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'14/172 I VOL. B. 68. ARAB COASTS & MISCELLANEOUS' [‎165r] (338/420)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (204 folios). It was created in 14 Jul 1914-20 May 1947. It was written in English, Arabic and French. 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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In 191 o bii 1 eicy Oox, then 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. , reported the discovery
of correspondence of 1869 from which it appeared that, one of the Shatt-al-
Arab buoys having gone adrift and been thrown up on Halul Island,
reference was made apparently as a matter of course to the Trucial Sheikh
of Abu Dhabi as overlord of the island* and in 1914 His Majesty's * Pol. Ee S . to G. of
Government authorised! the erection of a beacon on Halul for political as
distinct from navigational reasons, and, to quote the Resident, with a view to t Tel. to Viceroy
" enabling us to keep a footing there as a political precaution." (Cp. para. 10 Mar - 41914 ' P ' 8 ' 34 -
of Memorandum on Lighting and Buoying on p. JjJJ.)
As in the case of Farsi, Arabi and Harqus, the 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. in 1914
recommended that His Majesty's Government should eventually claim the
right to deal with Halul,but no steps were in fact taken for the regularisation j i.o. to r.o.
of its status. This accoidingly lemams indeterminate, the available evidence '^ 0 ^' ^
appearing to point to the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi as the owner, or failing him P ' 3946 '
one of the other Arab rulers of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , including the Sheikh of
El Kali. Iheie it> no histoiy of a Persian claim. The bitumen spring
makes the question one of some potential importance.
D almah.
An island 5 miles long and 2| miles wide, off the coast of the Trucial
Sheikhdom of Abu Dhabi, close to several pearl banks, and of importance in
the pearling season. The Government of India and the 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. agreed
in 190b that the island was undoubtedly under the Trucial Sheikh of Abu § i.o. to f.o., Dec. 2
Dhabi.§ 1908, p. 2111!
S ir B eni Y as.
An island rather over 100 miles W. by S. of Abu Dhabi Town, 18 miles
E.S.E. of Dalmah Island, and 4 or 5 miles north of the coast of Dhafrah ;
described by Lorimer as forming with the islands of Zirko, Arzanah',
Daiyinah, Qarnain, Solali, and Das,|] part of the domains of the Truciai VJ' 36 , 1 '
■Sheikh of Abu Dhabi. All the islands in question are in the vicinity of 1945. ' ' 93 '
pearl banks.
There is no history of a rival claim. The island is of importance as
■affording " an ideal aerodrome, good anchorage ... a good cold weather
. . . certainly the best harbour at present existing in the Gulf,"*]" and Sir MRe'/to o ofT
Lionel Haworth has suggested that it should be purchased from the Sheikh April 2 e 4'i9 0 27,' 0
of Abu Dhabi for about £3,000, or alternatively leased, in connection with paras - 18_20 '
an air route along the north Arab coast. 0 * **
S hura- A wah. p ' 1 " 5 '
Avery small island in the neighbourhood of two pearl banks, lying in the
bay between Abu Dhabi and Qatar, about 34 miles N. by W. of Dalmah.
Its political position is described by Lorimer as apparently " indeterminate,
resembling that of Halul Island."H t +Lor. n, xsu.
S ir A bu N air.
An island, not permanently inhabited, 2-^miles long by 2 miles broad,
about 50 miles N. by W. of the Trucial Arab town of Abu Dhabi, and
65 miles west of Dibai; containing salt deposits, alleged to contain deposits
•of sulphur, and in the neighbourhood of pearl banks,It It Lor. ii 1292
On the occasion of the Persian attempt on Tamb and Abu Musa in 1904,
the Sheikh of Shargah represented to 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. that " the British
Government are aware of the fact that the islands of Tamb, Abu Musa, and
Sir (meaning Sir Abu Nair) " belonged to him.§§ The salt in the island §§ Pol Res. to g. of
was stated in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Gazetteerjj|| to have been "removed by I '' Ar ' ri115 ^ 904 -
Persians, chiefly from Lingah and Kung, on payment of dues to the Sheikh of or ' 1292 "
Shargah " until " some two years ago" (say 1904). The 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. in 1908
accepted Mr. Lorimer's view, as expressed in the Gazetteer, that the island irt 1 .0. to f.o.,
belonged to the Sheikh of Shargah,•j^]" and in 1913, on the suggestion of Sir P ec - 21908 '
Percy Cox, the statement in the " Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Pilot" that the island " is ^ 1/08 '
claimed by the A1 Jowasim Chief" was replaced by the words " belongs to JfT" ^
the principality of Shargah."*** Feb. 231913,
P. 1319/13.
Q ran or K ran.
An island off the coast of Hasa, some 36 miles N.E. of Ivas-al-Bidya,||| ttt Lor. ii, 3563.
•about li miles long, by -i- mile wide, waterless, level, covered with brushwood.

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Content

This file contains reports and correspondence relating to the ownership of some islands in the Gulf, namely, the islands of Farsi, Arabi, Harqus, Al Karan and Al Kurain. The reports and correspondence are mainly between the 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. , London; the Foreign Office, London; 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. Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , 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; 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. Bahrain; the Anglo Persian Oil Company. The discussion over the territorial status bears on whether the islands would come in the concession area of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company or Kuwait. One letter notes that if the ownership of the islands is undetermined up until that point this was of no importance; however, with the possibility that they may contain oil it was now imperative that they should belong to either Her Majesty's Government or to Kuwait rather than a foreign power. Therefore, the Shaikh of Kuwait is encouraged to erect beacons on some of the islands to support his claim to ownership. As the British were keen to avoid territorial disputes with Persia this was thought more unobtrusive than the raising of flags. There is also discussion over the island of Hawar and whether it belonged to Bahrain or Qatar.

It also includes a translation of a letter from Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed [Shaikh of Abu Dhabi] to Colonel Stuart Geoge Knox, 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. Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , a small hand drawn sketch map showing location of a village on Dalma Island with H.M.S. Fox anchorage position (folio 3), and a table on sources of oil supply to Britain in the years 1935, 1936 and 1937.

Extent and format
1 volume (204 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged chronologically from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The sequence consists of small circled numbers located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio, commencing on the first full page of text.

Written in
English, Arabic and French in Latin and Arabic script
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'14/172 I VOL. B. 68. ARAB COASTS & MISCELLANEOUS' [‎165r] (338/420), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/273, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023628415.0x00008b> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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