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Coll 30/148 'Qatar: Question of ownership of Zubarah.' [‎24r] (47/297)

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The record is made up of 1 file (147 folios). It was created in 28 Apr 1937-16 Sep 1946. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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A T A R.
-• w: - s*'
-r t,U
4
I left Bahrain for Oatar in the everting of the lf3th June
in the motor launch " Ghazal" v/hich .|aSs-jslndly lent jto me
by Messrs. Petroleum Concessions Li .htbd ai:^/a4rivea at ho ha
on the morning of the loth of June. ^5nfor r Ta , t r i‘'C?r c 15eing sent
to the Shaikh of gatar at Riyan he immediately canm in to
Doha and received me in the house of Abdullah bin Damish
one of the principal merchants of the place. The Shaikh^of
. u atar has a house of his own at Doha but It has not been
inha bitted for some years and it was for this reason that he
made his temporary headqi arters in a house belonging to a
merchant.
2. During my first interview with the Shaikh at about 10.a.m.
on the 16th I discussed with him various outstanding problems,
in particular the endeavours which were being made to re
establish friendly relations between Bahrain and hatar, the
question of the children of the : anunitted slave Faraj bin
Uadi, and’reports which had been received with regard to
the smuggling of cereals, sugar, and piecegoods, from o-atar
to Persia. I found the Shaikh inclined to be cooperative
and it was not long before the misunderstandings which had
occurred over the question of the children of Faraj bin Uadi
had been cleared up. A separate communication has been
made to the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. with regard to this case as also has
a separate communication been made v/ith regard to the question
of reducing the piecegoods, sugar, and cereal quotas for the
Qatar peninsula.
Our conversation on the subject of Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. moved on
the usual lihes with much protesting that the Shaikh himself
was most anxious to restore relations and more protesting
that the aggressors have always been the Al Khalifah. I
showed the Shaikh a letter which I had received from the
Shaikh of Bahrain making certain new suggestions for the
solving of their various differences which was no better
received than any of the previous ones had ’'been. In feet it
was not at all acceptable. Je therefore deferred any further *
reference to this subject until later in t' e day when it was
decided tint I shoqld go to Riyan, the Shaikh’s ' eadquarters,
before the time for the evening meal and we would then ha ve a
full and free discussion .of this difficult subject. Shaikh
Hamad the second son and the heir-presumptive was not well
and was unable to be present at any of the interviews which
I had with the Shaikh himself. Shaikh Hamad'‘ as had trouble
with his teeth for some time past and I was given to under
stand that he was seriously ill and had been living on a milk
I diet for the last seven days, The Shaikh alluded to the
unfortunate condition of his son and said that he would like
him to come to Bahrain for treatment. I pointed out to the
Sh&ikh that the most efficacious way of achieving his object-
would be for him, the Shaikh, to write a personal letter to
the Shaikh of Bahrain who I felt would be likely to give it
reasonable consideration and Shaikh Abd 1 llah said that he‘
would do so, but I am happy to be able to record that up to
the present no such communication has been ade and Bahrain
has been' spared the difficulties of a visit in the immediate
future of such a troublesome person as Shaikh Hamad.
lifter conversing for the matter -of an hour and a
half the Shaikh said that he would prefer to return to Riyan,
the day being Friday, for his -rayers and that he looked
forward to seeing me later in the afternoon.
3. At the Shaikh’s request J lunched with Abdullah bin
Darwish who is now the right-hand man and co-partner with
Shaikh Hamad in practically every" underhand dealing of any


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Content

The file concerns the dispute between the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar concerning sovereignty over Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. on the Qatar mainland. Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. was said to have 'considerable sentimental value' (folio 68) to the Al Khalifah family, as they originally came from there to take over Bahrain; however, in both 1875 and 1919 it had been decided by the British Government that the Shaikh of Bahrain's claims to Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. could not be substantiated (folios 136 and 128). The file contains 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. minutes on the subject, and correspondence and reports from, in particular, 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. , and 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.

The papers include: tensions caused by unrest at Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. among the Naim [Āl Na‘īm] tribe, who acknowledged the sovereignty of Bahrain; a letter from 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle) summarising the history of Bahrain's claim (folios 125-131); reports of negotiations between the two sides concerning the claim, and British opinion on the matter; the need to avoid weakening the British case for the integrity of the Qatar peninsula against Ibn Saud [Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] (folio 83); reports that the Naim had submitted to the Ruler of Qatar, July 1937; the implications of the dispute for the Qatar and Bahrain Unallotted Area oil concessions; reports of an attempted mediation in the dispute by the Shaikh of Kuwait, October-November 1937; the risk of a linkage between the dispute and Qatar's claim to the Hawar Islands (folio 41); an account of negotiations conducted by 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 (Major Tom Hickinbotham), which led to the signing of an agreement by the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar [Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah and ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī, respectively] to restore friendly relations, June 1944 (letter and text of agreement, folios 24-28, and folio 16); and the statements that relations between the two rulers were now 'as bad as ever' (folio 6) and that the Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. question was 'by no means settled' (folio 4), 1945-46.

The Arabic language content of the file consists of a single letter from 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 (folio 17).

The file also contains copies of correspondence dated 1875 (folios 91-94).

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (147 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 148; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 30/148 'Qatar: Question of ownership of Zubarah.' [‎24r] (47/297), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3883, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049391886.0x000032> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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