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Coll 6/58 'Asir: Relations between Saudi Arabia and the Yemen.' [‎117r] (240/908)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (449 folios). It was created in Jun 1914-31 May 1934. It was written in English and French. 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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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
|
EASTERN (Arabia).
nr z. i
| 3199 i
l
April 16. 1934.
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 2.
[E 2354/79/25] ^°- 1 -
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon.—(Received April 16.)
( No - 79 -) Jedda, March 25, 1934.
bir ’ IN mv telegrams Nos. 45 and 46 of the 24th March, I have reported the main
noints in my conversation with Sheikh Yusuf Yasin that morning regarding t e
Saudi-Yemen situation. I now enclose a fairly full record of what passed. The
discussion covered the ground so completely that I do not think it necessary to
cprid vou any further account of the less interesting conversation I had with
Taufiq Bev Hamza on the 22nd March, when he brought me the message reported
in my telegram No. 42 of the 23rd March. , , , ^
9 The denouement, which has been so long expected, has taken a rather
imexnected shape. When I received the first intimation that Ibn Saud had ordered
his troops to advance, I was in some doubt as to whether his apparent desire to
localise any armed conflict was due to unwillingness to commit himself too
irretrievably to a war which may be disastrous for him, or to unwillingness to let
the full importance of the crisis be publicly realised until after the .
3. The King might well shrink from war, if he could avoid it without
crushing humiliation. Only a couple of days ago his Director-General of Mi i ary
Organisation told a member of my staff that ^/audt Governmen knew aH
about the Yemeni army The Imam, he said, could put 12,000 legulars into tn
field at onceand could produce another 13,000 regulars and 50,000 irregulars in
due wu?se The Director-General added that, in his opinion, Ibn Saud could
smash the Imamic army within two months; but, if there be anything in these
figures, one canno? thul that Ibn Saud likes the prospect of tackling 75,000 men
° f 7 ^^^^SlTSSasin, howeyeT S s . «
the King has decided to take every risk I trust you wdl not th ^
in what I said to the Sheikh. I felt that, even now, there might be^onm chance
of averting a declared state of war, if Ibn Saud con , course of events
Imam’s territory. I had, indeed, little hope of ‘f^tfemot C longer us"ng
in any way, but it seemed to me worth while to make the attempt “0 longer usij
general counsels of moderation, but concentia ing . notice. It was all
using any and every argument that I could thin' o Yasin was hurryinf
the more' necessary to take a line quickly, as ^ 161 ' Feast of Sacrifice
back to Mecca for'the pilgrimage, which, followed as it is by the Feast of bacrince,
“% p rS.g i cS.”“'E 3 «SJ« H SiKE
Ambassador in Rome, and to the Chief Commissioner a, e . relying on
being now here, I am keeping her commander ^
him to send any necessary reports to the Comm >
Fleet, and the senior naval officer, Red bea Sloops. ^ ave
\ T)VA 1 M
Enclosure in No. 1.
Memorandum respecting the Saudi-Yemen ^ituatio
SHEIKH YUSUF YASIN came to see me this morning. T ^ e f ° 0 1 |,° l g r 1 “f
3 main points in a conversation which lasted °^ ei ^ •* ^K-jects in order
vays that of the actual discussion, as we came bacc on „ incidentally
elucidate them. I have omitted many points which were touched on incidental }
ly or are unimportant.
[81 q-2]

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Content

This volume concerns relations between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Most of the correspondence is focussed on British policy in response to the Saudi-Yemeni conflict.

Related matters that feature in the correspondence include the following:

  • Reports in March 1934 that peace negotiations between Saudi and Yemeni representatives have failed.
  • The British response to reports of the evacuation of Hodeida by Yemeni forces, which include the dispatch of HMS Penzance and proposals to fly aircraft over the town.
  • Discussion as to whether the British Government should invite Italian naval cooperation regarding Hodeida.
  • The presence of HMS Penzance , and later HMS Enterprise , at Hodeida.
  • The state of affairs in Hodeida (as reported by the Commander of HMS Enterprise ) following its occupation by Saudi forces.
  • Saudi concerns that Italy might intervene in the conflict on the side of the Imam of Yemen.
  • Discussion as to whether or not the Italian Government's decision to land troops at Hodeida and Mocha – ostensibly to protect Italian interests – constitutes an act of intervention.
  • Differences of opinion between the British and Italian Governments over the sovereignty of Asir.
  • Reports in May 1934 of the suspension of hostilities and the beginning of peace negotiations.
  • Unfounded rumours of the death of Imam of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn].

Notable correspondents include the following: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); His Majesty's Ambassador in Rome (James Eric Drummond); His Majesty's Ambassador in Bagdad [Baghdad] (Sir Francis Humphrys); the High Commissioner, Egypt (Miles Wedderburn Lampson); 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. , Aden (Bernard Rawdon Reilly); the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Philip Cunliffe-Lister); the Commander of HMS Penzance ; the Commander of HMS Enterprise ; the Senior Officer of the Red Sea Sloops; the Command-in-Chief, Mediterranean; the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the Admiralty, and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.

In addition to correspondence the volume includes copies of political intelligence summaries from the Aden Political 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. , the Bahrain Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , and the Kuwait Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. respectively, as well as a sketch map of the Arabian Peninsula.

The French material consists of two items of correspondence. The aforementioned sketch map is dated June 1914; the rest of the volume dates from 1934, with most of the material falling within April-May 1934 (a few items of correspondence date from February-March 1934).

The volume includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 3-4).

Extent and format
1 volume (449 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 449; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.

An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 218-449; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 6/58 'Asir: Relations between Saudi Arabia and the Yemen.' [‎117r] (240/908), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2125, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100054977104.0x000029> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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