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'86/21 - III B.65. Trucial Hinterland Exploration' [‎15r] (29/256)

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The record is made up of 1 file (126 folios). It was created in 3 Jan 1939-24 Jul 1945. 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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- 2 -
out into the interior from the base camp at Has al Hadd.
It has not yet been ascertained why reconnaissances
further to the south i.e. from Masirah, Khor Gharim,Shuv/ai-
miyah and Murhat as originally planned were not carried out.
An unconfirmed report received states that the Sheikh of
masirah refused to allow the Company’s aeroplane to use the
landing ground on that island and tore up the Sultan’s letter
of introduction which had been sent him. Personally I do not
believe this report to be true.
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According to the Company’s local agents however the
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real reason for the postponement of the flights to the south
ern portion of the Sultanate was that it was found that the
motor dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. hired as a tender vessel was unsuitable for the
purpose. It is believed that a Tanker will be hired for the
work in place of the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. .
On December 26th the Company’s aeroplane arrived
in Muscat from Sharjah. On December 27th the Company’s
Arabic Interpreter Khan Sahib Hasan bin Saleh Jaafar came
to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and asked the assistance of the Treasury
Officer in obtaining permission from the Sultan’s Represen
tative for the aeroplane to fly over the Batinah which, he
stated, had been refused. The Treasury Officer accordingly
went and interviewed Saiyid Shahab on the matter, who in
formed him that he had refused permission not for a flight
over tie Batinah, as stated, but over the Oman. This per
mission he declared he could not give, firstly because the
Sultan had given him no instructions on the subject and
secondly because it would be a dangerous undertaking the
responsibility for the possible consequences of which he,
Saiyid Shahab, was not prepared to assume.
Meanwhile,it seems,without waiting to hear the
decision of the Sultan’s Representative the aeroplane, in
which Mr. Thompson, senior geologist and a photographer
named Mr. Eden were tie passengers, took off from the landing
ground and carried out a flight of some two hours duration
into the

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Content

The file comprises correspondence between 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. (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior), 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 (Hugh Weightman), 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 Muscat (Ralph Ponsonby Watts, Tom Hickinbotham), 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. (John Percival Gibson, Roland Tennyson Peel) and Petroleum Concessions Limited, later Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) Limited (Basil Henry Lermitte, Stephen Hemsley Longrigg, Thomas Fulton Williamson) regarding geological exploration of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and Muscat, and its subsequent postponement owing to World War Two.

The correspondence discusses initial plans for the exploration of the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and Muscat during the winter of 1939 – 1940 and the intention that the Sultan of Muscat (Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd ) would provide access to areas under the control of the Naim [Na‘īm] and Al Bu Shamis [Āl Bū Shāmis] tribes. Also discussed is the possibility of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (Shaikh Shakhbūt bin Sulṭān bin Zāyid Āl Nahyān) providing access to Baraimi [Al Buraymī ] now that a concession has been signed for his territory; and other work that might be undertaken in both Muscat and Abu Dhabi. This survey work was ultimately postponed owing to concerns over access to, and protection whilst in the relevant territory, as well as the outbreak of War in Europe.

Later correspondence discusses the decision to postpone geological surveying owing to wartime conditions, and consideration of a resumption of work in 1945 with proposals for a small geological survey party working in the Baraimi and Jebel Hafit [Jabal Ḩafīt] area’s with geophysical surveys commencing in 1946. Included in the file are reports from a geologist for Petroleum Concessions Limited, Thomas Fulton Williamson, which discuss the potential problems of supplies, labour, transport, and accommodation that would have to be overcome.

Other matters discussed in the volume include:

  • news of the death of Shaikh Muhammad bin Sultan An-Nu’aimi [Sheikh Muḥammad bin Sulṭān Al-Nu`aimī] of Dhank who had been succeeded by his brother Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan [Sheikh Saqr bin Sulṭān Al-Nu`aimī] of Baraimi;
  • the need to attempt to define the boundaries of the various Trucial Shaikh’s territories and proposing that initially each Shaikh be asked to state what they considered to be under their control so that areas of joint or disputed ownership could be identified;
  • a meeting in Sharjah with 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, Shaikh Mohammed bin Saqr al-Jawassim [Sheikh Muḥammad bin Saqr Āl Qasimī] brother of the Shaikh of Sharjah, Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan of the Naim at Dhank, Shaikh Rashid bin Hamad [Rāshid Bin Ḥumaid] of Al Bu Shamis at Baraimi) and Shaikh Mohammed bin Ali bin Huweidin of the Beni Qitab (also written as Beni Chittab). That this was the first time in ten years that the Chief of the Beni Qitab had been persuaded to come to Sharjah and was considered a positive sign that could benefit Petroleum Concessions Limited in gaining access to territory under the Beni Qitab’s control;
  • concerns in 1939 over Petroleum Concessions Limited’s intentions with regard to their concessions in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and whether they actually intended exploiting them or had merely acquired them to prevent other companies from doing so.
Extent and format
1 file (126 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 128; 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 ff 2-127; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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'86/21 - III B.65. Trucial Hinterland Exploration' [‎15r] (29/256), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/695, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025313712.0x00001e> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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