Coll 6/67(5) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar (Khor al Odeid)' [55r] (114/797)
The record is made up of 1 volume in 2 parts (391 folios). It was created in 15 Oct 1937-11 Aug 1939. 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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
h\rJ
* Iii aay further communicatioa
s^on this subject, please quote
E 5861/150/91.
, address—
n ot to any person by name
’ but to—
“The Under-Secretary of State,"
Foreign Office,
London, S.W.l.
Important.
Sir,
Foreign Office.
S.W.l.
19th January, 1939.
With reference to your letter No. P. 6411/38
of the 7th October, I am directed by Viscount Halifax to
inform you that he has now considered the views of the
Government of India regarding the possibility of ceding
fe Iu-jUa u hi
to Ibn Saud, in order thereby to secure an agreed frontier
between the Trucial Sheikhdoms and Saudi Arabia, certain
territory adjoining the Khor-el-Odeid which His Majesty’s
Government have in the past recognised as belonging to
the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi.
2. Lord Halifax regrets that the Government of India
should have felt it necessary to maintain their opposition
to the proposal put forward in the Foreign Office letter of
the 1st July 1938, whereby it might have been possible to
reach a final agreement with Ibn Saud in regard to this
frontier question. The rejection of the' Foreign Office
proposal by the Government of India would appear to render
it impossible to take advantage of the ''personal suggestion"
made a year ago by the deputy Saudi Arabian Minister for
Foreign Affairs, that a compromise might be reached if His
Majesty’s Government were prepared to abandon to Ibn Saud
whichever of the two areas, Jebel Nakhsh and Khor-el-Odeid,
they considered the less important. If His Majesty’s
Government and the Government of India now refuse to discuss
a compromise solution on
The'Under-Secretary of State
this basis, it is not at present
/clear
■hi.—■ " 1 •'""'—n
“Enclosure in air mail letter
N o. ^
FROM SECRETARY, POLITICAL ANi
SECRET DEPT.
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.
About this item
- Content
This volume primarily concerns British policy regarding the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Muscat (i.e. the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman). Much of the correspondence relates to British concerns that oil companies operating in the region may begin prospecting in disputed territory.
References are made to various existing and proposed lines, including the 'blue line' (laid down in the non-ratified Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 and redefined and adopted in the Anglo-Ottoman convention of the following year). Reference is also made to a 'final offer' proposed by the British to the Saudi Government in November 1935, since which time no conclusion has been reached.
Matters discussed in the correspondence include:
- The reported activity of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc) near Qasr-es-Salwa [Salwá, Saudi Arabia] (located east of the blue line), and whether this activity necessitates a renewed effort by the British to reach a settlement with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] regarding the Qatar-Saudi boundary.
- Ibn Saud's claim to Jebel Nakhsh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar], which lies in territory included in the Qatar oil concession.
- Whether the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi should be persuaded to cede Khor-el-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd] to Ibn Saud.
- The impact of Britain's Palestine policy on Anglo-Saudi relations.
- The Foreign Office's suggestion that the Khor-el-Odeid question should be submitted to arbitration.
In addition to correspondence dating from 1937-39, the volume contains copies of correspondence dating from April 1904 (including translations of two letters from the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi), which discusses Abu Dhabi's claim to Khor-el-Odeid.
Correspondents include the following: 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 Trenchard Craven William Fowle); 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. , Bahrain (Captain Tom Hickinbotham); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, Viscount Halifax); the Secretary of State for India and Burma (Lawrence John Lumley Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland); the Viceroy of India (Victor Alexander John Hope, Lord Linlithgow); the Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd]; officials of the Foreign Office, the 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. , and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.
Also included are the following: copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 8 November 1937 and 8 February 1938; a sketch map depicting the various possible boundary lines of south-eastern Saudi Arabia.
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 (folio 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume in 2 parts (391 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of volume one (ff 1-188) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 189-395); 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-394; these numbers are printed, and are not circled.
A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2138
- Title
- Coll 6/67(5) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar (Khor al Odeid)'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:19v, 23r:101v, 104r:135v, 137r:139v, 142r:170v, 172r:176r, 178r:180v, 182r, 183r:187v, back-i, front-a, back-a, spine-a, edge-a, head-a, tail-a, front-a-i, 190r:291r, 292r:323v, 325r:346v, 349r:392v, 394r:394v, back-a-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence