Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [476r] (956/1062)
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
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Memorandum from the British Agent and Con"stjl^Je d dah, No. 1997/
1464/29, dated THE 22nd September 1929.
Majesty s Agent and Consul at Jeddah presents his compliments lo
_^ 0vern ^ ien l India in the Foreign and Political Department and has
tne nonour to transmit to him the under-mentioned documents :—
Name and Fate.
Subject.
Jeddah despatch to the Foreign Office, No. 247,
of 22nd September 1929, and Enclosure.
General situation report.
Letter from the British Agent and Consul, Jeddah, to the Foreign
Office, No. 247, dated the 22nd September 1929.
In my telegram No. 130 of the 10th instant (Serial No. 29) I touched
briefly on the conditions in the Hejaz, and I mentioned then that the politi
cal and financial situation was becoming steadily worse.
2. In view of recent and possible developments it may be of interest if
I amplify the information contained in my telegram, and give a resume of
the main features of the situation as it is to-day and as it appears to Jeddah
and Mecca opinion with whom I am in touch.
3. Ever since Feisal ed Doweish throw off the veil of his doubtful
allegiance and declared himself openly in rebellion against Ibn Saud the Gov
ernment has had to deal with a growing restiveness and lawlessness among
the tribes, which has vented itself in incidents of major or minor importance
and which has now brought the Government face to face with a critical
situation resembling in many ways the position at the beginning of the Great
War when the Hejaz was menaced by the revival of the militant Wahabi
power to which it eventually succumbed.
4. There is a general feeling abroad now in Jeddah and Mecca among the
better informed classes, whether sympathetic or hostile to the present regime,
that the fate of the Hejaz and of Arabia in general may at anytime within the
next few months be staked upon the issue of a decisive battle between Ibn
Saud and the rebel forces. There does, in fact, seem little doubt that the
King’s position in Arabia is shortly to be put to a searching test. Openly,
every confidence in professed in the result. In private one observes an under
current of anxiety, an anxiety which, fed by the successive rumours of
gossip mongers, sees its justification in the exceptional measures taken by
Ibn Saud to provide for the coming conflict. Doubts are expressed as to his
ability in certain eventualities to control the situation m the interior ; and
such eventualities might result for instance from a suecessiw of ooups
possibly of small importance in themselves, in which the Akhwan were
victorious. Their prestige is such that, given a reasonably successful start,
they are likely to attract active sympathy and co-operation from aJ slues.
5 jt would be futile to attempt a comparison between the strengt i o
the rival forces These vary almost from day to day and they would
tne .rival lorccs. •x.wiw* fortunes of the campaign. Accord-
fluctuate in accordance with va ,^. ° Fin an e lh l gaud has
ing to the local Tebuk t hA Riyadh. His posi-
strong detachments bagd on Haih h , . { not the mora , advantages
tion is a strong one. tie nas cui ’ r +
strong detachments
«is sea x.. s XvVxrirxtx
prepare for a c ^“ P e “f S uc C ess^ovided that he himself survives. On the
have every
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
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2071
- Title
- Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:5v, 6v, 8v:10r, 11r:14r, 15r:20r, 21r:21v, 22v, 24v:26v, 27v:30r, 32r:41v, 43r:46v, 48r:48v, 49v:52v, 53v, 55v:58r, 59r:60r, 61r:70r, 71v:77v, 78v:79r, 80v:81v, 82v:93v, 95r:101v, 102v:104v, 106r:108r, 109v:110v, 111v:113v, 115r:120v, 122r:123r, 124r:126v, 127v, 128v:130v, 132r, 133v:137r, 139r:154r, 155r, 156r:157v, 159r:166r, 167r, 168r:171r, 172r:174r, 175r:175v, 176v:177v, 180v:181r, 182v, 183v:184v, 187v:188r, 191r:198r, 199r:199v, 200v:201r, 202r, 203r:203v, 206r:207r, 210r:211v, 213r:220r, 223v:224v, 226r:226v, 228r, 230v:234v, 236r, 237r:252r, 253v:257v, 259r:260v, 262r:262v, 264r:268v, 269v:276r, 277v:278v, 279v:281r, 282v:285r, 287r:288r, 289r:292v, 295r:296v, 297v:307r, 308r, 309r:316v, 318r:320v, 322r, 324r:325r, 327r, 329r:331r, 332r:335r, 336r:337v, 338v:345r, 347r:348r, 350v, 353v:358v, 360r:363r, 364v:365v, 366v:371r, 372v:375r, 376v, 377v:379v, 383r:383v, 384v:385r, 387v:389r, 390r:391v, 395v:400v, 401v:412v, 414v:420r, 422r:433v, 435v:437v, 440r:447v, 449r:449v, 451v:459r, 460r:463v, 465r:468v, 469v:471r, 474r:477r, 480r:485r, 486v:492v, 494r:507r, 508v:511r, 512r:513v, 514v, 516r:518v, 520r:522r, 523r:528v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence
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