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Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎225r] (449/843)

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The record is made up of 1 file (420 folios). It was created in 12 Nov 1935-27 Sep 1937. 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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treated thea in a liberal spirit. When the Ikhwan system
was being organised he had directed the Ikhwan not to gQ into
Dukhan or the Araiq, in order that they should not incommode
Ibn Thani. (The use of this name, practically every time he
mentioned the Sheykh of Qatar, was one of the minor
indications of the fidelity with which Sheykh Yusuf was
echoing the King). After the latter had granted the oil
concession, the King had sent him a message by Muhammad Ibn
Nasir, whom Sheykh Yusuf described as an Ikhwan Sheykh, of
Bahrain origin, end who he thought bC're the same surname,
A1 Khalifa, as the Sheykh of Bahrain. He had warned Ibn
Thani not to allow the concessionaires to start work until the
question of the frontier had been settled. He had said that
there was no objection to his disclosing this message to
His Majesty’s Government.
5. I reminded Sheykh Yusuf that the King had addressed
a letter in much the same sense to the Sheykh of Qatar and
that it had contained a threat of direct action, if the Sheykh
did not comply with the King’s demand that no operations toy
the concessionaires should be allowed until the frontier
had been settled direct between himself and the Sheykh c>r
through the intermediary of His Majesty’s Government. We had
taken and still took strong exception to that letter having
been sent and to its contents.
6. Sheykh Yusuf said he remembered the correspondence
to which I referred. (He was unable to say, when I put
the question later, whether Ibn Nasir’s visit to the Sheykh
had taken place before or after the sending of the King’s
letter).
7. I said that if the threat contained in the King’s
letter were carried out, His Majesty’s Government would be
bound to protect what we believed to be the territory of the
Sheykh of Qatar.

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Content

This file primarily concerns British policy regarding the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat (i.e. the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman).

Much of the correspondence relates to British concerns that the boundaries should be demarcated prior to the commencement of any oil prospecting in the area. The file's principal correspondents are the following: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard); 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); 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. , Muscat (Major Ralph Ponsonby Watts); the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Secretary of State for India; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial 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. , and the Admiralty.

Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • Whether the British should press King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] for a settlement of the outstanding questions relating to the aforementioned boundaries.
  • Sir Andrew Ryan's meeting with Ibn Saud and the Deputy Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs, Fuad Bey Hamza, in Riyadh, in November 1935.
  • The disputed territories of Jebel Naksh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar] and Khor-al-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd].
  • Whether or not a territorial agreement between Ibn Saud and Qatar was concluded prior to the Anglo-Qatar Treaty of 1916.
  • The intentions of Petroleum Concessions Limited regarding the development of its oil concession in Qatar.
  • The line proposed by the British for the boundary between Saudi Arabia and the Aden Protectorate.
  • The Kuwait blockade.
  • Leading personalities in Oman.
  • Details of Harry St John Bridger Philby's expedition to Shabwa [Shabwah, Yemen].
  • Four meetings held between Sir Reader Bullard, George Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), and Ibn Saud, in Jedda, 20-22 March 1937.

Also included are the following:

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 (folio 2).

Extent and format
1 file (420 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 421; 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 in Latin script
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Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎225r] (449/843), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2137, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049619517.0x000034> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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