The latter half of the 19th century was a time of great economic development for Azerbaijan, based largely on the discovery of huge oil reserves. Considered the birthplace of the modern oil industry, the oil resources in Azerbaijan account for over half of total world oil output. And more than 95 percent of the oil factories in Russia were secured by resources from four major oil fields in Azerbaijan Guneshli, Chirag, Azeri and Kapaz fields.
Baku attracted investors and oil developers from all over the world,
among them the wealthy Alfred Nobel and his brothers. Other leading oil
firms operating in the Baku area at the eve of World War I included the
Primary Russian Oil Company, the English-Dutch company, Shell, and the
emerging French firm Rotshild. Toward the end of the wax; however, English,
French and German companies controlled the majority of the oil shares in
Baku. As this market grew, American oil companies began to show an interest
in Azerbaijan.
At the first meeting of the newly created Azerbaijani National
Council, the memoran
dum of independence was accepted. According to this memorandum, Azerbaijan
became
a completely sovereign state which would be governed by a democratic
form of goverment
By the end of 1918, the new government had adopted a law on voting
in Azerbaijan,
making Azerbaijan the first nation in the region to adopt a democratic
form of government
Following passage of the law, Milli Share, a member of the National
Council, addressed the
people of Azerbaijan, noting that "for the citizens, the world war
is over; [and] we await the
eve of world peace." Shura also believed that Azerbaijan's independence
would trigger a
grand revolution among those people through out the world who demand
a return of their legal rights, freedom and justice to follow suit.
External forces-including the Baku Soviet and the Turks-would not reconcile
with the
newly independent nation of Azerbaijan, and tried to suppress the government
many times. Thus,
on November 16, the Azerbaijani National Council turned to the US and
western nations for acknowledgment of Azerbaijani independence. Alter long
debate, representatives of England,
France and the United States agreed that, although they did not recognize
Azerbaijan's declaration
of independence, each country would establish de facto relations with
the government and agreed
that Azerbaijan would participate in the Paris Peace Conference.
On November 17, the Allied Forces under the direction of English
General Thomp
son arrived in Baku to protect the interests of the new administration.
During the troops' stay,
Thompson would permit the reestablishment of labor unions and other
socialist Parties that were
suppressed by the Turks, but maintained a militant attitude toward
the Azerbaijani people. Th-
ompson later informed a delegation that the Azerbaijani govenment did
not reflect the in-
terests of the Population, and that his main task in Baku was to make
certain that the city was
returned to the Russians and contributed to the war effort of White
Army Commander Gen-
eral Denikin.
Brown's words reflected the US, Armenian propagated perception
of the Caucasus. In
order to dispel Brown's unflattering remarks, Topchibashev said, "You
are correct, in the
Azerbaijani Caucasus there are also Armenians, the total of whom is
uncertain. The population
of Azerbaijan comprises Azerbaijanis-Turkic Muslims. Our founding city
is Baku." Alter explaining this, Topchibashev read the memorandum of the
Azerbaijani Republic to Brown, and
noted reasons for justifying the existence of the republic, its borders,
and its political livelihood.
"We hope that the United States- a country which is lead by a president who proclaims the principles of freedom of all the peoples-will recognize our independence," Topchibashev said.
In a follow-up meeting on January 6, 1919, Topchibashev met with
US Representative Naeks, a gentleman of a different character than Brown.
Unlike Mr. Brown, Mr. Naeks was more knowledgeable of the Transcaucasus;
prior to January 1918 he lived in Istanbul and
spoke Arabic and Farsi languages. Naeks was very familiar with the
memorandum of Azeri
independence. Yet, the idea of a Federation of Peoples of the Caucasus
was of great interest
to Naeks, who was already of the Armenian influenced opinion of the
dangers of promoting one nation's interests rather than a unified interest
in the Transcaucasus. Naeks and the Allies were supporting the White movement,
and feared Possible dissension by supporting the independence of the Transcaucasian
countries.
