Skip to item: of 1,062
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎63r] (130/1062)

This item is part of

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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

63
which had already been communeiated to Ibn Saud, by which Great Britain
and Italy recognised their mutual interest in seeing the independence of the
Arab kingdoms maintained, and mutually renounced any intention of
establishing themselves on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. Italy was
thus bound by an understanding with His Majesty’s Government not to
establish herself in the Yemen, and she would hardly be likely to violate
that understanding unless as part of some major dispute, which would
turn not on local Arabian but on major European political issues. What
ever one might thing of the value of Italian promises—regarding which one
might well be sceptical—there could clearly be no question of His Majesty’s
Government reaching an understanding with Ibn Saud which would be
based on the assumption that a friendly European Power was about to vio
late and undertaking which it had assumed towards this country.
9. The Minister, after some conversation in Arabic with M. Zada,
replied that Ibn Saud did not mean an understanding of this kind, but that
be merely wished His Majesty’s Government to know that they could rely
on him to support them in the event of Italy attempting any adventure in
the YYmen in violation of her undertakings. I said that I would record
what the Minister had said and submit it for consideration, but I made it
clear that, while we fully appreciated Ibn Saud’s attitude towards us and
the dangers of the situation in the Yemen, we could not proceed on any
assumption that Italy would disregard the Rome Understanding.
10. The Minister then reverted to the question of Italian propaganda
in Iraq, but admitted that King Ibn Saud had nothing to go on and was
merely puzzled and disturbed by what had recently happened in that
country.
H Tp e upshot of a long and somewhat confusing conversation seemed to
be that' Ibn Saud wished for some kind of assurance that we did not regard
him as a nuisance; wished to warn us of Italian activities in the Yemen
and of the danger threatening from that quarter, which would be greater
to him even than to us; and seemed to hope to obtain from us some kind of
undertaking to join with him in resisting any Italian attack on the Yemen,
a suggestion which the Minister abandoned as soon as I indicated some ot
the obvious objections to it.
(Signed) G. W. RENDER,
23rd November, 1936. ;
r * 1 — ; —■— 5
(90)
Letter from the Colonel Office to the Foreign Office, No 79086/36,
dated 7th December 1936.
With further reference to your letter (E. 1133/205/25) of the 7th of
Mnv on the subject of the Hejaz Railway, I now enclose a copy of a
i 7 * n ^oforl 19th Mav 1936 from the High Commissioner containing his
obseSot on he cSsfons reached by tie Haifa conference, consider^
Gon of which in the Colonial Office has had to be postponed on account of
many more urgent preoccupations. . , . „ .
With regard to the crucial question of the method of financing the
. f 1 r,f+V,,. line from Ma’an to Medina, the High Commissioner
reconstruction of the hnejrom Ma^ ^ Trans Jordan sections are all
points oxit that the . , f money out of which those sec
running at a loss, and there is tlieretore ^ ^ There ^
tions of the line could finan - P ; r ] e un j t but in the absence
of course, resasons for regarding the line as a ^ “ j’ d g ia and
of any profit from the se .9* 1 °. 1 } s offsetting ’any contribution from any of
Palestine, there is little lihehhoodofgetting anyc ^ ^ Railway out of
those territories. There are no fu 0 ?ily way, therefore, in which
-jJXSWffWSft-* »•« “ ed

About this item

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
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎63r] (130/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x000083> [accessed 9 May 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x000083">Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [&lrm;63r] (130/1062)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x000083">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000261/IOR_L_PS_12_2071_0130.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000261/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image