'QATAR SUCCESSION' [‎45r] (89/102)

Confidential ,
PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. RESIDENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. ,
BAHRAIN,
24th March, 1949.
(18/12/49)
Please refer to my despatch No. 174 of the
SOth December, 1948, in which I reported that the Ruler
of Qatar had appointed his son All as his successor in
place of Hamad who died last May.
2. Hamad, although the second and not the eldest
son of the Ruler of Qatar was recognised as his successor
by His Majesty’s Government and the Government of India
in 1936 against the usual practice observed in the Gulf
in return for the grant of the oil concession in the
Shaikh’s territories to a British Company, and an undertaking
that the Treaty of 1916 should be binding on the Shaikh’s
heirs and successors. I enclose herewith a copy of the
correspondence which took place with Shaikh abduilah at the
time. These letters are of considerable importance and cover
matters other than those discussed in this letter. They
were forwarded to 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. under this Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. letter
No. C/137 of the 12th May, 1936, and this reference will
enable you to trace the correspondence leading up to their
issue if you so desire.
5 ' V 5
3. Shaikh Abdullah has now asked that his eldest son
All should be recognised by His Majesty’s Government as his
successor. As we conceded the point in the case of Hamad
and in view of the valuable quid pro quo then obtained, I do
not think we should refuse to accede to the Shaikh’s request.
I am proposing, however, to seize the occasion to endeavour to
persuade the Shaikh to give his written consent to the bringing
into force Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the 1916 Treaty which are
held in abeyance by Sir Percy Cox’s letter of the 3rd November,
1916. I hope we may be successful in doing this but I do not
want to make it a sine qua non for the recognition of All as
Shaikh Abdullah’s successor.
4. From the personal point of view, I consider All who is
about sixty years old suitable for the appointment. He does
not possess such a strong personality as his late brother
and was always kept in the back ground while the latter was
alive. I had a talk with him during my visit to Qatar
in February and found him very pleasant mannered and reasonably
intelligent, and I think we ©re likely to find him easier to
deal with than either his father or Hamad. As reported in
my despatch under reference, the Shaikh's relations and the
leading notables have all agreed in writing to his selection ^
as heir-apparent and I consider it very improbable that the v> \>
succession will be disputed but we should make it clear that V $ ^
our support for him will be limited to the same extent as in the
case of Hamad, c.f. paragraph 6 of Fowle’s letter C/129^of the
11th May, 1936, a copy of which forms one of the enclosures
to this letter.
4. If possible, I should be grateful if you would let me
know by telegram that the proposals contained in this letter
are acceptable in order that negotiations may be undertaken with
Shaikh Abdullah as soon as possible.
B.A.B. Burrows, Esq.,
Foreign iffice,
London.
/SigTiea) W. ft- haT -
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