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Coll 30/159 'Ownership of Hawar Islands.' [‎157v] (314/361)

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The record is made up of 1 file (179 folios). It was created in 29 Apr 1936-15 Oct 1942. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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A decision on these lines may not be entirely
satisfactory to the Oil Companies concerned as there
would be always the possibility that a company which
had obtained a concession for the unallotted area of
Bahrein under the impression that it included the
Hawar Islands Group, might be subsequently faced with
a decision that after all the Sheikh of Qatar had
substantiated a claim to the Islands on the basis
of evidence not at present available. On the other
hand, such a possibility is very lemote and an oil
company could, in obtaining a concession, make a
proviso to the effect that payments under the
concession might have to be revised if it subsequently
turned out that the area was smaller than that
envisaged at the time of the grant of the concession.
This matter is coming up for discussion on
Thursday afternoon at an inter-Departmental Conference
and it is submitted that, unless the meeting dissents,
it should be laid down by His Majesty ! s Government
that, on the basis of the evidence at present before
them, Hawar appears to belong to the Sheikh of Bahrein
and that the burden of disproving the Sheikh of Bahrein’s
claim lies on any other potential claimant. A
decision in this sense might be conveyed at once
to the Sheikh of Bahrein and to Petroleum Concessions
Limited who have raised the question.
(II). Question of direct negotiations in London
between the Sheikh of Bahrein and oil interests in
regard to the unallotted area . Please see Resident’s
Express Letter of the 22nd June, Ho. c/77 of 1936. In
that letter the Resident suggests that negotiations
might be carried on under auspices of 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.
between/
P.Z.4582/38.

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Content

The file concerns the disputed claims of the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar to sovereignty over the Hawar Islands. The issue arose afresh in 1936 in response to a request from Petroleum Concessions Limited to settle the issue of ownership, in order that the Company could claim oil concession rights over the island as part of the concession not previously allocated to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (the Bahrain Unallotted Area).

The papers contain statements of evidence on both sides, and correspondence discussing the question from 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. ; 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; the Foreign Office; Petroleum Concessions Limited; the Government of Bahrain; and the two rulers concerned. The British Government decided in 1939, after examining the evidence, that the islands belonged to Bahrain (folio 44). The papers show that 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 Charles Geoffrey Prior, challenged the validity of this judgement in 1941, stating that the case had been decided 'according to western ideas, and no allowance has been made for local custom and sentiment' (folios 6-8). However, a subsequent letter on the subject from the Government of India to 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. concluded that it was then too late to reverse the decision (folio 4).

The Arabic language content of the papers consists of approximately five folios; these include photographs of judgements (with translation, folios 57-58) submitted by the Government of Bahrain to the British Government, showing that the Bahrain Court had exercised jurisdiction in legal cases concerning residents of Hawar (folios 130-133).

The file also includes photographs of places in Hawar (folios 126-127).

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

Extent and format
1 file (179 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 181; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 3-179, and ff 48-88; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 30/159 'Ownership of Hawar Islands.' [‎157v] (314/361), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3895, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076666399.0x000075> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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