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'File 10/4 British relations with Bin Saud' [‎220v] (439/1019)

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The record is made up of 1 file (508 folios). It was created in 18 Mar 1911-1 Oct 1920. 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. .

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attitude, but as a pal It seemed to me unwise on hie part to
bind himself so irrevocably, because should ho agree to this
or similar conditions, presumably as an honest man, he would
be bound to adhere to it; moreover the Turkish Government
would probably inform us officially of it and request as to
correspond with their Basrah authorities in all matters touch
ing the Hasa Coast, a request with which, in the circumstances
we should be compelled to conform. Supposing this situation
to have been created w© would be no forwarder in the matters
Trevor and I discussed with him than at any time while the
Turks held Hasa and he himself would probably have stifled any
chance he had of freeing himself from Turkish interference# I
suggested that he had no cause for hurry or impatlance at
present, and certainly I could see no reason why he need bind
himself until at least he was seriously threatened by the
Turks. In any case, should he give the undertaking required
by the Turks I failed to see how in the natural course of
affairs it could have any real permanence or how it would
bring him the peace and security from interference which he
desired to much. I trust this will not be disapproved alto
gether, but if so our position is correct enough as I told
him repeatedly I had no authority even to discuss these things
being on leave and out to see the world and all I said would
be open to disavowal by our Government.
One suggestion which I venture to make privately owing to
my own liking and opinion of Bin Sa*ud and perhaps because of
my distance from the Coastl is that, should there b© any truth
in the rumours of a Turkish descent on Qatif and Ojair, could
we not send a man-of-war or two to Bahrain at the physicolo-
gical moments, ostensibly to see that the troops did^ not use
Bahrain as a base and really with the hope that it might have
the same effect as the despatch to ships to Kuwait did at the
time (was It 1894?) when Ibn Rashid said to be supported by
Turkish troops from Basrah contemplated an attack on Kuwait -

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Content

This file contains correspondence related to Ibn Sa'ud's [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] relationship with the British Government and the Ottoman Empire (and to a lesser extent, Kuwait) including the impact of the First World War. In addition to internal correspondence between British officials on this topic, the file also contains a large amount of correspondence from Ibn Sa'ud himself, in both Arabic and English translation.

The principal correspondents in the file are Captain William Shakespear; Political Residents, Major Percy Zachariah Cox and Major Stuart George Knox; 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. in Bahrain, Major Arthur Prescott Trevor; and the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubarak al-Sabah. The file also contains of copies of letters sent from various Ottoman officials to Shaikh Mubarak (folios 189-198) and a number of copies of letters sent by Saiyid Talib Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. [Talib al-Naqib].

In addition to correspondence, the file contains several extracts from the diaries of the Political Agencies in Kuwait and Bahrain related to political developments concerning Ibn Sa'ud and the following documents:

  • a 'memorandum setting forth the position as regards Bin Saud for guidance at the time of contemplated meeting with him' by Major Percy Zachariah Cox, 1913 (folios 154-158);
  • a memorandum on meeting Ibn Sa'ud by Captain William Shakespear, December 1913 (folios 171-172);
  • an account of a trip to Riyadh in 1914 by Captain William Shakespear (folios 219-222);
  • a memorandum entitled 'A Contribution to the History of Tribal Fights in the Shamiyah Desert' (folios 426-429);
  • an article about Ibn Sa'ud authored by C Stanley G Mylrea and published in The Near East , 11 May 1917;
  • a 1917 copy of a treaty agreed between Ibn Sa'ud and the British Government and ratified 18 July 1916 (folios 457-459);
  • an account of a visit to Riyadh in the summer of 1917 by P W Harrison (folios 499-502).
Extent and format
1 file (508 folios)
Arrangement

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

An index of topics discussed is contained at the rear of the file (on folio 509); the folios used in this index relate to an earlier incomplete foliation system that is in uncircled pencil 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.

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 510; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 3-508, and ff 95-508; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. 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
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'File 10/4 British relations with Bin Saud' [‎220v] (439/1019), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/27, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036623258.0x000028> [accessed 20 May 2024]

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