The De Bunsen Committee was a committee established in 1915 by British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, headed by Maurice De Bunsen, to determine British wartime policy toward the Ottoman Empire in Asia. The resulting report of the De Bunsen committee established the foundation for British policy in the Middle East. The committee was established in response to a French initiative, to consider the nature of British objectives in Turkey and in Asia in the event of a successful conclusion of the war.

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  • The De Bunsen Committee was a committee established in 1915 by British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, headed by Maurice De Bunsen, to determine British wartime policy toward the Ottoman Empire in Asia. The resulting report of the De Bunsen committee established the foundation for British policy in the Middle East. The committee was established in response to a French initiative, to consider the nature of British objectives in Turkey and in Asia in the event of a successful conclusion of the war. The committee's report provided the guidelines for negotiations with France, Italy, and Russia regarding the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The de Bunsen committee considered four possible solutions for dealing with the Ottoman Empire: 1- Outright partition, leaving only a small Ottoman state in Anatolia; 2- Preservation of the Ottoman Empire, subject to Great Power control zones of political and commercial influence; 3- Preservation of the Ottoman Empire as an independent state in Asia; 4- Creation of a decentralised and federal Ottoman state in Asia. The Committee's report, titled "British war aims in Ottoman Asia" was issued on 30 June 1915, and recommended the fourth option as the best solution for meeting the British Empire's defence needs.
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  • The De Bunsen Committee was a committee established in 1915 by British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, headed by Maurice De Bunsen, to determine British wartime policy toward the Ottoman Empire in Asia. The resulting report of the De Bunsen committee established the foundation for British policy in the Middle East. The committee was established in response to a French initiative, to consider the nature of British objectives in Turkey and in Asia in the event of a successful conclusion of the war.
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  • De Bunsen Committee
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