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Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [378r] (755/843)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF Hljs BRJTANNIC MAJI
STY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
43 8
' 1936 Ut
cember 30, 1935.
CONFIDENTIAL. Section 3.
[ E 7574/77/911
Sir A. Ryan, to Sir Samuel Hoare.—(Received December 30.)
(No. 351.)
Si r Jedda, December 10, 1935.
WITH reference to my telegram No. J215 y)f the 8th December, I have the
honour to forward herewith copies of the note, based on your telegram No. 13’2
of the 18th November, by which I informed luad Bey on the 25th November of
the proposals of His Majesty’s Government regarding the eastern and south
eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, together with a record of my conversations,
on the subject in Riyadh and an annexed note by Captain de Gaury of what
Fuad Bey told me about the Araiq area. 1 have thought it desirable to make the
record of conversations as full as possible.
2. When I went to Riyadh I was in some doubt as to whether Ibn Saud
was really keen on a settlement of the question or would prefer to maintain Ids
claims of the 3rd April intact rather than agree to any compromise. The
impression I got during the discussions was that the King, though out for a
bargain, and a hard one, was genuinely desirous of an agreement. It became moie
and more apparent to me as we went on that the most crucial issue, though by no
means the only one, was the Jebel Nakhsh .
3. The form taken by the conversations in Riyadh made it difficult for me
to adhere strictly to the’ order of the arguments set forth in your despatch
No. 309 of the 23rd October, but the record will show that I made full use of
them all with the King or with luad Bey Hamza, or with both.
4. I had in mind throughout the first two sentences of paragraph 13 ot the
despatch just quoted regarding the finality of the new British offer. I was all
the more anxious to emphasise the views of His Majesty s Government
regarding their position vis-a-vis the Sheikh of Qatar and the other Persian
Gulf rulers, and more particularly to let the King understand that any active
interference in the south of the Qatar Peninsula would involve him m a
dangerous clash with His Majesty’s Government. The possibility of such
interference is to my mind the chief disadvantage that might lesult fiom leaving
the whole question unsettled, now that His Majesty s Government have made an
offer handsome enough to deprive Ibn Saud of any reasonable gi ound foi his
former grievance that His Majesty’s Government were living to denv his
ancestral claims and to come the Turk over him. , . . T
5. You will notice that, although the King made a reference, which J
preferred to ignore, to his relations with his Arab neighbours, luad Bey did not
openly on this occasion contest my arguments as to the effect of our treaties with
the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
rulers and article fi of the Treaty of Jedda. In dealing with this
subject I anticipated to a large extent the instructions in your despatch No. 334
of the 19th November, which reached me on the 8th December. Kiad Bey has a
far better legal brain than Sheikh Yusuf Yasin, and, instead of sustaining the
Sheikh’s thesis, he developed a more ingenious argument of his own namely, that
as the Anglo-Qatar Treaty was not concluded unti 1916, His Majesty s
Government must respect an alleged earlier agreement by which the Sheikh of
Qatar recognised Ibn Saud’s right to the Jebel Nakhsh. \ou will doubtless
instmct me as to how I should reinforce my extempore counter argument.,
especially if enquiries on the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
side disclose any reason for accepting
Fuad Bev’s suggestion that the sheikh had before 1916 recognised Ibn baud s
right to the Jebel Nakhsh. • n , „ ,
‘ 6. I And that, owing to my lack of preparedness for luad Bey s argument.
I overlooked one point, which I think had escaped him also namely, that a former
Sheikh of Qatar entered into special relations with His Majesty s Government
bv a formal agreement, dated the 12th September, 1868. you may think it
possible to make use of this fact, even though the agreement of 1868 did not give
His Majesty’s Government control of the foreign relations ot Qatar.
8261 [581 gg—3]
iCu
ICik^u'ikh
B
About this item
- 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:
- Copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East.
- Copies of correspondence dating from 1906, exchanged between 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. (Major Percy Zachariah Cox), the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department, and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi [Shaikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan], regarding the latter's claim to Khor-al-Odeid.
- Several maps and sketch maps depicting the proposed boundaries discussed in the correspondence.
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 View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2137
- Title
- Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:30v, 33r:47v, 50r:60v, 64r:93v, 95r:107v, 109r:210v, 213r:304v, 313r:358v, 360r:421v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence