File 2182/1913 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Policy towards Bin Saud (Capt. Shakespear's Mission)'

Content

Part 4 primarily concerns British policy towards Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], following the outbreak of the First World War. It includes the following:

• discussion regarding Bin Saud's relations with the Ottoman government, and the need for the British to secure Bin Saud's goodwill, especially in the event of the Ottoman government entering the war on the German side;
• details of Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear's mission (as a political officer on special duty) to meet with Bin Saud, with the aim of ensuring that, in the event of hostilities between Britain and the Ottomans, no assistance is offered to the latter by Bin Saud;
• translated copies of letters from Shaikh Mubarak [Shaikh Mubarak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ], Ruler of Kuwait, to Bin Saud, urging the latter to side with the British Government;
• details of a proposed preliminary treaty between the British and Bin Saud;
• reports of Captain Shakespear's death;
• reports on Bin Saud's military engagements against Bin Rashid [Saʿūd bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Āl Rashīd];
• a copy of a draft of a preliminary treaty between the British government and Bin Saud;
• details of proposed gifts from the British to Bin Saud of arms and ammunition captured from the Ottomans, plus a £20,000 loan.

The principal correspondents are the following:

• Secretary of State for India [Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe];
• Viceroy of India [Charles Hardinge];
• Foreign Office;
• 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. ;
• War Office;
• Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, Thomas William Holderness;
• 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 Sir Percy Zachariah Cox;
• 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. , Kuwait (Lieutenant-Colonel William George Grey);
• Secretary to the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department [Alfred Hamilton Grant];
• Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart George Knox (on special duty in the absence 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. );
• Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear;
• Bin Saud.

Extent and format

1 item (211 folios)

It is part of

File 2182/1913 Pt 4-5 'PERSIA GULF AND ARABIA NEJD AFFAIRS 1914-16'

746 images

Ref: IOR/L/PS/10/387

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival item

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/L/PS/10/387/1

Former external reference(s)

P 2182/1913 Pt 4

History of this record

Date(s)

22 Sep 1914-17 Jan 1916 (CE, Gregorian)

People & organisations

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for IndiaPolitical Agent, KuwaitGovernment of India, Foreign SecretaryIndia OfficeWar OfficeWilliam Henry Irvine ShakespearStuart George Knox

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File 2182/1913 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Policy towards Bin Saud (Capt. Shakespear's Mission)', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/387/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034347493.0x000001> [accessed 10 June 2026]

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