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Coll 6/53 'Red Sea: The Hanish Islands.' [201r] (401/419)
The record is made up of 1 file (208 folios). It was created in 2 Oct 1928-12 Dec 1935. It was written in English, Italian and French. 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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Company’ s claim, but were the only Power in a position to exercise
any pressure on the Company. It was, moreover, impossible to
reach any agreement with the Company until a draft convention for
the future maintenance of the lighthouses had been prepared. Had
further parties been introduced into the negotiations at this stage,
however, the negotiations, which were more than once on the verge
of breaking down, would necessarily have been renderednore compli
cated, and it is probable that the necessary agreement with the
Company would have been much delayed.
3 . I understand from Mr.Wingfield’s despatch No.644 that the
question to which the Italian Government attach most importance
is that of the ultimate sovereignty over the islands. It appears
to His Majesty’s Government that this question is already covered
by Recitals 3 and 4 in the Preamble, and by Article 13 in the bo<V
of the draft Convention. These provisions were intended to make it
clear that there was no intention to attribute the sovereignty
over the islands to the territorial sovereign of the neighbouring
coast, and that the intention of the signatories was that the
question of sovereignty should be reserved.
4. As the Italian Government will readily understand, there are
obvious objections to the introduction of any change into the text
of the Convention at the present stage. The text, which has only
been arrived at after protracted and difficult negotiations, had
been communicated to all the Governments concerned, and, if any
modification^, even of a minor character, is now introduced as the
result of a request from one Power, apart from the serious and costly
delay which may be involved, other Powers may be encouraged to put
forward corresponding requests which may prove difficult to deal
with and which might even lead to a re-opening of the entire nego-
tiations.
5. Notwithstanding these objections, however, His Majesty’s
Government would be prepared, if the Italian Government press their
point, to consider t’^.e introduction of certain minor modifications
in the Convention to meet the Italian views. They would further
be prepared to suggest the introduction of modifications in the
About this item
- Content
This file primarily concerns the sovereignty status of the Hanish Islands, as well as that of other islands in the Lower Red Sea. It documents concerns held by the British Government that the Italian Government is in the process of attempting to establish some kind of informal control over certain islands.
Matters discussed in the correspondence include:
- The content and wording of a proposed Red Sea Lights Convention, the result of negotiations between the British and French governments, which ostensibly relates to the construction and maintenance of lighthouses – both on islands in the Lower Red Sea and in the territory of Mocha – but also concerns questions of sovereignty.
- Whether the Italian Government's plan to construct a lighthouse on South-West Haycock Island constitutes a claim of sovereignty over the island.
- The establishment of Italian military posts on the Hanish and Jebel Zukur [Jazīrat Jabal Zuqar] islands.
- Concerns expressed by the Admiralty and Foreign Office that by establishing these posts the Italian Government could be attempting to enforce rights of sovereignty over the islands.
- The extent to which either the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) or the Rome Conversations of 1927 (between Britain and Italy) provide any basis to contesting an Italian claim to sovereignty over the islands.
- Reports of attempts by the Italian military posts to restrict fishing and pearling in neighbouring waters to dhows possessing a permit from Assab.
The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Ambassador in Rome (Sir Ronald Graham, succeeded by James Eric Drummond); the Command-in-Chief, Mediterranean; the Senior Officer of the Red Sea Sloops; the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the 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. , the Admiralty, the Air Council, and the Board of Trade's Mercantile Marine Department.
As well as correspondence the file includes the following: extracts from reports of the proceedings of HMS Dahlia (1929 and 1931), HMS Penzance (1933), and HMS Calcutta (1934); copies of the minutes of an interdepartmental conference, held at the Foreign Office on 6 July 1931 to consider questions relating to the Red Sea islands; draft English and French texts of modifications to the aforementioned Red Sea Lights Convention, prepared by Sir Cecil Hurst, legal adviser to the Foreign Office; two sketch maps depicting the Lower Red Sea islands and surrounding area.
In addition to the aforementioned French text, the file contains some material in Italian, namely a copy of a fishing permit issued at Assab (an English translation is included).
The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (208 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 209; 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.
- Written in
- English, Italian and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/53 'Red Sea: The Hanish Islands.' [201r] (401/419), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2120, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040077758.0x000004> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2120
- Title
- Coll 6/53 'Red Sea: The Hanish Islands.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:2v, 5r:32v, 35r:51v, 53r:54v, 56r:118v, 120r:135v, 138r:143v, 145r:161v, 163r:172v, 174r:177v, 182r:209v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence