The Chester Project in Iraq during the Ottoman Era (1908–1911)

Abstract

The United States of America wanted to obtain a concession to extend a railway and extract
minerals in a large part of the Ottoman lands to expand its interests in the region, so it sent Admiral
chester to Istanbul to negotiate with the Ottoman government and obtain a concession to extend a
railway for commercial purposes extending from Diyarbakir to Mosul, Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah,
But the Ottoman government delayed approving the concession to the American company owned
by the American chester, due to foreign pressure to prevent it from investing in the region because it
was considered within its areas of influence. Therefore, the project faltered and faced many
obstacles until it was approved after it took up a large space in the discussions of the Ottoman
Council of Representatives, in which opinions and proposals were presented to the Iraqi
representatives. The chester project is considered one of the important projects because it was one
of the first American projects on Ottoman lands.