Coll 6/67(2) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [284r] (572/734)
The record is made up of 1 volume (363 folios). It was created in 26 Jan 1934-1 May 1935. 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.
4
might well be interpreted to our discredit.
4. f the territorial claims of ih& Rulers themselves
cannot be extended to cover the whole of the area which
f !is Majesty's Government wish to claim, neither can any
reasons which His Majesty's Government are able to advance
in connexion with their obligations to protect the Rulers
of this region, except conceivably in regard to the
Hadhramaut. They are under no coual tment to protect the
Sultan of iiiuscat at all and they are only bound to protect
the Traci&l Sheikhs from aggression by sea. At the same
time, His Majesty's Government might in practice, I imagine,
feel obligee to come to thew assistance^ if they were
attacked by tribes recognised as Saudi or by other tribes
under Saudi instigation, end from this point of view as
well as from that of the protection of any future oil
concessions in this region, it would be desirable to have a
band of territory beyond the coastal strip effectively
occupied by the Rulers in quest io ich the Royal Air
Force would, for instance, have t to manoeuvre if
the need arose. This is an added argument in favour of the
100-aile band, but not of course in support of any claim
to it vis-a-vis of Ibn Baud.
5. It may be that His Majesty's Government carry so
much weight with Ibn Baud that a firm statement of their
territorial demand [would meet with no serious opposition
on his part, provided that he were himself fairly generously
treated in the matter of territory. If so, there is of
course no more to be said: we shell have gained our objective
without striking a blow. But, subject to more exnert
opinion, I submit that it might be as well to consider what
second
About this item
- Content
This volume concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia.
It documents preparations for negotiations with the Saudi Government, and includes interdepartmental discussion regarding the approach that the British Government should take in reaching a settlement with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] over the demarcation of the boundaries.
The areas of territory discussed include that which separates Saudi Arabia and the Aden Protectorate in the south, that which extends to the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman in the south-east, and the area extending to the south of Qatar in the east.
Reference is made to the 'blue line' and the 'violet line' – boundary lines that formed part of the Anglo-Ottoman Conventions, concluded in 1913 and 1914 respectively.
The correspondence includes discussion of the following:
- The likely consequences of not settling on defined boundaries.
- The extent of territory that the British should be prepared to include in any concession made to Ibn Saud.
- The legal distinction between personal and territorial sovereignty.
- References made by Fuad Bey Hamza (Deputy Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs) during conversations with Sir Andrew Ryan (His Majesty's Minister at Jedda), regarding certain assurances made by Sir Henry McMahon to King Hussein of the Hejaz [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] in 1915, on the subject of Arab independence (a summary of a letter from King Hussein to McMahon, together with a copy of McMahon's reply, is included in the volume).
- Tribal history in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. between 1918 and 1934.
- The Koweit [Kuwait] blockade.
- The boundaries of a proposed 'desert zone', roughly following the edge of the sands of the Ruba al Khali and considered by the British as a possible concession but later abandoned.
- Abu Dhabi's claims to Odeid [Al ‘Udayd, Saudi Arabia] and Banaiyan [Bi’r Bunayyān, Saudi Arabia].
The volume features the following principal correspondents: 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 (Percy Gordon Loch); 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); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Philip Cunliffe-Lister); Bernard Rawdon Reilly (Chief Commissioner, Aden, but referred to in the correspondence as Resident); 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. , the War Office, the Air Ministry, and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.
In addition to correspondence, the volume contains a sketch map and a copy of draft minutes of a meeting of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 15 April 1935.
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 4).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (363 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 (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 365; 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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Coll 6/67(2) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [284r] (572/734), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2135, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100054083085.0x0000ad> [accessed 23 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2135
- Title
- Coll 6/67(2) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:167v, 169r:273v, 275r:364v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence