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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎38r] (80/1062)

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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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37
treated to the hills of Taif. The Deputy MinJtTfor Si IffairT Fuad
fnd’J/r ° n Tu ^ did n0t return " ntil towards th e end of November
King’^eTretZ YWYa^ “T COnn -ted with foreign affairs except the
IV ng s secretary, Yusui Yasm, who came to Jedda at the end of Sentember
to arrange for the exchange of notes about the Treaty of Jedda and connected
matters, communicated a long statement from the Kina about foreign affairs
and retired to the other side of Arabia. Between the return of Fuad Bev
towards the end of November and his hurried and surprising denarture on
leave a few days before Mr. Rendel was due to arrive, I have had occasional
interviews—sometimes at tiresomely long intervals—with Fuad Bey, whom
there is reason to think that the King does not entirely trust, and who I
tbink has misled me on one or two occasions.
5. I may mention that during the course of the conversations reported in
t?- e 0S1 o 6 ^ w i ce sa id that he hoped I would pay him a visit at
Kiyadh. For many reasons such a visit is not to be undertaken lightly, but
it may be useful to have the invitation in hand if matters of importance have
to be dealt with and no satisfaction can be obtained here during the long
interval between two successive annual visits of the King to Jedda, the only
place in Saudi Arabia where a foreign representative is allowed to reside.
6. I am sending copies of this despatch and enclosure to Cairo, Jeru
salem, Bagdad, Bushire and Aden.
Enclosure to letter No. 41, dated the 12th April 1937.
Becord of conversations in the course of interviews granted by His Majesty
King Abdul Aziz to Sir Reader Bullard and Mr. Rendel on March 20,
21 and 22, 1937. Sheikh Yusuf Yasin and Sheikh Hafiz Wahba were
present throughout, and the Amir Feisal appeared on two occasions.
Sheikh Hafiz Wahba and Sir Reader Bullard interpreted.
First Interview, March 20.
The King began by laying down the pirnciples which governed his life :
{1) his religion, (2) his determination to keep his name above reproach, and
(3) devotion to his religion and to the interests of his subjects. He was a
self-made man, having started with nothing in the world, and provided that
he stuck to his principles he was prepared to go back to nothing. Times
were changing, the pristine honesty of the world was declining, but he would
never pursue a crooked path. He believed in consulting everyone, but no
one could lead him by the nose. He would always speak to His Majesty’s
Government frankly and sincerely. All sorts of stories were afloat about his
subservience to the Italians, but he could assure His Majesty’s Government
that they were nonsense. Mr. Rendel said how much the King s frankness
was appreciated by members of the Government in Great Britain, and Sir
Reader Bullard said that he was sure that the King was never suspected by
His Majesty’s Government of subservience to Italy, and that His Majesty s
Government knew that his policy was directed to what was their object as
well as his, viz., the maintenance of the independence of Saudi Arabia.
2. Ibn Saud said that he was a Moslem first of all, but he believed that o
all the European Powers the one with whom it was to the advantage oi the
Arabs everywhere to be on good terms was Great Britain. After some talk
on these lines Sir Reader Bullard took the opportunity to convey the thanks
of His Majesty’s Government for the advice which the King had given to the
Mufti of Jerusalem when the mufti appealed for his help recently (Foreign
Office telegram No. 12 of the 1st March). The King expressed pleasure at
mark of annreciation of his efforts and repeated what he had said to the
"he\ad X S Td Z 0 to co-operate with the British in —
and to await the result of the Royal Commission), and he said that h- had
65(C) ExAffaireDept

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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.' [‎38r] (80/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x000051> [accessed 8 June 2026]

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