Coll 6/63 'SOUTH EASTERN ARABIA AND QATAR BOUNDARIES.' [‎146r] (298/756)

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This volume relates to the eastern boundary of Saudi Arabia and the southern boundary of Qatar.

Much of the correspondence discusses the legal and international position of what is referred to as the 'blue line' (the frontier which marked the Ottoman Government's renunciation of its claims to Bahrain and Qatar, as laid down in the non-ratified Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 and redefined and adopted in the Anglo-Ottoman convention of the following year), which is regarded by the British as the eastern boundary of Saudi Arabia, but is disputed by the Saudi Government, mainly on the grounds that it is no longer correct, following various developments during the years since the line was demarcated.

British concerns regarding these boundaries follow a recent oil concession for the Hasa [Al Hasa] region of Saudi Arabia, granted by the Saudi Government to the Standard Oil Company of California, as well as reports of the possibility of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company securing an oil concession in Qatar.

Related matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

• The British policy regarding the blue line.
• The views of 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 Foreign Office officials, as well as other British officials (most notably Sir Percy Zachariah Cox, former 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. , and Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, 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. at Kuwait), regarding the demarcation of the southern boundary of Qatar.
• British concerns regarding the land lying between the blue line and the southern boundary of Qatar, as recognised by the Sheikh of Qatar [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī].
• A request for a copy of the 1913 Anglo-Ottoman Convention, submitted by the United States Embassy in Angora [Ankara] – reportedly on behalf of the United States' State Department – to its British counterpart, and the wider significance of this request in relation to the United States' oil interests in the region.
• Foreign Office concerns that aerial survey work carried out by the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc) in relation to its Hasa oil concession might extend beyond the blue line.

The volume features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); 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. , Kuwait (Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson); the Secretary of State for India (Samuel Hoare); the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs; officials of the Foreign 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 Admiralty, and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.

In addition to correspondence, the volume includes extracts from Bahrain political intelligence reports and minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, which concern the Qatar boundary.

Whilst the volume contains material dating from 1923 to 1934, the vast majority of the material dates from 1934. The French material consists of a short extract from the aforementioned Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, which is contained in copies of an 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. memorandum on the southern boundary of Qatar.

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 (folios 3-4).

Extent and format

1 volume (374 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 for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 374; 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 front and back covers have not been foliated.

Written in

English and French in Latin script

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