‘File 28/4 Trading with the enemy’

Content

The file comprises copies of printed circulars and notices issued by the British Government, memoranda and letters issued by the Government of India, and copies of correspondence to and from the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Bahrain, relating to trade with countries and territories regarded as the enemy, or the trade in goods from countries regarded as the enemy, during the Second World War.

The British Government circulars and notices include: multiple copies of the Statutory Rules and Orders booklet, produced by the Board of Trade, entitled Trading with the Enemy: Specified Persons , each copy being an expanded and updated version of its predecessor; the escalating nature of war in Europe throughout 1940 meaning the list of countries regarded as being the enemy (either through joining the war as an Axis power or by being occupied by an Axis power) was continually in need of update. The booklets list, alphabetically by country and by name, those persons (or companies) and their address, regarded as being an enemy. Some booklets record amendments to the list, under the headings of additions, deletions and modifications. The last copy of the booklet in the volume (ff 379-416) details seventy-five pages of companies deemed by the Trading with the Enemy Act (1939) as an enemy (ff 15-17, 71-77, 258); circulars from the Ministry of Economic Warfare, relating to Statutory, Black List and Suspect List policy; a circular from the Ministry of Warfare, February 1940, concerning the Trading with the Enemy Act (1939) in relation to insurance, insurance with enemy companies, and including a list of enemy marine insurance companies (ff 428-438).

Government of India memoranda and correspondence includes: an order, dated 17 June 1940, for the detention of ships bound for ports in the Red Sea (f 144); a notice, dated 21 June 1940, on exports to the Dutch East Indies (f 147); a prohibition, dated 30 June 1940, on all exports to French territory (f 169); a notice, dated 17 April 1940, that goods from Denmark be regarded as of enemy origin (f 175); a warning, dated 21 June 1940, on possible channels used to transport goods to Germany, in particular raw materials, including through the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (ff 177-179); a memorandum, dated 4 July 1941, announcing the creation of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. War Trade Bureau, attached to the Commerce Department of the Government of India (ff 480-481).

Correspondence to and from the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Bahrain includes: a letter from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. to the Ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, dated 13 December 1939, announcing the prohibition in Bahrain of trade with German companies or German goods (ff 10-11); the appointment of the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain, in December 1939, as Custodian of Enemy Property, under the Bahrain Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. of 1913 (ff 14, 24); a printed copy of a notice by 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. , Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior, dated 16 November 1939, entitled Trading with the Enemy Regulations made under the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. States (Emergency) Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. 1939 (ff 41-42); in April 1940, correspondence and official notices concerning trade with Denmark or in Danish goods (ff 80-85, 91-94, 110); in June 1940, correspondence and official notices concerning trade with Italy or in Italian goods (ff 139-140, 148); letters from several merchants in Bahrain, enquiring after the status and whereabouts of Italian goods ordered before Italy’s entry into the war; correspondence and notices relating to trade with French Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Rumania [Romania], Bulgaria, Hungary and Greece; and general enquiries relating to trade at Bahrain, made by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. to the Director of Customs at Bahrain, Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier.

Extent and format

1 volume (498 folios)

Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the volume (ff 482-496) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 500; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Two envelopes which have been attached to f 5 have been labelled f 5A and f 5B respectively. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-481; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 482-496) have been paginated using pencil. A number of booklets contained within the file also have original printed pagination sequences.

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival file

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/15/2/678

Former external reference(s)

Confidential Files: 28/4

History of this record

Date(s)

24 Nov 1939-4 Jul 1941 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Persian Gulf States (emergency) Order in Council (1939)Second World War (1939-1945)ShippingTrade (practice)Trading with the Enemy Act 1939 c89

Places

Persian Gulf

People & organisations

Director of Customs and Port OfficerMinistry of Economic WarfareBoard of Trade

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‘File 28/4 Trading with the enemy’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/678, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000241.0x000047> [accessed 16 May 2024]

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