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Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [415r] (829/843)
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 HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
October 23, 1935.
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 1.
|_E 6087/77/91]
Sir Samuel Hoare to Sir A. Ryan (on leave).
Sir, Foreign Office, October 23, 1935.
HIS Majesty’s Government are anxious to take advantage oi your forth
coming visit to King Abdul Aziz at Riyadh to resume, and it possible to advance*
the negotiations which have been proceeding for a settlement ot the eastern and
south-eastern boundaries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Indeed, it is probable
that King Abdul Aziz himself will raise this question with you at an early stage,
as I understand that it is one on which he feels strongly; and it is in tact the
most important major question at issue between this country and Saudi Arabia
at the present time.
2. You will recollect that after His Majesty’s Government had decided not
to take their stand, so long as negotiations were proceeding, on a rigid adherence
to the legal basis provided by the frontier laid down in this region by the Anglo-
Turkish agreements of 1913-14, you were instructed, in November 1934, to open
negotiations with the Saudi Government for an agreed settlement of this question
by endeavouring in the first place to obtain an exact statement of King Abdul
Aziz’s territorial claims. The Saudi Government’s response to your enquiry
was delayed for several months, but they eventually furnished you, on the
3rd April last, with a memorandum putting forward a claim to a vast area in
South-Eastern Arabia, which was asserted to correspond to the areas frequented
by certain tribes owing allegiance to King Abdul Aziz. You were already awmre
from the previous consideration which tlis Majesty’s Government had given to
the matter that they were unable to entertain such extensive demands, and you
therefore proceeded^ immediately to the next stage contemplated in your instruc
tions and offered to Saudi Arabia a small strip of territory—the so-called “ green
line ” concession—immediately to the east of the 1913-14 boundary. The
subsequent departure of the Deputy Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs from
Jedda rendered an immediate continuance of negotiations impossible, but the
discussions were resumed with Fuad Bey Hamza himself during his visit to
London last summer.
3. Despite the offer which was then made by His Majesty’s Government
of a further territorial concession (bounded by the so-called “ brown line ”), it
unfortunatelv proved impossible to reconcile the divergency between the point
of view of His Majesty’s Government (as then agreed upon between all the various
departments of His Majesty’s Government concerned) and that of King Abdul
Aziz; and, on Fuad Bey’s*departure towards the end of July, the discussions
closed in what appeared to be a complete deadlock.
4. It was explained to the Saudi Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
during the course of these discussions that His Majesty’s Government were
prepared, with a view to reaching an amicable settlement, to make limited
concessions, to the east of the 1913-14 boundary, of territory which, like that
comprised in the areas already offered to the King, could be shown to be
predominantly utilised by tribes* or settlements recognising his sovereignty. His
Majesty’s Government considered, however, that no satisfactory or durable
frontier could be constructed on a purely tribal basis, in view of the shifting-
allegiance of the nomad tribes and of their wide and overlapping migrations.
Tribal considerations were valuable where it could be shown that an area was
predominantly or exclusively frequented by a certain tribe with an exclusive
political allegiance, but historical, geographical and strategic considerations
would also have to be taken into account. The object of His Majesty’s Govern
ment was not to establish a rigid frontier in the European sense, but to work out
a boundary as equitable as could be attained from all points of view, which
would remove sources of uncertainty and friction by defining the territorial
8167 [12260] 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