This file primarily concerns the sovereignty status of the Hanish Islands, as well as that of other islands in the Lower Red Sea. It documents concerns held by the British Government that the Italian Government is in the process of attempting to establish some kind of informal control over certain islands.Matters discussed in the correspondence include:The content and wording of a proposed Red Sea Lights Convention, the result of negotiations between the British and French governments, which ostensibly relates to the construction and maintenance of lighthouses – both on islands in the Lower Red Sea and in the territory of Mocha – but also concerns questions of sovereignty.Whether the Italian Government's plan to construct a lighthouse on South-West Haycock Island constitutes a claim of sovereignty over the island.The establishment of Italian military posts on the Hanish and Jebel Zukur [Jazīrat Jabal Zuqar] islands.Concerns expressed by the Admiralty and Foreign Office that by establishing these posts the Italian Government could be attempting to enforce rights of sovereignty over the islands.The extent to which either the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) or the Rome Conversations of 1927 (between Britain and Italy) provide any basis to contesting an Italian claim to sovereignty over the islands.Reports of attempts by the Italian military posts to restrict fishing and pearling in neighbouring waters to dhows possessing a permit from Assab.The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Ambassador in Rome (Sir Ronald Graham, succeeded by James Eric Drummond); the Command-in-Chief, Mediterranean; the Senior Officer of the Red Sea Sloops; the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the India Office, the Admiralty, the Air Council, and the Board of Trade's Mercantile Marine Department.As well as correspondence the file includes the following: extracts from reports of the proceedings of HMS
Dahlia(1929 and 1931), HMS
Penzance(1933), and HMS
Calcutta(1934); copies of the minutes of an interdepartmental conference, held at the Foreign Office on 6 July 1931 to consider questions relating to the Red Sea islands; draft English and French texts of modifications to the aforementioned Red Sea Lights Convention, prepared by Sir Cecil Hurst, legal adviser to the Foreign Office; two sketch maps depicting the Lower Red Sea islands and surrounding area.In addition to the aforementioned French text, the file contains some material in Italian, namely a copy of a fishing permit issued at Assab (an English translation is included).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 (208 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 209; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The volume contains papers largely relating to French policy in the Hedjaz [Hejaz] and Arabia, and Anglo-French relations concerning the region. It includes papers relating to the following:The French mission being sent to the Hedjaz under Mustapha Cherchali.The French Military Mission in the Hedjaz.The British desire for French recognition of British predominance in the region.The Sykes-Picot Mission.The recommendations of HM High Commissioner, Egypt, on future British policy in Arabia.The desire of the French government to send the equivalent in gold of 975,000 francs to the King of the Hedjaz.The question of a revised agreement between Britain and France regarding Arabia and the Hedjaz.The activities of a French agent at Mecca, Mahomet Bin Sasi.The volume also includes papers relating to the policy to be adopted by Britain towards Italian ‘pretentions’ in Arabia.The papers mostly consist of: correspondence between the India Office and the Foreign Office, with enclosures including correspondence between the Foreign Office and the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom; copy correspondence between the Foreign Office and Sir Reginald Wingate, HM High Commissioner, Egypt, sent to the India Office by the Foreign Office; India Office Minute Papers; and other correspondence and papers. Some of the papers are in French, and there is also a copy of a newspaper cutting in Italian.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 volume (243 folios)The papers are arranged in chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.The subject 3372 (Pt 1 Arab Revolt, and Pt 2 Arabia) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/615-616. The volumes are divided into two parts, with part 1 comprising one volume, and part 2 comprising the second volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio 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 side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
The volume discusses an alleged arms trafficking incident which occurred in December 1908. The
El Khadra, a dhow owned by Mubarak bin Khamis, a subject of Muscat, was seized by Italian authorities off the coast of Ras Hafun [Raas Xaafuun] on charges of arms trafficking.The volume includes the negotiations between the British and Italian Governments to find an acceptable resolution to the situation. A settlement was reached and the boat returned to its owner in July 1911.The principal correspondents in the volume include the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat (Robert Erskine Holland, and Arthur Prescott Trevor); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Percy Zachariah Cox); the Viceroy of India (Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto); the Italian Agent at Muscat (Umberto Omar); the Italian Vice-Consul at Aden (Renato Piacentini); the British Ambassador to the Court of Italy (Sir James Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell); the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey) and India (Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe); and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs (Tommaso Tittoni, Guido Fusinato, and Antonino Paternò-Castello, marchese di San Giuliano).This is part 2 of 10. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.1 volume (398 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.The subject 619 (Arms Traffic) consists of 7 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/110-116. The volumes are divided into 10 parts with parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 comprising one volume each, parts 6, 7, 8, and 9 comprising the sixth volume and part 10 comprising the seventh volume.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 398; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The front cover, along with one leading flyleaf, has not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
The volume contains correspondence in the form of telegrams, minutes, and reports concerning arms trafficking after the war. Among the reports in the volume is a report submitted by the Committee of Imperial Defence to the Under-Secretary of State for India, Political Department, India Office. The report discussed the question to further observe the issue of arms trafficking in certain localities such as Maskat [Muscat], the Persian Gulf, Persia, Abyssinia, China and the Far East. Another report was submitted by the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department to the Secretary of State for India discussing the state of arms trafficking in the French possessions in India and the question of reaching an understanding with the French Government. The correspondence in the volume also discussed the question of arms trafficking prohibitions in Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Armenia, and Mesopotamia.The volume includes multiple copies of reports and minutes (ff 166-207) on the interdepartmental conference 'Control of Arms Traffic', held at the India office on 24 February 1919. It also includes multiple copies of a document entitled 'Draft Convention for the Control of the Arms Traffic' in both English and French. The following subheadings were covered in the drafted convention:Export of Arms and AmmunitionImport of Arms and Ammunition. Prohibited Areas and Zone of Maritime SupervisionSupervision on LandMaritime SupervisionGeneral Provisions.The volume also includes correspondence regarding the conference that took place at Saint Germain [Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris] to discuss arms trafficking. The conference involved the following powers: the United States of America, Belgium, the British Empire, Chile, Cuba, France, Italy, Japan, Nicaragua, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Siam and Czecho-Slovakia. The correspondence also includes copies of the Arms Traffic Convention signed on 10 September 1919 (ff 7-32).Among other correspondents in the volume are the War Cabinet; the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, Home Office; the British delegation in Paris; and the Board of Trade.The volume 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 volume (296 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 1355 (Peace Settlement: The Arms Traffic Convention 1919) consists of four volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/672-675. The volumes are divided into 6 parts, with part 1 comprising one volume, parts 2, 4 and 5 comprising the second volume, part 3 comprising the third volume, and part 6 comprising the fourth volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 298; 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.
This volume is the third of three successive volumes of correspondence (IOR/L/PS/10/32-34), relating to the British prohibition and suppression of arms traffic between ports in Aden, the Red Sea and the coast of East Africa. The main correspondents are ministers and officials at the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Colonial Office and the Admiralty in London, as well as officials in the Government of India Foreign and Political Department and in the Government of Bombay Political Department. Other notable correspondents are the Commander-in-Chief for the East Indies Station, the Commander and Senior Naval Officer for the Persian Gulf Division, the Senior Naval Officer for the Aden Division, the Political Resident and the First Assistant Resident at Aden, and the British Commissioner for the Somaliland Protectorate. The correspondence includes naval reports about the British blockade of the Warsangli coast [Somalia] in 1908 and Aden sea patrols in 1911; the ‘Agreement between the United Kingdom, France, and Italy respecting the importation of arms and ammunition into Abyssinia signed at London, December 13, 1906’ as published in 1907; ‘The Aden Arms (Sea Traffic) Regulation, 1910’; and sample forms used for the identification and regulation of dhows and other vessels in the ports of British Somaliland, Aden and Zanzibar. There is also a small amount of diplomatic correspondence, mainly from the French and Italian Ambassadors at London to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. This correspondence includes sample forms in Italian, together with revised instructions in French that were drafted jointly by the French and Italian Governments, for the enforcement of arms traffic controls in their respective protectorates of French Somaliland, Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea.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 volume (218 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 869 (Arms Traffic: - Red Sea, Africa and Aden) consists of three volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/32-34. The volumes are divided into three parts, with each part comprising one volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 220; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.