'El Katr, 1908-1916' [‎52r] (1/2)

•CONFIDENTIAL.
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. , B ' 402 -
T 4804/28.
EL KATR, 1908-16.
—
, }■ r J r ! le '? r Q atar ) Peninsula, which is governed by the Sheikhs
oi the I ham family, lies south of Ojair, in the district of Qatif, the most
southernly point to .which, with the exception of Koweit, His Maiestv’s
Government prior to the \\ ar of 1914 recognised continuous Turkish
influence. It lies, on the other hand, north of El Odeid, to which the
iracial bhmkh of Abu Dhabi was allowed to assert his rights of possession
in lo 18 , and which prior to 191tj formed the western boundary of the
territories of the Trucial Sheikhs. The status of the Peninsula formed the
SU n J ? Ct , oi length y discussion in the period prior to 1908, details of which
will be found in the Foreign Office Memorandum of 1908.
T he vexed question of the status of El Katr was finally disposed of in
m e A n g 1 °' rurkl8 . h ne ®° t ‘ d , tio J 18 , of 1912 -14- Under the unratified Anglo-
lurkish Convention of 29th July 1913, the Ottoman Government renounced
all rights to the lenmsula, which was, as in the past, to continue to be
governed by the Sheikhs of the Fhani family, while His Majesty’s Government
e ttgaged not to permit the Sheikh of Bahrein to interfere in the internal
attains ot El Katr, to threaten its autonomy or to annex it. A supplementary
article reserved the rights of the inhabitants of Bahrein to visit the island of
Zaknnuinyah for fishing purposes, as in the past.
3 : A f n i e mo SitU ?u io ." ar08 ?, wit ! 1 t! \ e con 9 uest of Hasa by Ibn Sand in the
course of l.)1.3. El katr, like the Oman coast, formed, in his view, part of
his ancestral domains, to which he could therefore prefer a claim as of ricffit * * p.a. Bahrein «,
But the Amir was warned at the end of the year that non-interference with
El Katr was a condition of the maintenance of friendly relations with His ''
.lajesty s Government,f and no difficulty in consequence arose The
.conclusion of a formal treaty between El Katr and His Majesty’s Government
which, other considerations apart, was in the immediately pre-war period of
much importance m connection with the arms traffic, was postponed! until t p.3749/13.2698/14.
the final ratification ol the Anglo-1 urkish Convention, and so had not been
disposed of on the outbreak of the European War.
t Lr. from Pol. Res.
to Ibn Saud, Sept. 11
1913. P. 4184/13.
4 In common with the rulers of the other States in the Gulf, the Sheikh § I*, h™ p„i. Re*.
o| LI Ea.tr was notified 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. of the outbreak of war with £ G - of L 2 °3>
urkeym November 1914,§ and throughout the period of the war maintained * 302 '. 1 ,! ' ,4 ’ p 4140 ’
a friendly attitude towards His Majesty s Government.
5 Under the treaty concluded between His Majesty’s Government and
Ibn Saud on the 26th December 1915, the Buler^PNejd u ,“k to
refrain from aggression on or interference with, “the territories of . . .
the Sheikhs of katr and the Oman coast, who are under the protection of
the British Government, and who have treaty relations with the said
Government, and the limits of their territories shall be hereafter determined.”
6 ’ 0 " tl /n ea n u- ‘he European War, which led to a falling off in the II vicroy to s. ot s.
arnis traffic m the Gulf rendered the conclusion of a definitive treaty with 6 1915
El katr less urgent, and it was not until May I915|| that the question was u m R es .,
revived. Lengthy negotiation proved necessary before a satisfactory pYssM!’ 5 '
agreement could be reached and it was not until 3 rd November 191611 that
a treaty was finally concluded between the Sheikh and His Majesty’s
Government. 1 he treaty, the terms of which are summarised in the precis
of treaties appended to the present Memorandum, secured to the Sheikh the
advantages conferred under the Trucial treaties on the Sheikhs of ’'rucial
Oman, while imposing on him the obligations in regard to piracy, the slave
traffic, the arms traffic, the grant of concessions, the cession, sale gift lease
3091b 50 10.28 ’ ® ’ e