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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [363r] (736/1018)
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. .
Transcription
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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
Printed for the Cabinet, February 1934.
SECRET.
^.P. 49 (34). Copy No,
CABINET.
Proposal to guarantee Protection to the Sheikh of Qatar.
MEMORANDUM BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA.
I circulate for the information of my colleagues a report on the above subject,
No. C.O.S. 322, prepared on my suggestion by the Chiefs of Staff Sub-Committee of
the Committee of Imperial Defence.
2. The report is self-explanatory and I venture to trouble my colleagues with it
only because no meeting of the Committee of Imperial Defence is likely to take place
in the near future, and it is urgent to issue instructions to 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.
. I
am in general agreement with the conclusions of the Chiefs of Staff, as summarised in
paragraph 13 of their report, save on two points :—
(a) the terms of the guarantee to be given to the Sheikh of Qatar (paragraph 5),
and
(b) the caveat suggested by the Chiefs of Staff in the event of oil not being found
(paragraph 11).
3. As regards the first of these points I would remark in the first place that Ibn
Saud is already committed by his treaties with us to recognising the special treaty
relations of His Majesty’s Government with the Sheikh of Qatar; secondly, that the
protection a guarantee of which it is now proposed to give the Sheikh of Qatar will
have primarily in view, not the regular forces of Ibn Saud (any attack by his regular
forces would bring about an entirely different situation affecting the whole of our
relations in the Gulf), but the depredations of wandering Bedouin tribes of the
desert. I agree at the same time with the Chiefs of Staff that the guarantee which it
was originally proposed to give (“ full protection ” against landward aggression) is
too widely stated and that a more restricted guarantee would, be preferable. But the
Koweit formula, to which they refer, is not entirely appropriate to a Sheikhdom such
as the Sheikhdom of Qatar. My own provisional view is that it would suffice to give
the Sheikh a guarantee of “ protection against unprovoked aggression by land, but
I would suggest that I should be authorised, in consultation with the Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, to prepare a suitable formula on this point for use by the
Resident.
4. I appreciate the importance of the second point, but if an offer of protection is
to carry any weight with the Sheikh it is important that it should not be hedged
round with conditions which are likely to deprive it of all its value in the Sheikh s
eyes. Moreover, the Iraq Petroleum Company, if they secure the concession, may well
wish to adopt a very conservative attitude towards development of oil found. Heie
again I would suggest that I should be authorised to discuss the matter further with
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to see to what extent, if at all, it is desirable
to accompany any undertaking we may give by a s^iecific caveat.
5. The course of action which I would submit for the consideiation of my
colleagues in the circumstances described above is as follows :
(a) That instructions should immediately be sent to 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.
to initiate negotiations with the Sheikh of Qatar on lines which
have already been agreed interdepartmentally; that he should fuithei be
informed that His Majesty’s Government accept the principle of protection,
but that the precise terms of the guarantee to be given are under examination,
and that in these circumstances he should endeavour (as he has suggested)
to lead the Sheikh to raise the question of protection himself, and, if and
when the Sheikh does so, inform him that the issue raised is one of such
importance that the instructions of His Majesty’s Government must be taken
About this item
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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.' [363r] (736/1018), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3800, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057526959.0x000089> [accessed 25 April 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3800
- Title
- Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:ii-v, 1r:17v, 18v:19v, 20v:41v, 45r:91v, 94r:113v, 126r:179v, 182r:199v, 200v:263v, 267r:450v, 453r:501v, iii-r:iv-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence