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'File 1/A/38 III Negotiations with Bin Saud re: Eastern Boundary of Saudi Arabia.' [130v] (267/504)
The record is made up of 1 volume (246 folios). It was created in 19 Oct 1935-6 Feb 1936. It was written in English and Arabic. 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. .
Transcription
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•J
would remove a source of uncertainty and friction by defining the territorial
limits within which Saudi Arabia and the other Arab States concerned would
respectively be free to exercise full sovereignty. Fuad Bey Hamza replied that
his Government considered that the only basis for a settlement was to establish
and allocate the grazing grounds in accordance with the political allegiance of
the desert tribes concerned. He maintained that the statement of King Abdul
Aziz’s demands was drawn up on the basis of the grazing grounds of four tribal
groups, in particular of the widespread Ahl Murra tribe^ w^ a^npwl^iged
Saudi sovereignty; and, in support of the line claimecV he^omt^unicafea^the
names of 161 wells said to be owned by that tribe. Fuad Bey criticised the
concessions offered by His Majesty’s Government as being purely arbitrary and
not in accordance with the material facts of the situation in the desert. The
Saudi Government had, he said, worked out, after the most searching investiga
tion and enquiry, a carefully plotted and rational boundary which took account
of the political and tribal situation, and they were prepared to provide detailed
evidence in support of their proposal; he insisted therefore that the next move
lay with His Majesty’s Government, and that, if they did not agree with Saudi
claims, it was for them to produce a detailed statement of their criticisms.
Hitherto, he asserted, His Majesty’s Government had merely replied to the Saudi
proposals by the simple counter-offer of an arbitrarily limited narrow area which
failed to take account of the material facts.
5. His Majesty’s Government are reluctant to acquiesce in a continuance
of the deadlock reached in the conversations with Fuad Bey Hamza last summer
without making any further attempt to reach an agreed settlement. As you
yourself have advised, so long as this frontier question remains in its present
indefinite state it stands in the way of the general and lasting settlement of
Anglo-Saudi differences which His Majesty’s Government are anxious to bring
about. Moreover, the rapid development of oil exploitation on the Arabian shore
of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
renders it very desirable that a definite limit should be drawn
between territories which would be recognised as being under the sovereignty of
King Abdul Aziz on the one hand, and as being under that of the rulers of
Qatar, of the
Trucial Coast
A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
States and of Muscat on the other. You will recollect
that only in September last His Majesty endeavoured to stop the grant of an oil
concession by the Sheikh of Qatar to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, on the
ground that part of the concession area was included in his territorial claims.
If the frontier is not settled there is a risk that similar difficulties may arise from
the exploitation of the oil deposits in the Trucial Sheikhdoms if oil concessions
should be granted therein.
6. It is clear, therefore, that every effort should be made, especially at
the present critical juncture in world affairs, to reach an agreed settlement of
the dispute, to put an end to an uncertain and unsatisfactory situation, and to
remove a source of friction which has already had an unfortunate effect upon
the general course of Anglo-Saudi relations. With this object in view His
Majesty’s Government, after obtaining fresh information from the British
authorities of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
and of the Aden Protectorate, have reconsidered
the whole question, and they are prepared to go to the extreme limit of concession
in the endeavour to formulate new proposals to meet the claims of King Abdul
Aziz in the greatest possible measure. They have accordingly decided to
authorise you to seek a favourable opportunity during the course of your forth
coming visit to Riyadh to resume negotiations in the matter, if possible with
King Abdul Aziz himself, but otherwise with his Ministers, and to furnish
you with the following instructions for your guidance.
7. You will begin by informing King Abdul Aziz that, as a result of the
conversations with Fuad Bey Hamza last summer in London, the whole question
of the frontiers in South-Eastern Arabia has been fully reconsidered by His
Majesty’s Government, after consultation with the local British authorities in
Arabia. In particular His Majesty’s Government have re-examined the boundary
claimed by King Abdul Aziz as described in the memorandum communicated
to you on the 3rd April last, in the light of the detailed evidence supplied by
Fuad Bey Hamza, of the arguments advanced by him in the course of discussion,
and of the further information collected by the British authorities in the areas
concerned. You will then express in general terms the earnest desire of His
Majesty’s Government to go as far as possible to meet the wishes of King Abdul
Aziz in an amicable settlement of the question, laying stress at the same time
About this item
- Content
The volume concerns negotiations between the British and Saudi Arabian governments over the definition of the eastern boundary of Saudi Arabia, particularly the border with Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The King of Saudi Arabia is commonly referred to in the papers as Bin Saud or Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]. The need to establish a definite border was increased by the discovery of oil in the area.
The principal correspondents are 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); 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. , Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); HM Chargé d'Affaires, Jeddah (Andrew Spencer Calvert); HM Minister, Jedda [Jeddah] (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Secretary of State for India; the Government of India, and the Foreign Office.
The volume includes: papers (folios 18-28, 32-33) concerning an aerial reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula, undertaken by the Royal Air Force and accompanied 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Loch, acting), including a chart showing tracks and positions (folio 21) and seven aerial photographs (folios 22-28), October 1935; notes by Haji Abdullah Fadhil Williamson on Abu Dhabi territory and boundaries 'given by the Al Bu Fallah Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. Shaikhs and also the Manasir', November 1935 (folios 120-122); Sir Andrew Ryan's account of his journey across Arabia, December 1935 (folios 159-167), and record of his conversations at Riyadh with the Saudi Arabian Government, December 1935 (folios 168-193); and discussions concerning Bin Saud's claim to Jabal Naksh in Qatar, January 1936 (folios 202-224).
The Arabic language content of the file is restricted to about ten folios of correspondence, mainly between Gulf rulers and 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. , Bahrain.
The date range gives the covering dates of the main items of correspondence; the earliest document is an enclosure to the first item of correspondence, dated 17 October 1935, and the last dated addition to the file is an entry in the notes dated 15 February [1936].
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (246 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the back of the file, except where enclosures of an earlier date are filed after their relevant covering letter, and terminate in a set of notes (folios 228-242), followed by a map in a pocket on folio 246v. Circled serial numbers in red crayon refer to entries in the notes.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 248; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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'File 1/A/38 III Negotiations with Bin Saud re: Eastern Boundary of Saudi Arabia.' [130v] (267/504), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/159, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100029538164.0x000044> [accessed 25 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/159
- Title
- 'File 1/A/38 III Negotiations with Bin Saud re: Eastern Boundary of Saudi Arabia.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:20v, 21ar:21av, 29r:55v, 57r:119v, 123r:153v, 153ar:153av, 154r:203v, 207r:245v, 247r:247v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence