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File 3372/1916 Pt 2 'Arabia: French and Italian policy' [‎92v] (193/498)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (243 folios). It was created in 30 May 1917-11 Dec 1918. It was written in English, French and Italian. 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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N
and among potentially hostile populations, whose power of giving trouble will
largely depend on the extent to which they are effectively armed. As
regards Turkey, it must be assumed that she will be in no position, after the
war, to resist the united pressure of the hntente I owers.
It is necessary to emphasise two points, both in regard to Arabia and
to Asia Minor, tVc., viz.: —
(1) that the interested Powers will be dealing with territories, e.g., their
several “spheres of influence” in Asia Minor, cVx., in relation
to which their authority will fall very far short of full sovereignty,
and in some cases may be of a very vague and ill-defined
character; and
( 2 ) that an international agreement in regard to^ these areas will be of
little practical value unless it can be established that there is real
community of interest between the contracting parties.
For these reasons the best prospect of successfully controlling the traffic
lies in cutting off the supply at the source by prohibiting all export of arms
and ammunition to the territories in question.
4. Arabia. —The situation in Arabia is complicated by the new political
conditions—of which the proposed international agreement must obviously
take account—arising out of the emancipation of the Arabs from Turkish
control. Responsibility for enforcing the provisions of the agreement
within the various areas affected by the new conditions must rest in each
case with the European Power exercising supervisory authority, in whatever
legree, towards the particular area.
5. Maskat and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . —The Government of India have in the
past raised strong objection to the introduction into these regions, in which
British influence has been paramount for many years past, of anything in
the nature of international control. It was on this ground that Maskat was
excluded, at the instance of the British delegates at Ifrussels, from the scope
of the draft Additional Act of 1908. The principle is of equal application
at the present day, though the circumstances are not quite the same. We
have, since 1908, induced the Sultan of Maskat to establish, under our
auspices, a system of control over the arms traffic similar to that contem
plated in the draft Additional Act; and we have purchased the acquiescence
of the French Government in the arrangements made. Provided it were
clearly understood that no interference would be tolerated with the measures
taken by the Sultan to control the traffic, and that responsibility for their
due enforcement, vis-d-vis other Powers, rests solely with the British Govern
ment, there might be no great objection to bringing Maskat within the scope
of the proposed international Convention, particularly as the only Inter
national body contemplated by the Convention, viz., the Central Bureau at
Brussels set up by the Brussels Act of 3890 (the International Bureaux
m the prohibited area, proposed in the draft Additional Act, may be
dispensed with), is to be merely an agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for collecting and co-ordinating
information, and to excicise no executive powers of anv kind. Nevertheless
the balance of advantage appears to lie in maintaining the status quo at
Maskat, undei \\ Inch the control ol the arms traffic is the exclusive concern
of the local authonties and the British Government, and affords no pretext
lor inteifeience bj any othei .1 ower m any circumstances whatever.
. Similar considerations apply to the whole of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
including both the Persian and Arabian littorals. There can be no question
of abating in the smallest degree the claims of His Majesty’s Government,
as formally asserted by Lord Lansdowne in 1903 and reiterated by
n . ’'dwaid jrey in 1907, to the possession of special interests in this
regmn. So far as the control of the arms traffic is concerned, sole and
absolute authority throughout the Guff must rest with the British Govern
ment.
„ [n al f q® circumstances, it seems desirable tliat Maskat, Persia, and the
iersian Gulf should, if possible, be wholly excluded from the scope of the
international Convention. Hut it is essential that Great Britain should
r

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Content

The volume contains papers largely relating to French policy in the Hedjaz [Hejaz] and Arabia, and Anglo-French relations concerning the region. It includes papers relating to the following:

  • The French mission being sent to the Hedjaz under Mustapha Cherchali.
  • The French Military Mission in the Hedjaz.
  • The British desire for French recognition of British predominance in the region.
  • The Sykes-Picot Mission.
  • The recommendations of HM High Commissioner, Egypt, on future British policy in Arabia.
  • The desire of the French government to send the equivalent in gold of 975,000 francs to the King of the Hedjaz.
  • The question of a revised agreement between Britain and France regarding Arabia and the Hedjaz.
  • The activities of a French agent at Mecca, Mahomet Bin Sasi.

The volume also includes papers relating to the policy to be adopted by Britain towards Italian ‘pretentions’ in Arabia.

The papers mostly consist of: correspondence between 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 Office, with enclosures including correspondence between the Foreign Office and the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom; copy correspondence between the Foreign Office and Sir Reginald Wingate, HM High Commissioner, Egypt, sent to 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. by the Foreign Office; 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. Minute Papers; and other correspondence and papers. Some of the papers are in French, and there is also a copy of a newspaper cutting in Italian.

The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (243 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 3372 (Pt 1 Arab Revolt, and Pt 2 Arabia) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/615-616. The volumes are divided into two parts, with part 1 comprising one volume, and part 2 comprising the second volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 243; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English, French and Italian in Latin script
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File 3372/1916 Pt 2 'Arabia: French and Italian policy' [‎92v] (193/498), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/616, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046208597.0x0000c2> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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