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'File 61/11 VI (D 102) Hejaz-Nejd Miscellaneous' [‎20r] (56/522)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (259 folios). It was created in 2 Feb 1931-30 Aug 1934. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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expressing the hope that the British Government would find it convenient not to
proceed with the demanded recognition in the interests of the maintenance of
peace in the Arabian peninsula.
The British Embassy made it clear in its note verhale of the 24th July, 1931,
that the communication of the Hejaz Government did not demand a formal
expression of recognition of the incorporation of Asir in the dominions of
Ibn Saud, but only the conclusion of agreements for laying down the methods of
communication in certain localities under British administration and the ports
of Jizan and Asir. It added that the British Government, in order to meet the
views of the Italian Government, agreed to put off all formal and direct expression
of recognition of the sovereignty of Ibn Saud over Asir, although it remained of
opinion that Asir had become de facto and de jure an integral part of the Saudi
provinces. The Royal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in its note verhale of the
13th August, 1931, took note that no demand for formal recognition of the
sovereignty of Ibn Saud over Asir had been put forward by the Hejaz Govern
ment to the London Government, and noted with pleasure that the British and
Italian Governments were agreed in the determination to put off all formal and
direct expression of recognition of the sovereignty of Ibn Saud over Asir.
The statement made in the British note No. 350 of the 20th October, that
the London Government considers that the question of the sovereignty over Asir
is determined by the fact that in 1931 they entered into correspondence with the
Hejaz Government with regard to the method of communication between certain
localities under British administration and the port of Jizan, and that such a
fact constitutes an informal admission on the British side of the rights of
Ibn Saud over Asir, represents a new statement which seems to go beyond the
idea expressed in the British note of the 24th July, 1931. The establishment of
such communications is a simple fact which, in the opinion of the Italian
Government, does not in itself imply any admission, even informal, of the rights
\of Ibn Saud over Asir; still less would it seem to have as a consequence the
determination of the position of the British Government in regard to the question
of the sovereignty over Asir.
The Italian Government points out in this connexion that, as was mentioned
in note verhale of the 25th June, 1931, the representatives of the British Govern
ment during the conversations at Rome declared that all territorial questions in
regard to Asir, and in general in regard to the frontiers between the Hejaz and
the Yemen, were regarded as an internal Arabian question which did not interest
the British Government.
So far as it is concerned, the Royal Government considers the question of
Asir as still open between the Hejaz-Nejd and the Yemen; and, basing itself on
the spirit of the conclusions of the Rome conversations, holds that it should not
in any case commit itself in regard to a dispute between the two Arab States.
Recalling in particular that the original cause of this dispute is the
suppression carried out by Ibn Saud of the buffer State, the existence of which
was considered necessary in the Rome conversations in order to avoid acute
friction between the two Arab States, the Royal Government trusts that the
British Government will uphold its own determination to avoid any formal and
direct recognition of the sovereignty of Ibn Saud over Asir, and will also abstain
generally from committing itself in regard to the dispute which separates the
two States.
3. Having thus explained the point of view of the Italian Government in
regard to Asir, it is now necessary to consider the action which has been or will
be taken by the British and Italian Governments with a view to preventing an
armed conflict between the two Arab States.
The Royal Government, for its part, has not failed to exercise all possible
influence on the Imam with a view to avoid the outbreak of hostilities; it
considers, so far as it is concerned, that it has attained its end, seeing that in spite
of the continuous violations, from 1926 to the present time, on the part of Ibn
Saud of the de facto and de jure status in Asir—a province over which the Imam
claims and maintains his well-known rights—it has succeeded in avoiding, on the
part of the Imam himself, a reaction greater than that which has taken place,
and which has been limited to verbal protests and to categorical reaffirmations
of the above-mentioned rights.
With regard to the analogous action to be exercised in regard to Ibn Saud,
the Italian Government, with reference to what was said in the first part of
[6 b—2] b 2

About this item

Content

The volume contains two original files bound together. The first file (folios 1A-207) has the original reference 61/11 VI (D 102) and covers the period 7 November 1933 to 30 August 1934 and relates to Hejaz-Najd affairs. The second file (folios 208-243) has the original reference 61/6 VII (D 95) and covers the period 2 February 1931 to 5 August 1932 and relates to Najd affairs. Both contain letters, telegrams, memoranda, and reports sent between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Foreign Office in London, the Political Residencies in Bushire and Aden, the Political Agencies in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat, the High Commissioner in Trans-Jordan, the High Commissioner in Baghdad (later the British Embassy following Iraqi independence in 1932), the Colonial Office in London, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud.

The main subject of the first file is the territorial dispute between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Contained in the volume are papers concerning Saudi Arabian advances into the territories of 'Asir and Yemen and the subsequent Treaty of Taif that largely settled the dispute. There is also coverage of diplomatic conversations between Italy and Britain regarding the dispute, including secret talks in Rome. Included is the full Arabic text of the Treaty (folios 143-150A) and an English translation (folios 156-177).

Other subjects covered in the first file are:

Notable documents contained in the volume are a report on the heads of foreign missions in Jeddah, and a revised (June 1934) report on the leading personalities in Saudi Arabia.

The subjects covered by the second file are:

  • details and significance of a resurgence in war dancing by the Saudis;
  • the visit of Charles Crane to see Ibn Sa'ud;
  • a request for military assistance made by Saudi Arabia to Turkey;
  • the conditions of entry into Hasa for Hindu merchants.

At the end of each file are several pages of internal office notes.

Extent and format
1 volume (259 folios)
Arrangement

Each of the two separate files which make up the volume is arranged chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, circled, and 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. There are the following anomalies: 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D; 11A and 11B; 24A; 30A; 132A; 143A; 150A; and 236A. There are two other sequences, both uncircled and incomplete.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 61/11 VI (D 102) Hejaz-Nejd Miscellaneous' [‎20r] (56/522), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/569, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023576504.0x000039> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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