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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [‎22r] (54/1018)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (505 folios). It was created in 29 Dec 1933-12 Jul 1935. It was written in English. 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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P•Z.3226/1935•
At the end of last month after lengthy negotiations
With the Sheikh of Q,atr, Mr. Mylles, the representative
of the A.P.O.C., who has been negotiating for an oil
concession in ftatr on behalf of the Company, reported
that agreement had been reached with the Sheikh but that
the latter wished to delay the actual signature of the
concession until agreement had been reached between hime'
and H.M.G. (P.Z.3051/35). The Political Eesident thereup
proceeded to Q,atr at the beginning of this month with a
view to reaching a final settlement of the points still
outstanding between H.M.G. and the Sheikh after Colonel
Howie's previous discussions with the Sheikh in April, the
results of which were reported in his telegram Ho.372 of
22nd April at P.Z.2854/35. The main questions to be
settled with the Sheikh (other than the Sheikh's acceptanci
oi the terms of the Government Agreement as overriding, in
cases of inconsistency, the terms of the Commercial
Agreement - see below) were the protection to be afforded
by H.M.G. to the Sheikh in the event of his granting a
i
j concession to the A.P.O.C. and the jurisdiction to be
surrendered to H.M.G. by the Sheikh over British subjects
and protected persons and non-Muslim foreigners in the sam^
event. Colonel Powle now reports in his telegram No.T.13'
of 11th May (P. Z.3281/35) that he has reached agreement
with the Sheikh on the following lines:-
(a) Protection . The Sheikh accepts H.M.G.'s
guarantee of external protection against serious and
n a + + a ovi /3 o o ci o + r\ crv' a n "h "hVl P nPfiPSSar 1
I guarantee of external protection against serious ana
given by H.M.G. in | unprovoked attacks* and agrees to grant the necessary
pursuance of last facilities to the R.A.F. to enable H.M.G. to implement
vears Cabinet ■ + v-, t ^vrt-^^ mv>^ ov>^oo-n+ a tt m n i r
icision.
(P.Z.1399/34).
pursuance WJ. j.a.ou xtiuixxuxtJa uu uue n.A.r. uu eiiauxe n.m.u.
years Cabinet this guarantee. The Sheikh also accepts H.M.G.'s
decision. limited assurance of internal support in any diificulti<
arising from the presence of the Oil Company. (The
Sheikh's request that H.M.G. should accord himself and
his/

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Content

The volume concerns British Government policy towards Qatar in the light of the bid by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) to obtain a concession from the Shaikh of Qatar (Abdullah bin Qasim al Thani [‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī]) to produce oil in the country. The British Government were keen that the concession should be obtained by a British company (APOC) and not by the Americans (Standard Oil Company of California). The oil concession was granted to APOC in 1935.

The papers include: discussion of policy by various British Government departments and officials (notably 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 Sir Trenchard Craven William Fowle; the Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; and the Foreign Office); the security of Qatar against raids from the Arabian interior; relations between Qatar and Ibn Saud [Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, King of Saudi Arabia]; the decision of the British Government to offer military protection to Qatar in exchange for the granting of the oil concession to APOC (including discussions by the Committee of Imperial Defence, and its Standing Official Sub-committee for Questions concerning the Middle East); the development of air facilities in Qatar as a means of protecting the state, including correspondence from the Air Ministry; discussion of the Qatar boundary; note of a conversation between 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. and Haji Williamson (folios 147-148); the surrender to the British Government of jurisdiction over British subjects, British-protected persons, and non-Muslim foreigners in Qatar; the recognition of Shaikh Hamad as successor to the Shaikh of Qatar; British opposition to a request by the Shaikh of Qatar for machine guns and armoured cars, because of the provocative effect this would have on Ibn Saud (folios 33-35); agreement that the 1916 treaty between the British Government and the Shaikh of Qatar should be binding on his heirs and successors; and the terms on which military protection was to be afforded by the British Government (folios 12-14).

The papers also include correspondence between the Shaikh of Qatar and 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. .

The papers include one item of an earlier date than the main date range: a copy of the 1916 treaty between the British Government and the Shaikh of Qatar (folios 451-452).

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (505 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 501; 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, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [‎22r] (54/1018), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3800, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057526956.0x000037> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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