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Coll 6/67(3) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎213r] (432/830)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (411 folios). It was created in 7 Feb 1935-20 Dec 1935. It was written in English. 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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inter
your
Chi e l
oish loy eminent have no desire to
x ere j, and have never interfered 5 in
internal affairs s provided that the
s govern their territories -with
Jus tree 5 , and respect the rights of the
r or eign traders resident therein. If any
internal disputes occur* you will always
find a friend in the British Resident,
who will use his influence, as he has
irequently done in the past, to prevent
these disputes from coming to a head, and
to maintain the status quo ^ for we cannot
approve of one Chief attacking another
Chief by land, simply because he was not
permitted to do it by sea, and thus
evading the spirit of his treaty obliga
tions'^ .
Air Vice-Marshal Courtney pointed out that conditions
had changed since Lord Curson made this speech, and said
that as regards the first point which he had quoted from
Colonel Rowle f s despatch, it was the view of the Air
Ministry that, if British interests were threatened owing
to any developments in tne internal affairs of a Trucial
Sheikhdom, His Majesty's G-overnment should intervene.
Air power now permitted His Majesty’s o-oveminent to
intervene, or prevent hostilities, on land, if they
wished to do so, and ne suggested that his Majesty’s
Government should make it clear to the Trucial Sheikhs
that they could and would intervene by sea, air or even
land, if necessary. As the safety of the air route to the
Far Last was now the principal British interest on the
Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , the Air Ministry had taken the initiative
in asking that the matter should be considered by the
S ub-C omrn i 11 e e.
he would take the recent incident at Debai as an
example. Colonel Fowle, in his despatch, had represented
txiat the action then taken by His Majesty’s Government did
not constitute interference. It was, however, to be
assumed that this action was taken because the British
authorities feared that British lives and property might
ultimately be threatened, if the quarrel at Debai had

About this item

Content

This volume primarily concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, the Trucial Shaikhdoms, Muscat, the Hadramaut and the Aden Protectorate.

It includes interdepartmental discussion regarding the approach that the British Government should take in reaching a settlement with King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] over the demarcation of the boundaries.

References are made to various existing and proposed lines, including the 'blue line' and the 'violet line' – boundary lines that formed part of the Anglo-Ottoman Conventions, concluded in 1913 and 1914 respectively, a 'green line' and a 'brown line', which represent more recent territorial concessions proposed by the British to Ibn Saud, and a 'red line', which is referred to as the Saudi Government's claim for its country's south-eastern boundary.

The volume features the following principal correspondents: 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel 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. , Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Samuel Hoare); the Acting Chief Commissioner, Aden (Lieutenant-Colonel Morice Challoner Lake); officials of the Colonial Office, 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. , the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.

The correspondence includes discussion of the following:

  • The extent of territory that the British should be prepared to include in any concession made to Ibn Saud.
  • The abandonment of the idea of a proposed 'desert zone'.
  • The future of the Treaty of Jedda of 1927.
  • Meetings held at the Foreign Office with Fuad Bey Hamza, Deputy Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Hafiz Wahba, Saudi Arabian Minister in London, during June and July 1935.
  • The eastern boundary of the Aden Protectorate.
  • The possibility of the British Government employing Bertram Thomas to carry out enquiries and investigations regarding the question of Saudi Arabia's south-eastern frontiers.
  • Wells and territories of the Al Murra [Āl Murrah] tribe.
  • Preparations for Sir Andrew Ryan's forthcoming visit to Riyadh for negotiations with Ibn Saud.
  • Abu Dhabi's claim to Khor-al-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd].
  • Details of a British aerial reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula, which took place on 11 October 1935.

In addition to correspondence the volume includes the following: copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 15 April 1935 and 24 September 1935 respectively; photographs of the Qatar Peninsula, taken during the aforementioned aerial reconnaissance; a map showing the route of the aerial reconnaissance.

The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 4).

Extent and format
1 volume (411 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 411; 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.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 6/67(3) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎213r] (432/830), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2136, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046787906.0x000021> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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