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Coll 6/67(3) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [370r] (746/830)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THI S DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF H IS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
\j7o
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
1.
o .... ' z
Z. J J
l
1 :• * o o
March 11 , 1935.
Section 4,
[E 1637/318/25
No. 1 ,
Itf*
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon.—(Received March U)
(No. 53.)
Sir
No Jg ofMc ^hTh ted by tel , egraph 0n the Princ£f?ointfryLfie)eg^
^ ^ ’ 15 n 1 Februar F’ rel alive to the discussions now in progress between
His Majesty s Government and the Saudi Government with a view to the
n f outstan ^ la S questions. I need add little to my telegram No. 38 of
the 21st February, but I feel bound to express, with great deference, my personal
opmion thaf the indignation of His Majesty’s Government over the attitude of
the Saudi Governinent has led them into an attitude on their side of undue
severity towards Ibn Saud and Fuad Bey Hamza.
a u' r?° 0116 J ias ei uphasised more than I Ibn Saud’s tendency to play to the
Arab gallery. Nevertheless, I think it is hardly fair to suggest that he is asking
His Majesty s Government to abandon their established policy in the Persian
Gull in order that ne may play to the pan-Arab section of that gallery with
greater enect. His resentment at the attitude of His Majesty’s Government
regai ding his eastern and soutn-eastern frontiers is deep and genuine, but he
has consistently disclaimed any wish to contest their position in regard to terri
tories actually under the control of the coastal rulers. In so far as he wishes to
disguise his acceptance of it, I think his position is that in certain ways he
must dance to the tune of the pan-Arabs. I gather from a telegram which I
have seen recently that the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs has taken a similar
line about the position of the Arabs of Syria in regard to Franco-Iraqi
negotiations.
3. Fuad Bey Hamza is a bumptious young man, but, as I have frequently
pointed out, he has two personalities, that of the Fuad who is personally imbued
with sentiments of Arab nationalism and that of the Fuad who serves Ibn Saud,
without enjoying his master’s entire confidence and without sharing all his
master’s views, because he sees in him the best present embodiment of
the Arab idea and perhaps the best provider of a career for Fuad Bey
Hamza, a convinced nationalist, but at the same time a man of great ambitions.
For the rest, Fuad Bey of tens speaks to me unofficially with a frankness which
is sometimes useful and sometimes embarrassing. The nature of our relations is
such that I would myself acquit him of impertinence, though not of indiscretion,
in his language of the 20th January. Sobered by the vigour of my reaction and
by the consciousness of his official responsibilities, he modified it very considerably
the next day and still more on the 7th February when he had taken the King’s
instructions. I do not think he will again invoke lightly the McMahon-Hussein
correspondence. Should he do so, I will bear in mind the short answer in
paragraph 3 of your telegram No. 29 of the 15th February. In the meanwhile
I trust that the statement reproduced in my telegram No. 39 of the 21st February
will have a good effect, though it will not eliminate the factor of Arab nationalist
sentiment.
4. On a point of detail, I would observe that Fuad Bey did not describe
the Arab and Moslem opinion of which he spoke on the 7th February (see para-
/o/?, graph 4 of my telegram Nq^ 23 of the 9th February) as being unintelligent but
as being ill-informed. Having myself spent nearly four years in Arabia before
I began to understand the relations between His Majesty’s Government and the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
rulers, some aspects of which still elude me, I should be sorry to
regard ignorance on the subject as a sign of defective intelligence.
5. I have not thought it necessary to make a separate record of my conversa
tion with Fuad Bey on the 20th February, as I have embodied all the essential
points in my telegrams. When Fuad Bey reverted to his question as to the form
which any settlement of the frontier question would take and whether the local
[356 1—4]
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 View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/67(3) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [370r] (746/830), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2136, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046787907.0x000093> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2136
- Title
- Coll 6/67(3) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:5v, 11r:39v, 48r:321v, 323r:323v, 325r:328v, 331r:386v, 389r:411v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence