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Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎60r] (124/794)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (392 folios). It was created in 13 Jun 1934-13 Dec 1934. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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-12-
He strongly shared the view that it was necessary to ensure
that the territories of the coastal Sheikhs and the Sultan of
Muscat were contiguous along the coast line, i.e* that Ihn' Baud
should not extend his authority to the coast* If this were secured
he did not consider, subject to oil considerations, in which he had
meant to include economic concessions generally, that an admission
of Ihn Baud’s sovereignty up to the confines of the Trucial
Sheikhdoms and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, would adversely
affect the interests of HoMo Government 0 Some use might he made
of the fact that Fuad Hamza, in a hook published by him in 1932,
had given a map showing a dotted line running generally southward
for about 150 miles from Pchat-es-Salwa and ending indeterminately
in the desert. This might be invoked as an indication of what
Ibn Saud considered the limits of his area to be.
MR. RENDER thought that it would be most satisfactory if some
arrangement could be reached with Ibn Saud by which he should
agree not to give any concessions in the ’’desert area 1 ’ without
the consent of His Majesty's Government. It would not be possible
for His Majesty’s Government to claim rights in respect of
concessions in the desert area as representatives of the Trucial
Sheikhs, since the territorial rights of these Sheikhs could not
possibly be regarded as extending so far inland; but His Majesxy s
Government could no doubt take the line with Ibn Solid that, ■ 'they
were ultimately responsible for — or at least most intimately
concerned with - the coastal area from Bahrein eastwards and
southwards to Aden, it was reasonable that they should claim to
be consulted over the grant of concessions in the interior, since,
if concessions were granted to foreigners in that t.rea, the
interests of the coastal belt would certainly be effected, if only
owing to the fact that anyone operating a concession in the desert
area could only approach the site of the concession through the
coastal belt. On the other hand, the grant of concessions would
be definitely an act of territorial sovereignty, and might enable
Ibn Saud to establish much more permanent and effective rights in
the desert area than had been contemplated in the suggestion

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Content

This volume primarily concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia.

It includes interdepartmental discussion regarding the approach that the British Government should take in reaching a settlement with King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] over the demarcation of the boundaries.

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), a line which is not accepted by Ibn Saud as being binding upon his government.

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 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 Chief Commissioner, Aden (Bernard Rawdon Reilly, referred to in the correspondence as Resident); the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir John Simon); the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs; officials of 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 Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the War Office, and the Air Ministry.

Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • Whether the British should press Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] for a general settlement of all outstanding major questions.
  • The extent of territory that the British should be prepared to include in any concession made to Ibn Saud.
  • The British response to what are referred to as Ibn Saud's 'ancestral claims' to territories east of the blue line.
  • Sir Andrew Ryan's meetings with Ibn Saud in Taif, in July 1934.
  • Meetings held at the Foreign Office between Sir Andrew Ryan, George Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), Fuad Bey Hamza (Deputy Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs), and Hafiz Wahba (Saudi Arabian Minister in London), in September 1934.
  • The boundaries of a proposed 'desert zone', suggested by Rendel, where Ibn Saud would hold personal rather than territorial rights.
  • Saudi-Qatari relations.
  • Whether tribal boundaries should be considered as a possible solution to the boundary question.

Also included are the following:

The Arabic material consists of one item of correspondence (an English translation is included).

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 (392 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 394; 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 and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎60r] (124/794), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2134, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056574348.0x00007d> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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