Recognizing that American assistance rested on a defined Political
goal of Trancaucasian solidarity, Azeri Council member Alumardan noted
that unification of the countries of the Transcaucasus was more important
than their deunification, and that the fate of the Transcaucasus People
was based on
their necessity to unify.
Yet, the Azerbaijani delegation steadfastly Insisted that the US recognize
and help Azerbaijan defend its independence. The Council noted that the
US could play a significant role in the oil industry in Azerbaijan Naeks
noted his satisfaction with the talks and Promised to forward the memorandum
to Washington immediately.
During the conference, US President Wilson initiated a meeting
of the "Big Four", com-
prising Wilson of the US, Lloyd George of England, Clemenceau
of France and Orlando of
Italy. The first order of discussion was the Azerbaijani question .
Wilson proposed the
granting of the Participation of the Azerbaijani delegation in the
Versailles Peace Conference,
and, at the same time, fully recognized Topchibashev as the leader
of the Azerbaijani
delegation Though Topchibashev was unable to speak on behalf his independent
still remained unrecognized in the West, his country's support by the
US President at the meeting of the Big Four was indeed a significant moment
in the history of American-Azerbaijani. relations.
During discussions, the Allies continued to support the mandate
of a unified Caucasus
Federation. The question Surrounding the mandate on the Caucasus stirred
an interest among
US representatives during discussions. The American POsition, which
was presented in
Versailles, was to understand how the mandate reflected the principles
on which the countries
of the Caucasus were founded. With this goal in mind, President Wilson
met with the
Azerbaijani delegation on May 28-a day which, ironically, was the day
of observance of
the independence of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic.
Thanking Wilson for supporting his country's efforts, Topchibashev
said; "We turn
to you as the representative of able America and ask you to accept
this declaration of our inde-
pendence on behalf of our country, our people, and us personally. And
we consider that the re-
ports of uncertainty surrounding Azerbaij an's independence that have
been appearing in west-
ern papers were falsified and were far from the truth," said Topchibashev.
"Yes," he further ac-
knowledged, "they still know little about us; we are the fist in Europe,
but assure you that we
have everything necessary for ensuring an independent life. We hope
that the conference will
hear us out, and we will be accepted into the League of Nations. We
express our faith in the
fact that your "Fourteen Points" will support our interests, so that
our goals will not be chal-
lenged. We assure you that we will not call on Kolchak or Denikin or
any other representa-
tive of the defunct Russian Empire, which is trying to seize our country.
We support and will
only support our own Azerbaijani parliament and goverment."
In his speech, Topchibashev noted his support of a possible confederation
of Caucasus peoples, and presented Wilson the memorandum of the Republic
of Azerbaijan. The memorandum noted the
events leading to its creation; after a short introduction of the events
in the Caucasus and Azerbaijan, there was a list of demands for Wilson.
The Azerbaijani delegation asked President Wilson to consider six requests:
- recognize the independence of Azerbaijan;
- extend the application of the "14 Points" to include Azerbaijan;
- allow the Azerbaijani delegation to participate in the Peace
Conference;
- accept Azerbaijan as a member of the League of Nations;
- provide military assistance to the Republic of Azerbaijan;
and,
- establish diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the United
States.
Once these requests were met, the Azerbaijani delegation promised
to repay all
its outstanding debts owed to the former Russian Empire. At the conclusion
of discussions,
Wilson expressed his satisfaction with the meeting and thanked the
Azeri delegation for
Providing such a significant amount of material on Azerbaijan's history.
Wilson is said to
have later remarked during the Paris Peace Conference, "I met with
a very dignified and
interesting group of gentleman from Azerbaijan - men who talked the
same language that I did
in respect of ideals, in respect of conceptions of liberty, in conceptions
of right and justice."
Despite Wilson's alleged support of the Azeri government's initiatives
to establish in-
dependence, the question of Azeri independence remained unresolved.
