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Coll 6/67(3) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎226r] (458/830)

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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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-16-
Secondly, unless some boundary could be agreed upon,
there would be no limit to Ibn Baud's expansion towards the
coast, and to his continued penetration into the hinterland
of the Trucial Sheikhdoms. It would pay us better to agree
on a boundary which would set a term to his expansion, than,
by leaving the situation fluid, to risk finding that he had
further extended his influence over - and possibly even in some
cases completely absorbed - the territory or tribes of our
proteges,
thirdly - ana this was a point of great importance -
His Majesty r s Government were confronted with a situation of
great delicacy ana even danger in the Red Sea area. The
Italians were making strenuous efforts to extend their
iniluence ana undermine our position, and were constantly
making au.vances to Ibn Saul. While it might not he to the
latter's ultimate interest to respond to these advances, he
might he driven to do so if he felt that His Majesty's Govern
ment were not prepared to give him a ’’square deal’-h it was,
therefore, of major political importance that we should treat
Ion Saua as generously as possible over the grievance which he
xelt against us in this matter of the frontier.
Lastly, His Majesty’s Government were committed to continue
negotiations by their acceptance of Ibn Saul's invitation to
Sir A. Ryan to visit Riyadh on his return to his post next
month. It was essential that Sir A. Ryan should have
instructions enabling him to make constructive proposals at his
meeting with the King, and, if these instructions were to be
ready before his departure, time was extemely short.
mR. CLauSON said that 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. , without necessarily
accepting all the foreign Office arguments, did not v/ish to
dissent from Mr. Rendel's conclusion, and agreed that it would
be convenient to reach an early settlement. They would not,
however, regard failure to reach an agreement with Ibn Saul
over this question of the frontier as necessarily disastrous.

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.' [‎226r] (458/830), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2136, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046787906.0x00003b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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