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Coll 6/67(6) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar: Trucial Coast Oil Concessions' [191r] (392/402)
The record is made up of 1 file (195 folios). It was created in 30 Jun 1940-30 Mar 1948. 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.
I
to the E. 4734/279/
to any 91 (1934).
i 12. The ££ tribal” claims, however, need to be examined more closely, since
I they are leaily the basis of the whole Saudi case. Briefly, the view put forward
I by the Saudi Arabian Government is that, since much of the territory adjoining
the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
to the east of the Blue line is under no regular rule, the status
of any part of that territory must be determined solely on the basis of tribal
allegiances. This view has not been accepted unreservedly by His Majesty’s
Government, who have pointed out on more than one occasion (e.q., at the meeting
with Fuad Bey Hamza on the 24th June, 1935; see Eastern (Arabia) Print of e. 3944/77/
the 25th June, 1935, Section 3) that, since many Arabian tribes are accustomed 91 (1935).
to wander over a very wide area, it would be impossible to base territorial claims
on the extent of those wanderings, or to establish a frontier line solely in
accordance with fluctuating tribal allegiances; and further that a simple allo
cation of tribal areas could not, as the Saudi Arabian Government are sometimes
inclined to maintain, replace a territorial frontier. Subject to these reservations,
however, it follows from what has already been said earlier in this memorandum
that it is justifiable for the Saudi Arabian Government to contend that where a
given area is inhabited by tribes the majority of which acknowledge their
allegiance to Ibn Sand, and no other ruler has any effective claim to that territory,
it may rightfully be claimed by the Saudi Arabian Government.
13. Moreover, it seems justifiable to contend, as the Saudi Arabian Govern
ment do, that in the absence of other indications the payment of ££ zakat ” (a
form of tribute or tax) may be regarded as the factor determining the allegiance
of a particular tribe. The question to what extent it is admissible to invoke the
payment of tribute as evidence of sovereignty has already formed the subject of
exhaustive discussion. In his demi-official letter No. C/151 of the 30th March, e. 2332 / 279 /
1934, Sir T. Fowle maintained, with regard to payments made by certain Arab
sheikhs, including the Sheikh of Qatar, to Ibn Sand, that these payments could
in no way be regarded as formal tribute, or as constituting a recognition of
Ibn Saud as the overlord of the payers. The observations of Sir T. Fowle referred,
however, only to payments made to Ibn Saud by the Sheikhs of Qatar and the
Trucial States
A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
, whose independence of Saudi Arabia was in any case safeguarded
by the special engagements existing between them and His Majesty’s Government,
which were recognised by the Saudi Arabian Government under article 6 of the
Treaty of Jedda. Clearly there could be no question of these payments having
involved in any way a recognition of Ibn Saud’s overlordship.
14. In the case of ££ zakat ” payments made by local tribal chiefs inhabiting
territory to which no one has a legal claim and over which no ruler exercises any
effective authority, the position is, however, somewhat different, since the status
of those chiefs is nowhere established by treaty and may therefore be taken to
depend on the degree of allegiance given by them to one or other of the recognised
local rulers. Thus there would seem to be some force in the argument that in such
cases the levy of ££ zakat,” whether it is called ££ blackmail ” or by some other
name, may be regarded as taxation and consequently as providing evidence of
[22284—2]
b 2
About this item
- Content
This volume concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically its border with Qatar.
The correspondence and memoranda near the beginning of the volume discuss from a British perspective the origins and recent history of the boundary dispute, which is described as having been in abeyance since 1938; much of the later correspondence is concerned with whether the British should make renewed attempts to reach an agreement with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] .
References are made to various existing and proposed boundary lines, the most recent of the latter is the 'Riyadh line' (the name given to the boundary proposed by the British to the Saudi Government in November 1935, referred to elsewhere as the 'final offer').
Notable correspondents include the following: 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. (Charles Geoffrey Prior, succeeded by William Rupert Hay); 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 (Reginald George Alban, Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, and Cornelius James Pelly); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Stanley R Jordan, succeeded by Laurence Barton Grafftey-Smith); officials of 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 External Affairs Department, and the Ministry of Fuel and Power (Petroleum Division); representatives of the United States' State Department, Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited, Petroleum Concessions Limited, and the Iraq Petroleum Company respectively.
Related matters of discussion include:
- Ibn Saud's claims regarding the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia, particularly those relating to Jebel Nakhsh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar] and Khor-el-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd, Qatar].
- Reports in 1941 of a rumour that the Shaikh of Qatar [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī] and Ibn Saud have reached an agreement regarding the Saudi-Qatar boundary.
- The likelihood of oil prospecting either near or within the disputed territory, and its implications for the territorial dispute.
- British concerns in 1947 regarding the possibility of the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) initiating drilling operations in the seabed near to the disputed territory.
- The precise location of proposed drillings by Petroleum Concessions Limited in the Qatar Peninsula.
- A reported complaint in 1947 from the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi [Shaikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan] that Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited has laid buoys in his territorial waters.
- Whether the British should permit or impede a proposed survey in Qatar by Petroleum Concessions Limited, which is thought likely to provoke protests from Ibn Saud.
Also included are three maps depicting the eastern and south eastern parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
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 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (195 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 commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 195; 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.
Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/67(6) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar: Trucial Coast Oil Concessions' [191r] (392/402), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2139, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049276752.0x0000c1> [accessed 18 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2139
- Title
- Coll 6/67(6) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar: Trucial Coast Oil Concessions'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:8v, 10r:22v, 24r:42v, 44r:51v, 54r:73v, 75r:106v, 108r:147v, 150r:160v, 162r:164v, 166r:176v, 178r:190r, 191r:195v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence