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Coll 30/213 'U.S. Desire to Establish Consulate at Bahrein.' [‎43r] (89/491)

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The record is made up of 1 file (243 folios). It was created in 8 Feb 1943-9 Jan 1948. 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. .

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OUTWARD
LEGRAM
EXT
2025
■i^^arfoiL policy)
W 5653/L2/76
[CT/fflER]-:
PROil FOREIGN OF?ICE TO •JASHINGTCM
No. 4294
7 h 0 ^)
(g)
vs\t ' 3 MAYU&fc^ '
/7^4-v, a i i rvi f;
28th April,1945.
Repeated to Cairo M.E. Min No.:59 Saving
Bagdad No. 25 Saving
Beirut No. 17 Saving
Jedda No. 15 Saving
e e e e
Iraq Petroleum Company and its associated companies
were carrying out exploration operations before the war
in certain Middle Eastern countries and in the SheiKdcos
of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , but these had to be suspended owing
to
war developments at the request of His Majesty's Government
the Company 1 s equipment being either removed for use
elsewhere or destroyed under military direction, ihis step
occasioned considerable difficulties with certain Governments
and Rulers who declined to accept force maieure as the reason
for the I. P*G's inactivity. Company were .tnerei ore obliged
to negotiate moratoriums on varying terms which at this stage
of the war are unlikely to be extended. Company s obligations
in ‘different concessions will mature at approximately the
same time and they are therefore anxious to restart developient
on a programme which is designed to ensure as far as
possible that all areas receive equally favourable treatment.
Beane of the rulers concerned have not failed to compare the
I.P.C*s inactivity with the increased activity of -American
Companies in their neighbourhood and as you know projects for
American pipelines and other developments have attracted great
publicity all over the Middle East. Moreover AmericanCoys
would doubtless take up any concession or licence which .
might lapse through the inability of the I. P.C to fulfil their
obligations owing to lack of equipment etc.,
2. In view of political, strategic and economic
importance to our position in the Middle East and the Persian
Gulf of maintaining and developing the oil concessions of
British Camanies in those areas we are anxious to give
the I. P.C. all possible assistance towards resuming exploration
of their -concessionary areas without delay. Surveys will
require considerable time before drilling can uselully be .
undertaken to comply with concessionary obligations and it is
therefore most desirable for the Company s programme to be
agreed with the United States authorities as soon as possible.
• 3. In our view the early resumption of I.P.C development
is of special importance in order to avoid undesirable
political repercussions which might well result if the local
rulers should doubt our willingness or ability to live up to
our opportunities and commitments. Recession of the war iron
the Middle East with the consequent reduction of allied
spending may be expected to create unemployment ana economic
problems. Renewal of operations by the I.P.C. will go scoe way
towards absorbing local labour and easing local economic
difficulties.

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Content

The file concerns a request from the Government of the United States of America (US, USA) to the British Government in 1943 to be allowed to open a consulate at Bahrain, in view of the construction of additional oil refining facilities at Bahrain, and a consequent increase in the numbers of American personnel and shipping there (folio 241). However, the British Government rejected the approach (Foreign Office letter, folios 239-240), and saw 'difficulties and dangers' in allowing foreign consular representation at Bahrain ( 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. minute, folios 195-196). Later papers, dated 1944-48, show the reaction of the British Government to attempts by the US Government to extend the influence of the US vice-consulate at Dhahran (and the vice-consulate at Basra) to the Gulf states. The papers show that there was a dichotomy between the attitude of 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. and the Foreign Office towards American influence in Bahrain (e.g. folio 59).

The papers cover: correspondence from 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. , the Foreign Office, the Government of India, 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. , and 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 attitude of the Ruler of Bahrain; British agreement to the establishment of a US consulate at Dhahran, February-March 1944; the issue of the extension of the US Consul's exequatur to Bahrain, March - April 1944; clarification for the US Government of the issue of jurisdiction over foreigners in Bahrain; the issue of policing in Bahrain; reports of discussions between representatives of the British Government and the US representative Wallace Murray, 1944; British Government correspondence concerning the actual numbers of US citizens resident in Bahrain (e.g. folio 123); a US demand that an American citizen act as a Bahrain judge in all criminal cases in which the defendant was an American citizen (folio 119); correspondence concerning the activities of the US Vice-Consul, Dhahran, October-December 1944; the decision over whether to issue visas to the US Vice-Consul at Dhahran to visit Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , December 1944; US relations with Muscat, March 1945; the visit of the US Vice-Consul at Basrah [Basra] to Kuwait, in July 1945 (report dated August 1945); the issue of competing British and US interests in the Middle East (e.g. folio 14); and Foreign Office stress on the need to reduce friction between British officials and American citizens, whether officials or private individuals, November 1947 (folio 12).

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 (243 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 243; 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. The file contains one foliation anomaly, f 158A.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 30/213 'U.S. Desire to Establish Consulate at Bahrein.' [‎43r] (89/491), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3956, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100080300617.0x00005a> [accessed 3 May 2024]

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