Robert Newman’s History of Oil

British comedian Robert Newman’s humorously insightful perspectives on oil and how the world became addicted.

Did you know that World War One actually started because of Iraqi oil?

That’s right… or at least that’s comedian Robert Newman’s take on history, which would appear to be supported by the oft-ignored footnotes of history. In fact, some of the first British troops to see battle was during the campaign to capture Basra, Iraq in November, 1914.


According to Newman, it wasn’t because of the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand that War War One began. Instead, it the geopolitical and economic threat to the British Empire posed by Austro-Hungarian-Turkish alliance, the symbol of which was the Berlin-Baghdad Railway — subsequently known as the famous “Orient Express” after it was taken over by the French and the British. [See also my blog Mister Churchill’s Battleships].

If you doubt Newman’s premise, do a quick Google search for “Berlin Baghdad Plan”. Actually, I did it for you. Below the video is one description of the plan from The Geography of the Great War.

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