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Coll 5/20 ‘Air Route to India – Arab Coast Secn: Negotiations with Trucial Sheikhs’ [‎150r] (310/1290)

The record is made up of 1 file (636 folios). It was created in 17 Feb 1932-6 May 1940. It was written in English, Arabic 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. .

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SECRET.
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. 419.
0796/2^
"V
Future Policy on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .
Correspondence between the Secretary of State for India, the Government of India, and
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. (1929).
Introductory Note.
1. The developments affecting the position of His Majesty’s Government on the
Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. in the period 1908-28 and the question of the general policy of His
Majesty’s Government in that area are dealt with in 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. Memorandum
on the Trucial Chiefs, reprinted on pages 87-94 of P.G. 13. The position of the
Sheikhdom of El Qatr is dealt with in the Memorandum on pages 95 and 96 of that
paper.
2. Subsequent to the publication of P.G. 13, the question of the future relations
of His Majesty’s Government with the Trucial Chiefs and Qatr came under the
consideration of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial
Defence. The Sub-Committee, after considering memoranda on the subject by the
Colonial Office and 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. (papers Nos. P.G. 22 and P.G. 26), decided,
at their meeting on the 19th November 1928, “to adopt the conclusions set forth
in paper No. P.G. 22, para. 6, namely, that ‘our present position on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
is sufficient to protect essential British interests; that we should endeavour to
maintain the independence of the Trucial Chiefs, and should not allow our present
position in regard to them to be weakened in any way ; that we should rely upon
our existing treaty rights to secure this end, and that it is not desirable at present
to incur the further commitments that would be involved in the conclusion of regular
protectorate treaties.’ ”
3. Since the date of this conclusion, the general question of policy has, however,
again been raised in the correspondence reprinted below. Sir Irederick Johnston, on
assuming the charge of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Pesidency at the end of 1928, remarked in
the despatch printed as No. I below, that it was for consideration whether a review of
the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. policy of His Majesty’s Government with regard to actual conditions
and needs was not called for. He suggested that certain tentative proposals made by
him to this end might be considered, together with the position as a whole, by Ins
successor, Colonel Barrett, “who has a unique experience ol the Arab littoral
Colonel Barrett's report is printed as No. 111. The views on it of the Government of
India will be found in the Viceroy’s telegram of 22nd October 19_.., upiin ei as o.
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. ,
23rd October 1929.
P. 3840/29.
No. 133 8. of 1929.
I.
Sir,
Views of Sir Frederick Johnston.
133 8 of lU^y. From the Hon. Sir F. W. Johnston, K.C.I.F., C.S.L, Political
Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , to the Foreign Secretary to the Government oj
India, Simla. Bnlish Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. and Consulate-General,
Bushire, 23rd April 19i_9.
I have the honour to refer to your letter No. 58 * 0 f the
to which you have just called attention in youi let ei i o. .
9th April 1929. . ,
2. The suggestions for checking the series of murdeis in the bhail^ e
Abu Dhabi emanated from my predecessor^ win) ffi?P ar ^.-^on 0 f a very much
imposition of any remedy to be impossible withou •,? Maiesty’s Government’s
greater amount of internal contYol than is consisten w his r ^ f n the i 10pe that
policy on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , and, I am informed, 3 p Tmnerial Defence
tlie deliberations of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Section of p '?™ j u the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
would result in the policy of a greater degree of interference m
internal affairs.
* Not printed.
4006 50 10.29

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Content

The file is largely made up of correspondence, with occasional internal 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. notes, and records of inter-departmental meetings. The subject matter is the establishment of an aerodrome on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. to facilitate the transfer of Imperial Airways' Europe-India route from Southern Persia to the Arabian Coast. There is some material related to the selection of a suitable site. However, much of the file is concerned with negotiations with Shaikh Sultan bin Saqar, Ruler of Sharjah; Sharjah was selected by British officials as the most promising site for a landing ground. The file therefore contains a number of reports on the political situation at Sharjah, the progress of negotiations, and discussion over terms and conditions. A copy of the final agreement can be found on folios 225-228.

The agreement with the Shaikh of Sharjah provided for the construction of a rest house to be owned by the Shaikh but rented by Imperial Airways. The file therefore includes discussion relating to arrangements for the financing and construction of the rest house. There is also a detailed consideration of the measures needed to ensure its security, and measures to be taken by British forces in the event of an attack on the facility: see folios 18-27 for a copy of the Sharjah Defence Scheme .

The file also contains discussion between British officials over their response to the following two proposals submitted by the Government of the Netherlands: a proposal for Anglo-Dutch-French co-operative partnership in approaching civil aviation matters linking Europe and the Far East, with a particular view to negotiations with Persia; and a request for access to the Arab Coast air route.

In addition to the immediate response to the Netherlands Government, the file includes discussion related to how British policy over the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. should develop in response to developments in civil aviation.

Also contained within the file are a number of papers circulated by the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. These papers relate to a proposal from Imperial Airways to use landplanes along the Arabian Coast route instead of flying boats; the file contains extensive technical comparisons between the ‘Hannibal’ four engine landplane (the Handley Page H.P.42) and three engine ‘Calcutta’ flying boat (the Short S.8).

There is a limited amount of discussion, towards to front of the correspondence, over the state of British negotiations with Persia. However, this is not the focus of the file.

A couple of letters from the Government of the Netherlands are in French (see folios 296-301) and the final agreement with the Shaikh of Sharjah (folios 225-228) is in both English and Arabic. The vast majority of the file is in English.

The main correspondents are as follows: 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. (Hugh Vincent Biscoe, and later 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. at Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson), and the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . It also includes correspondence with officials of the following governmental departments: the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, the Foreign 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. , and the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India.

Most of the material in the file covers the period 1932 to 1935. Only a single letter, dated 31 March 1940, falls outside this range.

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.

Extent and format
1 file (636 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 637; 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, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English, Arabic and French in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 5/20 ‘Air Route to India – Arab Coast Secn: Negotiations with Trucial Sheikhs’ [‎150r] (310/1290), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1966, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044823449.0x00006f> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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