'File [B 29] Arab States monthly summaries from 1929 to 1931'

IOR/R/15/1/236

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The record is made up of 1 volume (298 folios). It was created in 3 Oct 1928 - 11 Jan 1932. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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Content

The file contains monthly news summaries compiled at the British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. and Consulate-General, Bushire and signed by, or in most cases initialed on behalf of, the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The file contains 12 reports, one copy of every summary from No.1 of 1929, entitled Summary of the news from the Arab States for the month of January 1929 , dated 20 February 1929 to No.12 of 1931, entitled Summary of the news from the Arab States for the month of December 1931 , dated 11 January 1932.

The news summaries use standard subject headings to report the latest developments in the Gulf region, starting with the movements of British officials and non-officials, Arab rulers and notables; the movements and interests of foreigners, especially American missionaries, French and Germans and the territorial interests of King Ibn Saud (also referred to as Bin Saud) of Saudi Arabia.

These are followed by country profiles for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman and Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . The country profiles report on British interests; the activities of rulers; riots and crimes; diplomatic relations; tribal raids, fighting and wars; commerce and trade; trafficking in arms and slaves; oil exploration and pearling; transport and communications; weather conditions; education; and local government. Other subjects regularly reported include aviation, the British Navy and the health of the Arab ports.

The news summaries are typewritten carbon copies or printed, with occasional minor handwritten corrections. Each summary is five to eleven pages long and the last page usually contains a distribution list naming ten to fifteen regular recipients.

At the front of the file are secret and confidential, mainly copy, letters between the Governments of India and Zanzibar, the Local Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. and the Bushire Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , in response to a request from the Government of Zanzibar for intelligence reports on Gulf Arabs visiting Zanzibar and the spread of communist propaganda under the Bombay Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. , 21 January 1929 to 18 July 1929 (folios 8-14). It was agreed that the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Bushire would send extracts from the Arab States monthly summaries relating to Gulf Arab visitors and the Bombay Government would send the Bombay Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. Police Secret Abstract of Intelligence , direct to the Zanzibar Government.

Extent and format
1 volume (298 folios)
Arrangement

The correspondence at the beginning of the file is arranged chronologically. This is followed by the news summaries, which are arranged chronologically and by summary number.

Physical characteristics

Original pagination sequence: each news summary is numbered sequentially after the title page, which is unnumbered. The number is typewritten and appears at the top of every page of the summary, in the center.

Second foliation sequence: every folio in the file has been numbered sequentially, starting at the front of the file. The number is handwritten in pencil in the top right hand corner of every folio and encircled.

Condition: the news summary for September 1930 is damaged. Some of the words on the right hand side of pages 4 and 5 are missing because these pages are torn along the outer edge (folios 182-183).

Written in
English in Latin script
Type
Archival file

Archive information for this record

Access & Reference

Original held at
British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.
Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference
IOR/R/15/1/236
Former external reference(s)
Confidential Series: B 29

History of this record

Date(s)
3 Oct 1928 - 11 Jan 1932 (CE, Gregorian)
Context of creation

Every month, the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Bushire was required to submit a confidential summary of news and events that had occurred in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region in the preceding calendar month. These news summaries were sent to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, Delhi, the Secretary of State for Colonies, London and other British ministers, senior officials and military officers in India, Ceylon and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .

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'File [B 29] Arab States monthly summaries from 1929 to 1931', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/236, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0000d1> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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