Coll 30/33 'Persian Gulf, Trucial Coast. Policy of H.M.G. List of Trucial Sheikhs' [‎401v] (802/818)

Letters from l*ol.
Res. to CL of I.,
March 3
P. 1472 ; M a v 10
]'.)22, P. 2537 :
May 19 lf'22,
P. 2721.
* Tel. from Viceroy,
An?. 1 1913,
P. 3082-3/13.
Cp. Lor. i., 189 -93.
t Pol. Res. to I bn
Sand, Sept. 11 1913,
P. 4184/13.
P. A. Bahrein to
Pol. Res., Dec. 20
1913. P. 473/14.
X P. 3439/16.
§ Letter from Pol.
Res. to G. of [.,
May 13 1921,
P. 5027/22.
j| Letter from Pol.
Res. to G. of I.,
Nov. 10 1922,
P. 5027/22.
*[ H.C. Iraq to G.
of L. Jan. 19 1923,
P. 731/23.
and have confined themselves to recognising successions (too frequently
secured by assassination), subject to formal acceptance by the Sheikh affected
of the treaty obligations undertaken by his predecessor.
Oil.
7. In view of the importance of the oil question it should be placed on
record that the Tru.cial Sheikhs of Shargah, Has-al-Khaima, i)abai, Abu
Dhabi, Ajman and Umm-al-Qaiwain agreed in 1922 not to grant a concession
in the event of oil being found in their territories, save with the permission
of His Majesty's Government. No question of a concession has so far arisen.
Considerable discussion has, however, taken place between the Sheikh of El
Katr (who is precluded by Article 5 of his Treaty of 3rd December 1916
from granting any concession without the approval of His Majesty’s
Government), and various oil interests affected in regard to the grant of
a concession in his territory : and an option for 18 months in which to
negotiate for an oil concession was granted by him to the Anglo-Persian
Oil Company in March 1926. The negotiations have throughout been
conducted under the close supervision and with the approval of His
Majesty’s Government.
III.—External Developments affecting the Trucial Sheikhs, 1908-28.
8. The developments in relation to the Sheikhs of most importance
during the period now in question have been external. They are—
(a) The rise of Ibn Saud.
(b) The recent reassertion of Persian authority in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
Ibn Saud and the Trucial Sheikhs.
9. As will be seen from the Foreign Office Memorandum of 1908, the
Wahabi connection with the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. is of long standing, although for
many years prior to 1913 it had ceased to be of any political importance.
But the conquest of Hasa by Ibn Saud in 1913 again brought the Wahabi
movement directly in touch with the Trucial Sheikhs. 0 To their territory,
as to El Katr, Ibn Saud maintained a hereditary claim. He was, however,
warned by 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. of the special treaty relations between
His Majesty’s Government and the Trucial Sheikhs,! and he maintained an
entirely correct attitude towards them during the following years. By the
Treaty of 26th December 1915, Ibn Saud undertook to abstain from
aggression on or interference with the Trucial Sheikhdoms, or with El
Katr,J and that instrument formally governed his relations with the States
until tlie conclusion of the Treaty of Jeddah in the spring of 1927.
10. No incident of importance appears to have arisen as between Ibn
Saud and the Trucial States A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. until after the European War. In 1921§ the
Sheikh of El Katr represented that he was alarmed at the prospect of some
of his townspeople becoming Akhwan and joining Ibn Saud, and asked
whether Government would help him should he be attacked from the
interior. He was informed in reply that Government were not prepared to
promise more than diplomatic assistance should he be attacked by Ibn Saud.
At the end of 1922 the Sheikh again representedj| that, while he did not
iear an open attack by Ibn Saud so long as the latter remained on good
terms with His Majesty’s Government, he was seriously alarmed by the
more subtle methods employed, he alleged, by the Nejd authorities to make
his position impossible. 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. commented that he did not
see any practicable means to prevent peaceful penetration of the country by
the Akhwan and Ibn Sand’s adherents. He suggested that a hint might
be given to Ibn Saud to keep his people in order. No action was taken on
this proposal. Sir Percy Cox, then High Commissioner in Iraq, reporting^
that, on finding that Ibn Saud was apparently including the Katr Peninsula
within the tract of country for which he was prepared to negotiate an oil
concession, he had already very recently “ taken him to task, reminding him
that he had nothing to do with Katr, except to respect it, under the terms
of his treaty with us, and insisting on the limitation of his discussions to the
country west of the longitude of Sal wall Bay. His Highness accepted this
injunction without argument.” The Sheikh has maintained his independence^