her mother at an early age made her rely on her father and they forged a strong bond. When Bell was seven, Sir Hugh Bell married Florence Bell (and no, this is not Cinderella 2.0).
Far from the prejudices surrounding stepmothers, it was Florence who helped Bell understand the concepts of duty and decorum and eventually helped her evolve into a headstrong, independent woman who was not afraid to get what she wanted.
Dearest step-mother and father. I meant to go to F. and Mason yesterday morning, but Sir A. Lawley came in, and we had such a number of things to discuss with him that it was 1 o’clock before I could get away, by which time shops were shut. I’m rather glad to think that you are leaving Sutherland this week. You feel so far away. Your affectionate daughter Gertrude — Gertrude Bell, June 1915.
From the above portion of the letter, it is apparent that she loved them and held them in high esteem that she shared even the smallest of details with them.
Bell also frequently sought advice on political matters from her father, who was also in various government positions throughout his life.
She was the first woman to get a First Class degree in Oxford
Gertrude Bell had her education first at Queen’s College in London and then at Oxford University at 17.
At Oxford, she pursued Modern History in Lady Margaret Hall, one of the few subjects that were permissible for women’s education at the university. Bell completed the study in just two years and was deemed the first woman to acquire a First Class degree.
Due to gender bias, she was not allowed to graduate, despite her proficiency in the subject.
She was a multilinguist and an adept mountaineer
Upon completing her education at Oxford University, she set out to visit her uncle, Sir Frank Lascelles, a British Minister at Tehran, Persia. She had documented her journey in her book called Persian Pictures, published in 1894.
Her visit piqued her interest in the Middle East, and she spent the next decade honing her passion for archaeology and languages. She mastered eight languages, including French, Arabic, German, and Turkish. Her prowess in the language and the traditions of various tribes in the Middle East later helped her exert her political footing.
She also conquered many mountains between 1899 and 1904. She chartered ten new paths in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. One peak in the Bernese Oberland was named after her, Gertrudespitze.
Involvement in World War I
Though initially Bell was not permitted for a posting in the Middle East, the British Intelligence had her navigate the soldiers across the deserts. From WWI till her death, Bell was the only woman who had the power to shape the British Imperial Legacy in the Middle East.
She, along with T.E Lawrence ( a fellow Oxfordian or Oxfordite?), collected data relating to the disposition of the Arab Tribes to ally them against the Ottoman empire.
March 3, 1916, Gen. Clayton sent Bell to Basra to assist the Chief Political Officer Percy Cox in an area that only she knew well. She drew maps for the soldiers to traverse. She became the only political officer in the British army and received the title of “Liaison Officer, Correspondent to Cairo.”
She created Iraq and was a “Kingmaker”
Bell was called back to Baghdad by Percy Cox after its conquer by the British Imperial, and she was given the post of the Oriental Secretary. She worked as a mediator between the British Government and the Arab tribes to united the rulers under a single banner. Bell made a detailed official report, “Self Determination in Mesopotamia.”
The British decided that an autonomous Iraqi nation is better. During the Cairo Conference, Bell and Lawrence favored Faisal bin Hussein for becoming the first King of Iraq. Hussein had the support of the Shias due to his lineage from Muhammad. The Sunnis and Kurds also supported him as he hailed from a respected Sunni family.
Bell took up the task of easing Hussein into his role as a ruler. She also oversaw the selection of candidates for the cabinets and other leadership posts. She was known as the “al-Khatun” (a Lady of the Court who keeps an open eye and ear for the benefit of the State)
But Kingmaking was not an easy job. Hussein did not have the expected support, and Bell had to compare Hussein to Husayn, grandson of Muhammad to garner loyalty from the mass.
You may rely upon one thing — I’ll never engage in creating kings again; it’s too great a strain.
She had a very unsuccessful love life
During her stay in Tehran, Bell was smitten with a British Minister, Henry Cadogan. Both got engaged. But Cadogan’s impecunious nature and his penchant for gambling did not go well with Bell’s parents. Their match was not approved, and they had to break the engagement.
She was supposedly having a ‘brief but passionate’ relationship with a married Sir Frank Swettenham until 1909.
[23 April 1915] Ap 23 (1915) My dear. I am suffering such acute pains of longing for you. And now, though it’s late and I’m tired as usual, I must come back to you. I always long for you but at times I manage to bear it & at times I really can’t. — Gertrude Bell to Charles Doughty-Wylie.
Later from 1913 to 1915, Bell had an affair with Maj. Charles Doughty-Wylie, another married man. Though their relationship was never consummated, it was evident that it affected Doughty-Wylie’s marriage. Bell pressurized him to leave his wife, who was threatening suicide. The whole mayhem ended with Charles’ death in 1915 during the Gallipoli Campaign.
Later, when she was 50, she became fond of a certain Kinahan “Ken” Cornwallis. Being many years younger than her, Ken firmly rejected her advances. She had reportedly frozen at a lunch party and said,
“Why will promising young Englishmen marry such fools of women?”
Suicide or Accident?
Lonely and depressed, especially after her young half-brother’s death due to typhoid, she started taking sleeping pills. On July 12, 1926, she was found dead after an overdose on sleeping pills. It is still debated if it is a suicide or an accident.
Despite her numerous achievement, she was overshadowed by her male contemporaries (T.E Lawrence), despite contributing more to politics and archaeology. When she died, she left behind an effective, uncorrupted government of Iraq.
The footsteps of this remarkable woman can be found in:
That has the entire collection of her photographs, letters, and diary entries.
References:
1. http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/
2. https://www.civilservant.org.uk/women-gertrude_bell.html
3. https://www.biography.com/writer/gertrude-bell
4. https://amazingwomeninhistory.com/gertrude-bell-queen-of-the-desert/
5. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-25775990
6. https://www.mei.edu/publications/gertrude-bell-new-documentary-sheds-light-woman-who-helped-shape-iraq#:~:text=Cadogan%20died%20nine%20months%20after,and%20awarded%20the%20Victoria%20Cross.