Wilson's relations
with Azerbaijan can be explained by many factors. First, as historians
note, Wilson was sup-
portive of the Armenian Political camp and was falsely informed by
Armenian missionaries of
the events in the Caucasus. Second, despite historical significance
of the President's meeting
with Azerbaijan, events occurring at the time of the meeting-including
the active attempts
of Russian troops under Kolchak, Denikin, Udenicha and others in 1919
to invade the
Caucasus, and the growing dissension among the nations of the Caucasu
prevented ongo
mg discussion among the countries in the Caucasus, and, for that matter,
action by Wil-
son. At the end of the Paris Peace Conference, the Azerbaijani delegation
learned that the at-
tendees did not support the "fragmentation" of the Caucasus into smaller
nations, largely due
to their fear of an easy invasion by the Bolsheviks; the League of
Nations mandate support-
ing the unification of the Caucasus was welcomed instead.
On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, and was
later ratified by Germany
(July 7), France (Oct.13), England (Oct 15), Italy (Oct.15), Japan
(Oct.30). Wilson considered it a
victory, and, addressing the 66th US Senate on July 8, Wilson noted,
"The stage is set, the des-
tiny disclosed. "At the same time, US representative and future president
Herbert Hoover, along
with former US Ambassador to Turkey Morgenthau, recommended a candidate,
James
Harbord, to lead a mission to Armenia. The Harbord Mission was dispatched
by the US gov-
ernment to report on the possibility of establishing an American mandate
over Armenia-due
to growing sympathy in the US towards the Armenian government. Harbord
was accompanied
by V H. Gaskel, who was named the US representative to the High Commission
in Armenia.
In the summer of 1919, the US Mission arrived in Yerevan. Gaskel's
appointment in
Yerevan would only complicate US relations with Azerbaijan. Thus, Gaskel
appointed Colo-
nel James Ray as the representative to the High Commission in Azerbaijan-who
would be-
come a strong supporter of the Azeri position.
Creation of a neutral zone was an important political strategy
for America: from this
location, America could launch not only its policies for Azerbaij an,
Armenia, Iran and Turkey,
but also policies for the Middle East and Central Asia. The Armenian
government was natu-
rally supportive of the US plan, given that expulsion of the Muslim
population from these
territories and the introduction of the Armenian government there would
create a mythical
"Great Armenia." Yet strong opposition by local Muslim populations
prevented any of the
fantastical plans of the Armenian government from materializing. Concerned
about reaction
from the Muslim people, Gaskel resorted to political action rather
than military force to se-
cure his interests in the region, and, meanwhile, promised the Muslim
populations that their
rights would be considered by the US Mission.
In October, Gaskel sent a telegram to Foreign Affairs Minister
M. Djafarov describing his
meeting with members of the Azeri government. Gaskel expressed concern
over the American plan
of a neutral zone and possible opposition from the Azerbaijani people,
adding that the Azeri gov-
ernment assured him of their intent to suppress the anger of their
people if the declaration of
Azerbaijan's independence would be raised at the Peace Conference.
In a second attempt to convince the Azeri government of the US
proposal, Ray returned
to Baku, where he continued discussions with Azeri officials Yet, Azerbaijanis
continued to
express their opposition with the US proposal of a zone of neutrality.
In reaction, Gaskel, who was attending the Versailles Peace Conference,
sent a letter
to Topchibashev to try to mend the US proposal. In his correspondence,
Gaskel noted his
understanding of the difficulties surrounding creation of the Nakhichevan
general province,
and concluded that the only solution was the creation of one
country in the Caucasus.
Topchibashev answered Gaskel by noting, "You spoke often of the
need for law and
order in our country. And you were satisfied with what you saw in Baku;
our simple, warm-
hearted people were charming and did not appear as enemies of the Armenian
people. And
if there were not Politics involved, then these two peoples could live
together in peace. ..You
have answered my question by stating that all the peoples of the Caucasus
can live together,
as if in an economic union. But in the begin ning it would be imperative
to assist them with
some sort of goverment financial assistance. After a few years every
nation would be free
from the mandate and could live independently
...But, first of all, the abolition
of the mandate should be controlled by Azerbaijan."
