GERTRUDE BELL: BIOGRAPHY AND EXPEDITIONS - ARTE - 2025

Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) was a British archaeologist, traveler and writer, recognized for being the person in charge of drawing the map of Iraq after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1919. She also helped create the National Museum of Iraq, being a convinced that the archaeological pieces should be in their places of origin and not be transferred to Europe.

In love with travel, she visited places like Syria, Jerusalem, Petra, Palmyra, always looking for places to excavate and learn from teachers and researchers like David Hogarth, from the Brithis Museum.

Gertrude Bell- By Unknown - picture copied from the Gertrude Bell Archive, Public Domain

Family

Gertrude Bell did not suffer financial problems in her life thanks to the fact that her father, Hugh Bell, was the heir of Sir Isaac Lowlluan Bell, the grandfather of Gertrude, one of the most famous magnates in the steel industry.

Lowlluan influenced her granddaughter because she interested her very early in international affairs and politics, she also encouraged her to know the world and travel, one of her passions throughout her life.

Bell was born in 1868 in the English county of Durham, but her mother, Mary Shield, would lose her life after giving birth to her brother Maurice, three years later. The loss of her mother at such a young age forced the little girl Bell to cling tightly to her father.

The affection for that man who would support her from a young age in all her adventures lasted practically a lifetime. Some say that the loss of the mother led to a childhood with certain periods of depression and anguish.

The influence of Florence Olliffe

Hugh Bell later married, in 1876, Florence Olliffe, a writer who developed a passion for oriental tales in Gertrude. Olliffe was the author of children's stories, and had a considerable influence on Bell, especially in matters of decorum and the proper exercise of homework.

Likewise, Gertrude saw her stepmother's work with the blacksmiths' wives in Eston, Middlesbroug, and was the seed for her to work in the future helping educate women in Iraq.

As a result of the love between his father and his stepmother, three children were born: Molly, Elsa and Hugo. Those early years Gertrude Bell received instruction at home in addition to spending several days with uncles and cousins.

Studies

From a very young age Gertrude was a very restless child. Her father's talent was obvious, so in adolescence he decided that his daughter should enter the prestigious Queen's College, an institution founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Such was the great experience of the adolescent Bell that one of her history teachers asked her to enroll at Oxford.

She had been a model student, diligent and with the best grades, so her entry into Oxford would be assured. However, current times were not the best for women.

Despite this, she specialized in Modern History, at a time when it was very strange for a woman to study precisely this branch of the social sciences. What few know perhaps is that he graduated with first-class honors, and that he did so in just two years. The students in that class were 11, nine men and two girls, Gertrude Bell and Alice Greenwood.

Travel and books

When he left Oxford in 1892 he decided to travel to Persia, having an uncle in the British embassy in Tehran, Sir Frank Lascelles. Bell met Henry Cadogan there, who was a secretary at the embassy.

Although he was a cultured and intelligent man, he had, according to his father, Hugh Bell, a defect; he was poor, so he did not consent to the marriage. As a result of this first trip, he published Persian Pictures in 1894.

Then he decided to return to England and start several trips to dedicate himself to mountaineering and learn languages. It is known that Gertrude spoke up to seven languages, including French, Italian, Arabic, Persian, German and Turkish, many of them learned in her many trips and thanks to direct contact with all kinds of people in different places.

In 1899 he returned to the East and traveled to Jerusalem and Damascus. They also spent several years preparing for a unique adventure crossing the desert, an expedition that Bell herself organized and that led her to immerse herself in a strange and new world for her, meeting the nomadic tribes. In 1906 this trip was reflected in a book, Syria: The Desert and the Sown.

Syria: the desert and the sowing

The discovery of the Arabian deserts is partly due to Gertrude Bell, who in 1907 traveled to cities such as Jerusalem, Damascus, Beirut, Antioch and Alexandria.

Bell's interest was to leave both a written and graphic testimony, which is why the book Syria: the desert and the sowing counts as a valuable document thanks to its rich descriptions and the images that accompany them.

Later, in the company of archaeologist Sir William M. Ramsay, they discovered a field of ruins in northern Syria, towards the upper bank of the Euphrates River.

Mountaineering

Apart from her passion for archaeological excavations, Gertrude Bell was in love with mountaineering. She enjoyed climbing several European peaks, including one named after her, the Gertrudspitze, which is 2,632 high, which she herself crossed with two of her guides.

In a span of five years it conquered peaks like La Meije and Mont Blanc. In one of them, however, she had a stumble, due to the meteorological conditions, with rain and heavy snowfall, which forced her to be with her companions literally suspended from a rock for about two days, adverse circumstances that almost cost them their lives..

Expeditions in Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia was a territory yet to be conquered. Its cities attracted archaeologists from around the world, so Gertrude also decided to immerse herself in that world of cities built in raw brick and on cone-shaped mounds.

The fortress Bell found, his main discovery, was Ujaidi's fortress-palace, which had round towers and walls of mortar. He also drew to scale the plans of a great stone castle while it was guarded by several men armed with rifles, as the prevailing atmosphere at that time was one of anxiety.

Iraq Map

Before World War I began the world was abuzz with conspiracies, and more the East. It was at Karkemish that Bell had the opportunity to meet TE Lawrence, who was just beginning to dig.

It was at this time that the British government hired Gertrude as an agent to collect information about the Arab world, since she had traveled it and knew its customs and ways of life in the desert.

As the only woman in the British intelligence service, the Arabs nicknamed her the Jatun, for having eyes and ears on constant alert. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire the territory of present-day Iraq was divided between France and England.

The task entrusted to him by the government was to draw the new map in order to avoid the maximum possible confrontations between tribes. At the 1921 Cairo meeting, called by Winston Churchill to define the future guidelines of the new state, Gertrude Bell was the only woman among more than forty men.

National Museum of Iraq

Bell's great passion was always archeology, that in large part made her go to different places, in order to always make new excavations and accumulate objects that spoke about Mesopotamian culture.

She was among the most enthusiastic to create the so-called Archaeological Museum of Baghdad, which in time came to be called the National Museum of Iraq. The establishment was inaugurated shortly before Gertrude passed away. The Emir, after his death and in his honor, put his name on one of the wings of the museum.

Death

Some speculation claimed that Gertrude took her own life by taking several sleeping pills. However, it was also known that before taking the medicine, she asked her maid to wake her up. Her death occurred on July 12, 1926.

Films such as Queen of the Desert, by the well-known German director Werner Herzog, were made around Bell's life. In 2016, a documentary called Letters from Bagdad was also produced, based on various writings by the traveler and some of her contemporaries.

Her figure stands out as a pioneer in a world where, at the beginning of the 20th century, men excelled in the trades she undertook. From studying History to venturing to climb great peaks and being part of an intelligence service have led Gertrude Bell to become an inspiration to many women who came later.

It was said, however, that she herself was not a supporter of the female vote, because, she argued, having no education women could not correctly decide their course.

Likewise, certain political decisions eventually affected that territory made by his hands where Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds lived together.

References

1. Buchan, J. (2003). The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell. Recovered from theguardian.com
2. Ferrer, S. (2013). The Construction Company of Iraq: Gertrude Bell (1868-1926). Recovered from mujeresenlahistoria.com
3. Melús, E. (2018). Who was Gertrude Bell? Recovered fromvanaguardia.com
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (nd). Gertrude Bell. English Politician and Writer. Recovered from britannica.com
5. Wikipedia (2019). Gertrude Bell. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org.