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'Memorandum on British Commitments (during the War) to the Gulf Chiefs' [‎145r] (5/14)

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The record is made up of 1 file (7 folios). It was created in 1918. 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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the British Government and British interests in Arabistan and the Shatt-el-Arah,
I am now authorised to assure your Excellency personally, and do so by this
writing, that whatever change may take place in the form of the government of
Persia, and whether it be Royalist or Nationalist, His Majesty's Government will
be prepared to afford you the support necessar7 for obtaining a satisfactory solution,
both to yourself and to us, in the event of any encroachment by the Persian
Government on your jurisdiction and recognised rights, or on your property in
Persia. In like manner they will safeguard you to the best of their ability against
any unprovoked attack by a foreign Power, or against any encroachment by such
Power on your said jurisdiction and recognised rights, or on your property in
Persia. These assurances are given for yourself and for your successors from
among your male descendants, and shall hold good so long as you and they do not
fail to observe your and their obligations towards the Persian Government, pro
vided always that the nomination of your successors from among your male
descendants shall be subject to confidential consultation with, and the approval of,
His Majesty's Government, and so long as you and they shall continue to be
guided by the advice of His Majesty's Government, and to maintain an attitude
satisfactory to that Government.
" Vis-d-vis the Persian Government, we shall do our best to maintain your
Excellency in your present state of local autonomy.
" Further, the date gardens which you now possess on the Turkish side of the
Shatt-el-Arab shall remain in full possession of you and your heirs, and immune
from taxation.
"P. Z. Cox, Lieutenant-Colonel, British
Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and
His Britannic Majesty's Consul-
General for Fars, dec."
Towards the end of the year 1915, when it appeared probable for a time that
Persia would intervene in the war on the side of the enemy, there was some discussion
on the question of recognising Sheikh Khazal's independence in this event, and a line
of procedure was sketched out by Sir P. Cox in telegrams dated the 1st November, 1915
(163390/161734/15), and the 14th November, 1915 (171916/161734/15). But since the
contin^encv never, in fact, occurred, the assurance of the 22nd ISovemher, 1914, has
remained the final embodiment, up to the present date, of His Majesty s Government s
commitments to the Sheikh of Mohammerah.
(hi) Assurances to the Sheikh of Koweit.
Koweit became of vital interest to Great Britain when it was proposed to prolong
the Bagdad Railway, as a German concern, to a deep-water port on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
Before "he outbreak of the war, His Majesty's Government's relations with the Sheikh
of Koweit were based upon the secret agreements concluded with him in 1899 and
1907, and the Anglo-Turkish Convention of the 29th July, 1913. By the terms of the
latter the Sheikh was recognised as Kaimakam of an autonomous kaza ot the Ottoman
Empire ; the boundaries of his immediate territory and his wider tribal jurisdiction were
delimited ; the Ottoman Government recognised existing agreements between the Sheikh
and His Majesty's Government; and His Majesty's Government undertook, on their
part, not to alter the nature of British relations with the Government of Koweit, 01 to
establish a protectorate there, so long as the status quo, as defined m the Convention,
underwent no change. j m • n u u
On the 8th August, 1914, Sheikh Mubarak was informed ofhcially by the
officiating Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. that a state of war existed between Great
Britain and Germany (G1684/61439/14, No. 12). On the 21st August, 1914 m an
interview with the British Resident at Koweit, he made a declaration of loyalty to
His Majesty's Government on behalf of himsell and his tribes, placed his efforts, his
men, and his ships" at Great Britain's disposal, and expressed a desire to eject the
Turkish garrisons from the islands at the mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab, vvInch he claimed
as lawfully his. He repeated this declaration in a letter ol the same date, to the
officiating' Resident in the Gulf, which was formally acknowledged by the latter on the
25th August, 1914. u • . • 4.1
In view of the increasing likelihood that Turkey would interveno m the war on
Germany's side, it became clear that His Majesty's Government s previous uudertakings
to the Slieikh of Koweit would have to be renewed, and contingently extended, against
the event of a state of war arising between Great Britain and iurkey. ^
[972 j 0

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This is a printed memorandum by the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office concerning British commitments during the First World War to autonomous or independent Arab rulers of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including the Sultan of Maskat [Muscat], the Trucial Chiefs of Oman (that is, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai, Ra's al-Khaymah, Ajman, etc.), and the Sheikhs of Katar [Qatar], Bahrein [Bahrain], Koweit [Kuwait] and Mohammerah [Muḥammarah / Khorramshahr]. The memorandum includes the following sections: 'Collective Assurances'; 'Assurances to the Sheikh of Mohammerah' [Khaz‘al bin Jābir al-Ka‘bī]; 'Assurances to the Sheikh of Koweit' [Mubārak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ, Jābir bin Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ from 1915 to 1917, and Sālim bin Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ from 1917 onwards]; 'Treaty with the Sheikh of Katar' [‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī]; and 'Relation of Commitments (during the War) to the Gulf Chiefs to British Disiderata'. References are made in the text and footnotes to various treaties and correspondences. A section of appendices (folios 148v-149v) includes the text of a treaty with the Sheikh of Qatar, dated 3 November 1916; a translation of a letter addressed 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. to Sheikh Abdullah [‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī], dated 3 November 1916; and a proclamation by Sheikh Abdullah regarding the Arms Traffic, dated 6 Moharram [Muḥarram] 1335 [3 November 1916].

Extent and format
1 file (7 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 143 and terminates at folio 149, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between folios 11-158; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'Memorandum on British Commitments (during the War) to the Gulf Chiefs' [‎145r] (5/14), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B301, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023622482.0x000006> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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