It should be noted that prior to his next arrival in the Caucasus,
Gaskel received a note
by President Wilson announcing the US decision to support Armenia financially.
However,
during his stay in the Caucasus, the situation presented itself much
more clearly. After meet-
ing again with Topchibashev and others, Gaskel denounced the myth about
the suffering of the
Armenians that had been Propagated in the western press by Armenian
lobbyists.
"Not long ago the Americans spoke about Armenians as if they were
a single, united na-
tion in the Caucasus. Our mission to Turkey and the Caucasus was useful
for many Ameri-
cans; now we believe that not all Armenians are as nice as they seem,
and not all Turks are
as bad. Due to this, it is Possible to unite all nations under one
mandate, but America will
not control them," Gaskel said.
In conclusion, the group denied the creation of a High Commander
of the Caucasus.
The US government, therefore, would maintain representation in Azerbaijan
and Georgia
under the jurisdiction of the American Relief Committee of the Middle
East.
The American disinterest in supporting the mandate for the Caucasus
was based on in-
formation prepared for the President by another mission sent to the
Caucasus and Asia Minor
the Harbord Mission. In his comments to President Wilson, Harbord expressed
his OPPosition
to the American mandate in the Caucasus, stating that the majority
of the inhabitants wanted
to reunite ties with Russia to secure economic and social stability.
On October 16, the American mission guided by Harbord arrived
in Paris and pre-
pared a report for US Chancellor of the State Departament Frank Polk.
During the meeting,
the issue of Turkey's invasion in Armenia was presented as one of the
main issues to be dis-
cussed. Harbord noted that the territory in dispute was previously
inhabited by Turks. Fur-
thermore, Harbord noted, once the Armenian refugees returned home,
the majority of the in-
habitants in the disputed territory would again be Turks. Harbord concluded
that the US
should not commit any further assistance to Armenia, which was engaged
in conflict with
the Turks. The Harbord Mission did not only delay the US claim on the
Caucasus mandate,
but also brought a tangible blow to the pro Armenian Position in the
US.
Concerned over growing anti Muslim sentiment in the US, the Azerbaijani and Georgian governments signed an agreement with US lobbyist William Chandler to promote their opinions in the West. In September 1919, Topchibashev signed two contracts with Mr.Chandler-a three-month contract with Chandler as a legal advisor to the government of Azerbaij an, and a three-month contract to lobby for US financial assistance to Azerbaijan -for which the sum of US$ 5 ,000 was agreed. And once the US recognized Azerbaijan an, Chandler would receive US$ 50,000.
The issue of US investment in Azerbaijan was not resolved until
talks reconvened in
Paris. At that time, US representative Mx Rabinov was appointed to
work with the
Azerbaijani delegation to increase the development of US investments
in the Azeri oil in-
dustry. Following discussions in September 1919, Azerbaijani and Georgian
representatives
signed a six-month agreement with the US for securing the sale of Azeri
oil on the interna-
tional market and introducing US manufactured products in Azerbaijan.
Upon returning to the US, Rabinov met with Standard Oil Company
Director Tho-
mas-who had also traveled to Baku earlier that year to negotiate the
purchase of oil. Tho-
mas readily agreed to collaborate with Rabinov in the short-term contract,
and soon signed an
agreement with the Azerbaijani Minister of Transportation H. Melik-Aslanov
for the pur-
chase of 12 million poods of kerosine-6 million of which needed to
be sold to Standard
Oil prior to January 31, 1920, at 36 dollars per ton. As part of this
agreement, Azerbaijan pur-
chased 40,000 tons of wheat at US$2.5 million per pood.
