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'Confidential D 107 86/5-I Eastern and General Syndicate Ltd. - Saudi Arabia' [‎68r] (140/386)

The record is made up of 1 volume (213 folios). It was created in 5 Mar 1933-30 Jan 1935. 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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nnwyiDENTIAL.
Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ,
tin, tiie 27tix June 1933.
The following simple story from Bahrain,for what
it is worth,aay amuse and possibly interest you:-
"On a day the King of Sa’udi Arabia came to Jiddah
and saw there a man named H . He said "I do not like
that man; and what is he doing here anyhow?" And they
said "Your Majesty asked him to come here”. And the King
replied that he was damned if he had,and that he wanted
to see the file; and the King was very angry so he said
"Well - if H does not go away at once,I will put him
in prison because he has owad me £.3,000 for a very long
time and has never paid it". Then the man went away
quickly. And then they found on the file that the King
had sent a telegram asking him to come,but that it ha^
been issued by one of the Ministers. And people said
that the King had dismissed the Minister,and that they
hoped it was the Minister called Yasin because they did
not like him; and they thought that the telegram had
been sent because a man called M--- Y--»- had asked some
people called ^ to help and had promised w
I'ble Lieut-Colonel T.C.W.Fowle,C.B.E.,
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. ,
Bushire.

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Content

The volume contains correspondence to and from 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, Percy Gordon Loch), 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 (Percy Gordon Loch), and 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 Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson) regarding matters in Saudi Arabia and their affect, particularly on Kuwait and Bahrain. The main topic of discussion being a concession in Hasa, Saudi Arabia which was contested by the Standard Oil Company of California and the Iraq Petroleum Company, and was awarded to Standard Oil in July 1933.

The correspondence, primarily between HM's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan) and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir John Simon) includes details of the negotiations and translations of the concession agreement which was published in Umm-al-Qura in July 1933. Also discussed are attempts to obtain information about the special agreement between Standard Oil and the Sa'udi Arab Government which was not published and which contained details of the exact values of the concession, the area covered by it, and a clause relating to the Kuwait-Najd neutral zone concession. Later correspondence also discusses the progress being made by Standard Oil in developing their concession.

Other matters discussed in the file include:

  • correspondence from 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 Kuwait regarding rumours that the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) travelled to Najd to meet with Ibn Saud (‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd), King of Saudi Arabia, or one of his close advisers to discuss matters including a potential alleviation of the blockade on Kuwait and their joining forces in regards to the oil concession agreement in the neutral zone (ff 6-17);
  • a memorandum written by the Petroleum Department about Petroleum in Arabia which covers the topics: Petroleum prospects in Arabia, interested or potentially interested companies, past concessions affecting Saudi Arabia, the present position. The memorandum includes brief summaries of all the key oil companies and interested parties in oil concessions in Arabia (ff 90-91);
  • correspondence regarding the prohibition on private planes flying to Bahrain and a request by the Standard Oil Company of California to use Bahrain as their base of operations during their survey of Hasa which was denied, and the eventual decision to allow Standard Oil's aeroplane to land at Bahrain should there be a serious medical emergency involving either their staff or those of the Mesopotamia-Persia corporation (ff 112, 131-133, 155-156, 173-175);
  • a record of an interview which Frederick Charles Starling of the Mines Department had with Edmund William Janson of the Eastern and General Syndicate Limited in which Eastern and General's interest in a possible concession in Asir was discussed along with their activities in regard to previous concessions (ff 147-149).

A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 179-187.

Extent and format
1 volume (213 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, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 present in parallel between ff 6-192; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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'Confidential D 107 86/5-I Eastern and General Syndicate Ltd. - Saudi Arabia' [‎68r] (140/386), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/667, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025704695.0x00008d> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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