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Coll 5/20 ‘Air Route to India – Arab Coast Secn: Negotiations with Trucial Sheikhs’ [‎151r] (312/1290)

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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I extract the following from an article in an American nmo-azine •—
“Mascat is a British protectorate. Qatar, as well Tn.moi a
P enim G.ilf is « Brilish .pk.rs ol i,
SrSiM , '“' 1 “ “ k ’ **"“ -
There is little exaggeration here, but it differs substantially in aeUmlitv from nnr
theoretical position.
6. I cannot but think that many of the difficulties we are now encountering on the
Persian side of the (mill would have been obviated had we taken earlier stock of our
position and regularised and consolidated it when that position enabled \is to do so
and there seems a possibility that eventually, with the growing power of Bin Sand or
some other form of Arab nationalism, the time might come when failure to consolidate
and regularise our claims in a more definite and less veiled manner might leave us to
be shorn of privileges which we had long enjoyed, but which we had foiled to make
sufficiently regular to stand before a diplomatic court.
I put forward these opinions with due deference, recognising that their only value
is the relative one expressed at the beginning of para. 4 above! For that reason they
may possibly merit further examination by an expert, and I can think of no one better
suited to do so than the officer who is to take over charge from me, Colonel Barrett
who has a unique experience of the Arab littoral.
7. A copy of this despatch is being sent to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for
the Colonies.
I have. &c.,
i F. W. Johnston,
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. .
II.
P. 3916/29. (a) Paraphra se telegram f rom Secretary of State for India to Viceroy,
Foreign and Political Department, No. 1862, dated llth June 1929.
I shall be glad if you will telegraph as early as possible your observations on
paras. 4and following of Sir Frederick Johnston’s despatch on the TrucialSheikhdoms,
dated 23rd April 1929, No. 133 S.
P. 4235/29, (n) Paraphrase telegram from Viceroy, Foreign and Political Department,
to Secretary of State for India, No. 2007 S., dated 20th June 1929.
We should prefer, if possible, to await views of Barrett, who asks that he may be
permitted to defer report until question has been fully considered by him during
tour next month of Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . r 1
Foregoing refers to your telegram No. 1862 of the 11t h instant. I racial
Sheikhdoms.
P. 6128/29. (c) Paraphrase telegram from Secretary of State for India to l iceroy,
Foreign and Political Department, No. 3085, dated dth July 1929.
When may I expect your views on question of Trucial Sheikhdoms ?
Foregoing refers to your telegram No. 2007 S., dated 20th June.
P. 6406/29. III.
Recommendations of Colonel Barrett.
Recommendations or toionei isaiieii.
403 S. of 1929. From the Hon. Lieut-Col. C. G. J. Barrett, 0.8J., C.I.E.,
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. , to the Foreign Secretauy to a oveim
of India, Simla. . t . n , , r i nor „i
British 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, 5th September 1929.
I have the honour to refer to your letter No. 4. 58 N./28^dat^ - sU a}
ng for my views on Sir Frederick Johnston’s letter No. lou • o m i} ]e
J, which is itself an amplification of Sir Lionel Bav ort s o.
h April 1928 *
lin
* Not printed.
t No. I above.

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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’ [‎151r] (312/1290), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1966, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044823449.0x000071> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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