In October, US representative Chandler sent Topchibashev his first
correspondence, in
which he described the difficulty in promoting the interests of Georgia
and Azerbaijan due to
the fact that these countries were not well known in the United States;
the Estonians,
Ukrainians, Latvians and Armenians, however, were in good standing
in the US.
"The President's illness is a definite obstacle for our promotion
of Azerbaijan's inter-
ests in the United States. Governmental recognition [of Azerbajan]
depends on the deci-
sion of our Executive Branch. And this means that, first of all, the
President should fulfill his
obligation," wrote Chandler. At the same time, the American Committee
for Armenian Inde-
pendence-a committee which was founded by former US Colonel to Berlin,
James Gouraud
increased its lobbying activities. Chandler described how the committee
used every Possible
source of information on the "suffering Armenian Christians", the "Christian
tortures" and
the need to defend Armenians from their "crafty" neighbors as a means
of swaying opin-
ion in the US Congress.
Gouraud appealed to the US Congress numerous times, noting: "Armenia
is in dan-
ger of being totally destroyed. Telegrams from Armenian representatives
leave me with no
doubt that this is so Armenia implores Christian America to save her.
It is not necessary to
restate, that if the Armenian people are destroyed, the Armenian church
will be gone for-
ever. We turn to you for help: send telegrams and letters to our President
requesting that he
acknowledge these necessary measures for the sake of saving Armenia.
Armenia is dying,
America should give its word."
At a similar meeting, Gouraud was noted to have said, "Give Armenia weapons and you can be assured that the Turks, Kurds and Tatars will not interfere in allowing Peace in Armenia." Gouraud concluded by demanding that four points be met by the US: recognition of the republic of Armenia; the shipment of industrial goods, weapons, military supplies for her army of 30,000; permission for American-Armenians to form a 10,000 member legion of volunteers and send them to Armenia; receive Senate approval for the creation of the Armenian government which will include Kiliki.
On January 11, the Supreme Soviet adopted the following resolution
on behalf of the recommendation of the Western Allies: "Our Union recognizes
the de facto indepen-
dence of the governments of Azerbaijan and Georgia..." In reaction,
Japan declared its sup-
port of the resolution. The US, however, declined to recognize the
Soviet decree. There
are a few reasons for the US decision: The US government became increasingly
fearful of
Great Britain's control in the Transcaucasus. Moreover, the serious
opposition between the
US and its European members prevented any western unified action in
the Caucasus.
It seems clear that the issue of America's non recognition of Azerbaijan
was based not
merely on the existence of two opposing views between England and the
United States; the
American Senate did not ratify the Versailles Treaty of June 1919,
and Wilson's international
Policies were severely criticized-especially his actions in the Caucasus.
All of this made
relations between the government's of Azerbaijan and the US impossible.
On January 13, US Ambassador to Paris Walleye informed his government
of England and France's defecate recognition of the independence of Azerbaijan
and Georgia, and of their
intention to assist them. In response to Walleye, Deputy Advisor Polk
informed the US
Embassy in Paris that America approves England's and France's measures
to assist the
Caucasus' governments, but that America is scrutinizing their decision
to recognize the
countries at a time of division of Russia. Yet, however, its recognitjon
of Armenia April 23,
1920 was not considered a factor in the further division of the Caucasus.
At the end of January 1920, an economic agreement between the
American Committee
for Assistance to the Middle East and the government of Azerbaijan
was signed, whereby
Azerbaijan would agree to provide the Committee with kerosene and oil,
while the Ameri-
cans would Provide flour. According to the agreement, one ton offlour,
valued at $U52 10,
a ton of kerosine, valued at $U535 dollars, and a ton of heavy oil,
valued at $U520 would be
exchanged. US Representative Gaskel signed the agreement with Azerbaijani
Representative
to Georgia F. Velikovi. The US Vice Consular to Baku, RandoIf, lead
discussions with
Azerbaijan on furthering the economic exchange. In April 1920, the
Azerbaijani Parlia-
ment adopted the resolution to establish a diplomatic post in the US.