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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [‎151v] (313/1018)

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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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that the area to the east thereof was a Britisa sphere
of influence. The Besloent considered that tne
reconnaissance, couplea with tne intiCiation to tne
Sheikh mentioned above, would impress the Sheikh with
the fact that H.M.G. meant ousinesd.
2. The reconnaissance was duly carried out on 9th may,
ana 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. made a communication in writing
to the Sheikh about the Blue Line on 10th kay. Prom his
interview with the sheikch on that occasion uolonel Loch
gathered that the latter was now somewhat more favourably
disposed towards giving a concession to the A#P*0*C« and
he suggested that the time was opportune for the Company
to send an unofficial Arab to have a private taltc with the
Sheikh. Yusuf Kanoo, an Arab merchant ana the local
Bahrein agent of the A.P.O.C., was selected by the Company
for this purpose. He visited tne Sheikh at the beginning
of June ana reported that trie sheikh now appeared anxious
that the Company's official representatives should visit
him again (P.Z.4021/34). The Sheikh also sent a letter to
the A.P.O.C. at Abadan, stating that he would be pleased to
resume negotiations but apparently indicating that he
intenaea to aanere to his previous demands (P.Z.4332/34).
3. These recent indications that the sheikh is getting
impatient ana nervous because tne Company have not yet
approached him again officially confirm the resident in his
view that the policy of leaving the Sheikh alone has been
the right one. In this connection please see the extract
from the Resident's personal letter to kr. Laithwaite of
loth June at Plag^ , where Colonel/says that "half tne battle
with a Sheikh is to make him impatient for another interview
It will oe seen that the Resident ana Colonel Loch have in
\/iew some indirect means of pressure 1 * on the Sheikh.
The kanager of the A.P.O.C. at abadan suggested that
the next step should be either:

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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.' [‎151v] (313/1018), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3800, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057526957.0x000072> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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