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Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [177v] (359/794)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Bo. Sel.
XXIV,
442-4.
Lor. I,
856-8.
Decline of Wahabi Influence, 1834 : Loss of Baraimi.
48 The Wahabis about this time were still blockaded by the Sheikh of Bahrein
and called in the assistance of Shargah against the Sheikhs of that island. On the
murder in 1834 of Amir Turki this question, however, dropped, and the effect of"*
the murder is stated to have introduced such confusion and discord into Wahabi
affairs “as to counteract the operation of any ambitious views of late entertained
by the murdered chief, and for a time, at least, to leave the maritime tribes in the
same relative position as before.” In 1836 the preponderating influence of Mehemet
Ali in the west began to afford a salutary check on Wahabi encroachments towards
the coast of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. In that year the Wahabi agent at Baraimi failed to
secure the maritime assistance of Muscat and the coastal tribes against Bahrein,
and by 1838 the Wahabis had lost Baraimi to the local tribe of the Beni Naim,
though in what circumstances is not clear.
Bahrein and the Wahabis, 1824-1840.
49. In 1830-31 Bahrein, apprehensive of a coalition between the Wahabi Amir
and the Sultan of Muscat, who had made overtures to the Wahabis with a view to
securing Wahabi support in the reduction of Bahrein, formally submitted to the
Wahabi Amir, acknowledged his supremacy and undertook to pay tribute. By
1833, however, the Sheikhs of Bahrein felt sufficiently strong to defy the Amir and
between 1834 and 1836 they blockaded the coast of Hasa and caused sufficient
inconvenience to the Wahabis to lead the latter to call in the assistance (which was
not, in fact, accorded) of the Jowasimi Sheikh of Shargah. In 1836, however,
alarmed by indications of an active assertion oi tne Persian claim and by the
possibility "of a coalition between Muscat and Persia, Bahrein reached a friendly
agreement with the Amir, under which the Sheikh was to pay a nominal tribute of
2,000 dollars, while the Amir undertook to supply troops for the defence of Bahrein
against external attacks, and to refrain from calling on the Sheikh for marine
transport in the event of a Wahabi attack on Muscat by sea. In 1839 the Wahabi
Lor. 1,1098. general, Umr bin Ufeysan, took refuge at Bahrein on the fall of the Amir Feisul.
Qatar and the Wahabis, 1824-1840.
50. Little of moment happened in Qatar between 1824 and 1840. During much
of this period the authority of the Sheikh of Bahrein was paramount. In 1835
Lor. I, 857. fhe people of Huwailah rebelled against Bahrein and entered into correspondence
with the Wahabis. A settlement was, however, reached by the mediation of the
son of the Sultan of Muscat.
Koweit and the Wahabis, 1824-1840.
5L The solidarity of the Uttabi rulers of Koweit with those of Bahrein and
Qatar was apparently maintained throughout this period. Koweit continued to
resist, on the whole successfully, and latterly under the protection of the Turks, the
efforts of the Wahabi Amirs to incorporate it with their dominions. During the
Egyptian occupation of Hasa in 1838-40 an Egyptian agent was appointed to
Koweit and appears to have remained there during the period of Egyptian
ascendancy.
Lor. I,
1006-10
4
H.M. Government and the Wahabis, 1824-1839.
52. In 1825 on the revival of the Wahabi power in Nejd, the Jowasimi Sheikh
of Shargah enquired whether he might look to the British Government for
assistance should he endeavour to maintain his independence against Wahabi
intrigue. He was informed in reply that he was the best judge of his own interests,
“ but that no connection or authority would be received by the British Government
as an excuse for any proceedings bearing a predatory character.” He was further
warned against co-operating with the Wahabis against the territories of Muscat
Nejd Precis, “ The language held on this occasion was confirmed by the Governor [of Bombay] in
§ 31. Council, with a further intimation, that, however improbable it might be that we
should act against the Wahabis so long as they confined their conquests to the
shore, it was still not desirable ihat we should bind ourselves to abstain from
interposition or hold out so great an encouragement to the invasion of the Imam’s
territories as our avowed indifference would be likely to afford.”
About this item
- 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:
- Two 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 entitled 'Historical Memorandum on the Relations of the Wahabi Amirs and Ibn Saud with Eastern Arabia and the British Government, 1800-1934', dated 26 September 1934.
- Copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 8 November 1934 and 12 September 1934.
- A copy of a report by Bertram Thomas regarding a Trans-Oman air route reconnaissance, which was undertaken in May-June 1927.
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 View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2134
- Title
- Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:197v, 199r:199v, 201r:281v, 283r:328v, 340r:362v, 363ar, 363r:389v, 390ar, 390r:393v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence