This volume contains part 1 of the subject 'Persia Gulf'. It concerns Britain's relations with Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] following the latter's occupation of Ottoman-ruled El Hassa [Al Hasa] and Nejd [Najd]. Much of the correspondence is concerned with how Bin Saud's occupation of Nejd and El Hassa will affect the continuing Anglo-Turkish negotiations [for the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, which was never ratified] and British foreign policy in the region more generally.Also discussed in the volume are the following: whether the British should allow the transhipment of Ottoman troops in Bahrein waters; a visit (regarded after the event as 'ill-advised' by the Secretary of State for India) paid by the Political Agent, Koweit [Kuwait], Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, to Bin Saud, at Majma'a [Al Majma], six weeks before Bin Saud occupied El Hassa; the death of Sheikh Jasim-bin-thani [Shaikh Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī, Ruler of Qatar]; British hopes of securing the early withdrawal of the Turkish garrison from El Katr [Qatar]; reports that the Turkish Government intends to respond to the events in Nejd by appointing Bin Saud as Mutessarif [Mutasarrif] of the district.The following principal correspondents appear in the volume: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Sir Percy Zachariah Cox; the Viceroy of India [Charles Hardinge]; the Secretary of State for India, the Marquess of Crewe [Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes]; the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, Thomas William Holderness; His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople, Gerard Augustus Lowther; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey; the Political Agent, Koweit; Bin Saud.The part includes a divider that gives the subject and part number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in the part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.1 volume (155 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.The subject 2182 (Persia Gulf) consists of 8 volumes: IOR/L/PS/10/384-391. The volumes are divided into 12 parts with part 1 comprising the first volume, part 2 comprising the second volume, part 3 comprising the third volume, parts 4-5 comprising the fourth volume, part 6 comprising the fifth volume, parts 7-8 comprising the sixth volume, parts 9-10 comprising the seventh volume, and parts 11-12 comprising the eighth volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 155; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.
This file contains correspondence regarding the visit of Anthony Eden and his son to the Middle East. Related matters of discussion include the following: approval of the visit from the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations; arrangements for the visit, including details of all the places where the Edens will be staying.The file also contains political opinion regarding Persia, and a schedule of the twenty-three-day visit to the Middle East.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Commonwealth Relations Office, the Foreign Office, officers acting on behalf of the British Middle East Office, Cairo.The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.1 file (21 folios)The file's contents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 23, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Thefile contains correspondence regarding regulations governing imports oflivestock and animal products into Afghanistan, India, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwaitand the Trucial States. The primary correspondents are: Secretary of State forForeign Affairs; Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; William KerrFraser-Tytler, British Legation, Kabul; Political Resident, Persian Gulf.1 file (9 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 6, and terminates at f 15, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
This file relates to the renewal of the 1891 Commercial Treaty between Britain and Muscat. The original treaty was given a term of twelve years, which was extended at regular intervals afterwards, initially for several years at a time and later on an annual basis.The file concerns the replacement of the existing treaty with a new treaty, following a request from the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] that the two parties enter into negotiations to revise the existing treaty. Matters covered include the following: informal discussions with the Sultan regarding the revision of the existing treaty; the Sultan's reported unwillingness to agree to any further renewals of the treaty in its existing form after 11 February 1938; amendments to the initial draft of the new revised treaty, and the preparation of signature copies, in English and Arabic; the signing and ratifying of the new treaty, on 5 and 7 February 1939 respectively; the extension of the provisions of the treaty to certain British territories.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Secretary of State for India; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman; officials of the India Office, the Foreign Office, the Dominions Office, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India.In addition to correspondence, the file includes the following: copies of the initial draft of the revised treaty, in English and Arabic (ff 18-53 and ff 54-70 respectively); a signature copy of the draft treaty, in Arabic (ff 100-111); copies of the draft certificate of exchange of ratifications, in English and Arabic (f 177 and ff 179-180).The file's Arabic material consists of the aforementioned copies of the treaty, several items of correspondence, and a transcript of a speech given by the Political Resident on the occasion of the signing of the treaty (English translations are included).1 file (244 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 246; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 100-241; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
This file consists of letters and telegrams between the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, London, and the Political Resident in Persian Gulf regarding the arrangement of different celebrations in Persian Gulf.Related matters of discussion include the following: Celebration of Armistice Day, Remembrance Day and New Year.The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.1 file (6 folios)The file's contents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 8, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The file contains correspondence from Major Tom Hickinbotham, Political Agent and HM Consul, Muscat, to Lieutenant Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, which is forwarded to the Secretary of State for India.The correspondence relates that, on the pretext that certain of his adherents had been murdered, Mohammad bin Abdullah al Khalili, Imam of Inner Oman, had taken control of the fort at Ibri in the Dhahirah, formerly in the hands of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman. It is suggested that a more likely motivation for this action was to take control of the area in which Petroleum Concessions Ltd had been most interested.The Political Resident in the Gulf suggests that it would be a set-back for British interests if the Sultan were to lose ground in this area, and after a number of letters providing updates of the situation the correspondence ends with a letter from Major Hickinbotham informing that Saiyid Shahab bin Faisal, Regent and Minister for External Affairs, Muscat, had been contacted by Ali bin Said of Ainane, offering surrender of the strategically-important fort at Ainane to the Sultan on terms, in consequence of pressure from the Imam. The Regent proposed to discuss terms, an action which gained Major Hickinbotham's approval.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the front of the correspondence.1 file (24 folios)The file is arranged in reverse chronological order.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 26; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The file contains papers relating to the defence of Muscat.It includes papers regarding: the position of the Sultan of Muscat in the event of the outbreak of war (since he was an independent sovereign and therefore his state would not automatically be on the side of the British Empire in war); the conditions under which the Sultan was prepared to grant the necessary facilities (in particular air facilities) in his territories to the British Government during the Second World War, including a monthly subsidy to the Sultan of 20,000 rupees for the duration of the war and for a period after the cessation of hostilities, and the gift of military equipment; and the decision of the British Government to continue the Muscat War Subsidy after the end of the War until the end of 1946, and to present a token gift of arms and ammunition to the Sultan on the termination of the War Subsidy, in recognition of his assistance during the War.Much of the file concerns the Muscat War Subsidy Agreement, but it also includes papers relating to the appointment of a Military Adviser to the Sultan of Muscat, and the recruitment of a Commandant of the Muscat Infantry.The papers mostly consist of correspondence, but they also include: India Office internal minute papers; a copy of a paper entitled ‘Appreciation of the Situation Regarding the Defence of Muscat Against Tribal Attack and Sabotage’, by Major R G Price, Air Headquarters, British Forces in Iraq, January 1939, which includes two photographs [IOR/L/PS/12/3937, f 427]; papers of the War Cabinet Official Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, including minutes of the first meeting of the Committee on 22 September 1939, on the subject of Muscat; a note of a meeting to discuss the Muscat War Subsidy, held at the India Office on 12 February 1946, between representatives of the India Office, the Treasury, the Foreign Office, the Admiralty, the War Office, the Air Ministry, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.The main correspondents are as follows: the India Office (and the Commonwealth Relations Office from 1947); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Admiralty Military Branch; the Foreign Office; the War Office; the Government of India External Affairs Department; the Government of India Defence Department; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman (Saiyid Said bin Taimur); the Political Agent and HM Consul, Muscat; the Air Ministry; the Treasury; and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.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.1 file (430 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 431; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
The file is comprised of a paper produced by the Political Intelligence Centre (Middle East Forces): 'Paper No. 80: Middle East Oil' dated 28 March 1946.The paper (ff 4-17) includes a précis and then lists the oil-producing countries of the Middle East with their oil concessions and assessment of their known oil reserves and future potential (Persia; Iraq; Egypt; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Qatar). Further analysis concerns the importance and potential of Middle East oil placed in a world context. The paper also includes a table 'World Oil Production and Reserves, 1944' listed by region.A further section list exploratory work being undertaken in non-producing areas (Syria and Lebanon; Palestine; Muscat, Oman and Dhofar; Trucial Coast; Turkey; Transjordan; Cyprus; Yemen; Aden Protectorate). The report also includes a map 'Middle East Oil - Secret' (folio 12) and a distribution list.Also included in the file is a copy of an article 'Big Oil Boom in Saudi Arabia' from the
New York Timesand
Statesman Special Service, 4 December 1946.The principal correspondents are: the Head of the Political Intelligence Centre, Middle East Forces, Cairo (Colonel J G Clarke); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the Political Agent, Muscat.1 file (17 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 19; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Part 2 consists of correspondence relating to the deployment of a consular guard at Ahwaz to protect British subjects working in the region. The correspondence is between the Government of India, Foreign Office, India Office, and representatives of Concessions Syndicate Ltd (later Anglo-Persian Oil Company). Included as enclosures are letters, telegrams, and memoranda from the following:British Minister to Persia;George B Reynolds, geologist for Concessions Syndicate Ltd;Lieutenant-Colonel David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer, Vice-Consul in Arabistan, at Ahwaz;Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary;British Treasury;Percy Cox, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, at Bushire;William Knox D'Arcy, petroleum entrepreneur.The papers cover several matters, including:the size of the guard and length of the period of deployment;the question of who will bear the cost of the guard and its accommodation;pay and allowances of staff;relations between the Bakhtiari tribes and the Syndicate;an increase to the guard at Isfahan;the proposal to replace Government of India guards with local Bakhtiari men.1 item (239 folios)
This file contains correspondence between British Government officials relating to the importation of counterfeit Government of India silver coins from the Persian Gulf into India. The main correspondents are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent in Bahrain, the Residency Agent, Sharjah, and the Government of India. The discussions centre on where in the Persian Gulf the counterfeiters could be based, where the effects of counterfeit coins are being felt the most, and which individuals are suspected of counterfeiting coins. A list of suspects based in Sharjah and Dubai is provided between folios 7-8. The last folio (folio 11) is a statement taken from an unnamed passenger, travelling from Koweit [Kuwait] to Bombay on the SS
Bankura, who had purchased counterfeit coins whilst in Koweit and was caught by customs officers.1 file (10 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at inside back cover with 12; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
This file, which largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, discusses details of appointments in the Government of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Also included are profiles of prominent figures in the Hejazi and Nejdi kingdom. Related matters of discussion include the following:Harry St John Bridger Philby's presence in Jedda.Fuad Bey Hamza's role as Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Hejaz and Nejd.The appointment of Amir Faisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd] as Hejazi Minister for Foreign Affairs.The Political Resident in the Persian Gulf's frustration at the Foreign Office's refusal to provide a copy of a publication entitled 'Personalities in Saudi Arabia', on the grounds that such reports should not be distributed to officers who do not serve directly under the Foreign Office.The death of Abdulla bin Jiluwi [‘Abdullāh bin Jilūwī Āl Sa‘ūd], former Governor of Hassa [Hasa].The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Agent and Consul at Jedda (Hugh Stonehewer Bird, succeeded by William Linskill Bond); His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires to Jedda (William Linskill Bond, succeeded by Cecil Gervase Hope Gill); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); officials of the India Office and Foreign Office; correspondents from the Hejazi/Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Amir Faisal in his new role as Minister for Foreign Affairs.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 (folio 2).1 file (73 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 74; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-73; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
The file concerns the claim of the Government of Iran (generally referred to as the Government of Persia) to territorial sovereignty over Bahrein [Bahrain].The papers include: the Iranian claim in the light of the Bahrain oil concession; representations by the Government of Iran to the League of Nations, and the involvement of League in the dispute; summary of diplomatic correspondence, 1927-29 (folios 506-511); India Office 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 14 July 1934 - a historical summary of the political status of Bahrain, and Persian claims to sovereignty; the submission of the question by the India Office to the Law Officers of the Crown, 1934 (folios 466-472), and the report of the Law Officers of the Crown (folios 400-403), stating their opinion that Persia had no rights of sovereignty or suzerainty over Bahrain; the view of the Foreign Office (subsequently adopted) that references in public pronouncements to the independence of Bahrain needed to be qualified by the statement that the ruler was 'in special treaty relations with His Majesty's Government' (folios 378-380); the status of Tamb and Abu Musa (folio 361); the imposition of Iranian import duty on aviation oil supplied to Bahrain (folios 315-316); the views of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf on the dangers of submitting the question to international arbitration (folios 308-314); similarities to the dispute between the United States of America (USA) and the Netherlands over Palmas Island [Miangas or Palmas, Indonesia] (e.g. folios 306-307); the views of the Government of Saudi Arabia (folios 268-270); the issue of passports and visas; transcripts of articles in support of the Iranian position in the Iranian and Arabic language press; the effect of the Bahrain nationality and property laws; Italian propaganda in support of the Iranian claim (folio 243); comparison with the Falkland Islands (folio 210); the refusal of the Iranian postal authorities to accept mails from Bahrain (folio 186); the involvement of the United Nations Organisation; Foreign Office 'Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 13 January 1947, substantially based on the India Office 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein' of 1934 (folios 97-126); Soviet propaganda over Bahrain (folio 57); the presence in Tehran of a person claiming to represent the Bahrain National Party (folios 50-54); and correspondence dated 1948 concerning the size and position of the Persian community in Bahrain, including a letter on the subject from Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (folios 25-37).The file contains significant correspondence from the Foreign Office, HM Minister, Tehran (later the British Ambassador to Tehran), and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The French language content of the file consists of approximately thirty folios of diplomatic correspondence and newspaper extracts.The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence, dated 1927-31.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.1 file in 3 parts (519 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: this file consists of three physical parts. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of part one with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover of part three with 525; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-524; these numbers are printed, but are not circled.