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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [‎347v] (705/1018)

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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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9
PROPOSAL TO GUARANTEE PROTECTION TO THE SHEIKH
OF QATAR.
(C.I.D. Papers Nos. 1129-B and 1133-B.)
The Committee of Imperial Defence had under consideration a
by the Chiefs of Staff Sub-Committee (C.I.D. Paper Na 1129-B) together witn
a Memorandum by the Secretary of State for rmba Papei' . 3 B),
regarding a proposal to guarantee protection to the Sheikh of Qatar m the
Persian GulU as an inducement to the Sheikh to grant the concession for oil m
his territories to a Company registered in Great Britain.
THE PRIME MINISTER said that the question of what assurance, if any,
should be given to the Sheikh had been referred to the Committee of Imperial
Defence by the Cabinet (Cabinet 6 (34), Conclusion 3).
SIR SAMUEL HOARE stated that there were two main points at issue.
Firstly, whether any assurance of protection was necessary; and, secondly,
whether the commitment entailed was likely to be an extensive one. In ms view
it was absolutely necessary to give the Sheikh an assurance of our protection. He
regarded it as an axiom of Imperial policy to prevent intervention by foreign
Powers along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , along which our Imperial
air route now ran. He was convinced that the sole measure which would avoid
the grant of a concession for oil in the Qatar peninsula to an American Company
—the Standard Oil Company—was an offer to the Sheikh to guarantee protection
against landward aggression. If the concession fell into American hands the
commitment would still exist, as in the event of trouble His Majesty s Govern
ment would be called upon to afford protection to any American or other foreign
nationals who were engaged on work in that region. He maintained, therefore,
that some guarantee of protection was necessary.
He did not consider that this guarantee would involve any more serious
commitment than at present existed. There was, in his view, little likelihood of
our becoming involved in a war with Ibn Saud, as by the Treaty of Jedda, 1927,
Ibn Saud had undertaken to respect the special treaty relations of His Majesty’s
Government with the Sheikh of Qatar. Any military measures that would have
to be taken to implement this guarantee would, he envisaged, take the form of
operations by our air forces against the Bedouin tribes in the hinterland. This
was the sort of commitment which the Royal Air Force in the Middle East were
constantly being called upon to face. He pointed out that the Qatar peninsula
was comparatively easy to defend, and contemplated that the sole measures
necessary would be an occasional demonstration by air forces or visit by His
Majesty’s ships.
He noted that the Royal Air Force would require to establish landing
grounds and other ground organisation in the peninsula, and pointed out how
useful this would be, not only for operations but also in connection with our
eastern air route. While admitting that the commitments were uncertain and
might possibly be embarrassing, he maintained that very little additional military
commitments and expense were likely to be involved.
LORD HAILSHAM was not sure that he could accept the contention that
the grant of the concession to an American syndicate would still necessitate His
Majesty’s Government protecting foreign subjects in the Qatar peninsula. He
pointed out that the United States Government gave no protection to His
Majesty’s subjects in places, such as Cuba, which might be regarded as within
American spheres of influence. He saw no reason why the United States Govern
ment should not be told that His Majesty’s Government cannot guarantee to
protect American subjects in an uncivilised country like Qatar, and that they
came there at their own risk.
In the event—which he agreed was unlikely—of war with Ibn Saud, he
considered that the defence of the peninsula would prove difficult, and was, there
fore, an extensive commitment. He pointed out that the Chiefs of Staff, in their
Report, had stated that it was impossible to prevent minor local raids. In his
view His Majesty’s Government would be undertaking a liability against
formidable attack by Ibn Saud or against raids which could not be prevented. R
the concession were granted to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company as a result of our

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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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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [‎347v] (705/1018), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3800, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057526959.0x00006a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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