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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎18r] (40/1062)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (527 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1929-15 Jan 1938. It was written in English and French. 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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I much regret that I have so far not had the opportunity of meeting Ynnr
Excellency as you were home on leave during all the time I was at Aden I m
lette™ 8 f ° 1Ward however t0 hearmg your views on the matters discussed in this
.' ' ' al l cst N av al Intelligence, just received, indicates that durino- the
period 1st September 1936 to 6th May 1937, approximately 3,525 Yemeni subjects
vent to hjiitiea on enlistment by the Italians as labourers, and that of these
approximately 1,168 returned to the Yemen bringing back with them a total sum
estimated at about 1,690,962 lire.
Enclosure 3 to Serial No. (65).
Letter from Governor, Aden, to His Excellency the Naval Commander-in-
Chief, East Indies Station, Colombo, No. C.-689, dated the 19th June
1937.
I have the honour to refer to Your Excellency’s secret and personal letter
No. E.I.-3464 [Enclosure 2 io Serial No. (65)], dated 5th June 1937, and to thank
you for the assistance that you offer in the use of Red Sea Sloops in dealing with
the developments of the situation in southern Red Sea and in the neighbourhood
of Aden. There is no doubt that the Italians are endeavouring to forward their
interests in the Yemen by every means available short of direct and open inter
vention. Their propaganda work in the Yemen, and especially in the coastal
Tihama, is increasingly active, and the frequent rumours of their occupation of
islands in the Red Sea are a sign of the general apprehension that prevails.
The engagement of Yemenis as labourers and sometimes as soldiers, to which you
refer, is one of the methods that they adopt to increase their influence.
LTnfcrtunately it is not within our power to stop it. The recruitment of Arabs
from southern Arabia for Italian Colonial Force is a practice of long standing
which commenced before the Great War and has continued at intervals since
that time. It has been increased since the autumn of 1935 owing firstly to the
Abyssinian war and more recently to the need for labour for carrying out the
extensive works of development that Italy is undertaking at Massawa, Assab
and other places in her East African possessions. The Italians offer good wages
which appeal to the inhabitants of poor countries such as the Yemen and also
the Aden Protectorate. Arabs coming back from Italian employment frequently
bring stories of ill-treatment, but they are generally prepared to undergo this
for the sake of their financial gain. Incidentally a good deal of the money that
they bring with them is smuggled, as the Italian authorities have forbidden the
export of lire.
2. I do not think that the short periods for which the labourers work are-
altogether the result of Italian design. It is customary for such labourers to
work for a comparatively short time and to return to their families with the
money earned, and in this respect the Italians allow them to follow their incli
nations The Yemen is an independent State, and it is not possible for us 10
prevent this labour recruitment, nor would it in any way add to British popu-
laritv in southern Arabia if we were to debar its people from taking advantage
of an opportunitv of making money. It is this desire to make money that is the
dominating motive with these people and although the Itahans no doubt ^n t
extend their influence through them, the reports that they bnn & a e y
means always favourable.
8 We have recenly had reports of the appearance of vessels, suspected of
being Itellan ( >f£ Uxe /oast immediately to the east of * b en
limits of the Aden Protectorate. It is thought that these ships may ^ ,
sending munitions into the southern Yemen by this i one. ave £ q ^ V,
Officer to the district to make further enquiries and H. M. S. Londonqen v
intends to watch this coast when she is m the neighbourhood.
4. I realise that some of the stories that .reach us may.be^xaggera^d or
untrue, but I nevertheless feel that there is m ^ ieasi A Eed gea and to

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Content

This volume compiles printed copies of letters, telegrams, memoranda and newspaper extracts relating to Britain's involvement across the Arabian Peninsula during the period 1929-1938. Whilst the correspondence encompasses all matters concerning British interests in the region, much of it relates to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • Reports of unrest in the Hejaz.
  • Relations between Imam Yeha Hamid-Ud-Din [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn, Imam of Yemen] and Ibn Saud.
  • Reports of raids and arms trafficking on the Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan -Nejd frontier.
  • Reports of the proceedings of British naval ships in the Red Sea.
  • Details of the Akhwan [Ikhwan] revolt against Ibn Saud, including the movements of one of the revolt's leaders, Faisal Dawish [Fayṣal bin Sulṭān al-Dawīsh], and his surrender to the British in Kuwait.
  • Relations between Kuwait and Nejd.
  • Relations between Iraq and Nejd, including a proposed meeting between Ibn Saud and King Faisal [Fayṣal] of Iraq, and reports of a treaty of alliance between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
  • Objections from the Hejaz Government to Royal Air Force aircraft flying over Nejd territory.
  • The purchase of arms by the Hejaz Government from Poland.
  • Ibn Saud's annexation of Asir.
  • The death of King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī].
  • Harry St John Bridger Philby's conversion to Islam, his mapping of Rub-al-Khali, and his reported spreading of Saudi propaganda in the Aden Protectorate.
  • The currency exchange crisis in the Hejaz-Nejd and the financial situation in the kingdom generally.
  • Reports on a survey of the water and mineral content of the Hejaz coastal area.
  • Relations between Soviet Russia and Saudi Arabia.
  • The emigration of Jews from Yemen to Palestine, via Aden.
  • British fears that Italy might harbour ambitions to annex Yemen.
  • Saudi oil concessions.
  • Italian-Saudi relations.

Prominent correspondents include the following: the British Agent (later His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires) at Jeddah; His Majesty's Minister at Jeddah; the High Commissioner for Egypt; the High Commissioner for Iraq; the High Commissioner for Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ; 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. , Kuwait; 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. (later Chief Commissioner, and later still, Governor), Aden; 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. ; His Majesty's Ambassador to Iraq; His Majesty's Ambassador to Italy; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Minister (and Acting Minister) for Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia); Ibn Saud; King Feisal of Iraq; the Prime Minister of Iraq; various officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the Air Ministry, and the Admiralty.

The French material in the volume consists of several items of correspondence and a copy of a treaty between France and Yemen, which was signed in April 1936.

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

Extent and format
1 volume (527 folios)
Arrangement

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

The items of correspondence are divided (roughly) into various sections. Each extract or item of correspondence within these sections has its own number, which is enclosed in brackets. These numbers proceed in ascending (and approximate chronological) order from left to right; however, the sections themselves proceed in reverse, from the rear to the front of the volume, in distinct groups (e.g. for 1929 numbers 1-23, which are located at folios 517-526, are followed by numbers 24-49 at folios 509-516, which are then followed by numbers 50-89 at folios 494-508, and so on).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 529; 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.

Pagination: each section of correspondence within the volume (as described in the arrangement field) has its own pagination sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎18r] (40/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x000029> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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