Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials related to the national anthems and official flags of a number of different states and their rulers. Specifically, the correspondence relates to the national anthem of Bahrain, the personal standard of the Ruler of Kuwait, the flag of Muscat, the flag of Qatar and the flags of the various states of the Trucial Coast.In addition to correspondence, the file contains the following:sheet music for the tune of 'Salutation and March to His Highness the Sultan of Muscat and Oman' (folio 45)small sketches of the peace and wartime flags of the Trucial States, with details in both English and Arabic (folios 55-57)a sketch of the flag of Qatar (folio 72 and 74)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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 130; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file is largely made up of correspondence, with occasional internal India Office notes, and records of inter-departmental meetings. The subject matter is the establishment of an aerodrome on the Trucial Coast to facilitate the transfer of Imperial Airways' Europe-India route from Southern Persia to the Arabian Coast. There is some material related to the selection of a suitable site. However, much of the file is concerned with negotiations with Shaikh Sultan bin Saqar, Ruler of Sharjah; Sharjah was selected by British officials as the most promising site for a landing ground. The file therefore contains a number of reports on the political situation at Sharjah, the progress of negotiations, and discussion over terms and conditions. A copy of the final agreement can be found on folios 225-228.The agreement with the Shaikh of Sharjah provided for the construction of a rest house to be owned by the Shaikh but rented by Imperial Airways. The file therefore includes discussion relating to arrangements for the financing and construction of the rest house. There is also a detailed consideration of the measures needed to ensure its security, and measures to be taken by British forces in the event of an attack on the facility: see folios 18-27 for a copy of the
Sharjah Defence Scheme.The file also contains discussion between British officials over their response to the following two proposals submitted by the Government of the Netherlands: a proposal for Anglo-Dutch-French co-operative partnership in approaching civil aviation matters linking Europe and the Far East, with a particular view to negotiations with Persia; and a request for access to the Arab Coast air route.In addition to the immediate response to the Netherlands Government, the file includes discussion related to how British policy over the Trucial Coast should develop in response to developments in civil aviation.Also contained within the file are a number of papers circulated by the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. These papers relate to a proposal from Imperial Airways to use landplanes along the Arabian Coast route instead of flying boats; the file contains extensive technical comparisons between the ‘Hannibal’ four engine landplane (the Handley Page H.P.42) and three engine ‘Calcutta’ flying boat (the Short S.8).There is a limited amount of discussion, towards to front of the correspondence, over the state of British negotiations with Persia. However, this is not the focus of the file.A couple of letters from the Government of the Netherlands are in French (see folios 296-301) and the final agreement with the Shaikh of Sharjah (folios 225-228) is in both English and Arabic. The vast majority of the file is in English.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Hugh Vincent Biscoe, and later Trenchard Craven William Fowle), the Political Agent at Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson), and the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf. It also includes correspondence with officials of the following governmental departments: the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India.Most of the material in the file covers the period 1932 to 1935. Only a single letter, dated 31 March 1940, falls outside this range.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.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 637; 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, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: Correspondence, minute papers, drafts, and notes concerning the drafting of The Trucial States Order in Council. The majority of the file relates to the discussion between officials at the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, Foreign Office, Political Agency in Bahrain, India Office, and Government of India (External Affairs Department) over the need for and wording of an order for the Trucial States. A copy of The Trucial States Order in Council, 1946, is included (folios 216-227).Further correspondence concerning amendments to other Orders in Council for the region (Kuwait, Qatar, Muscat) and the question of a general Persian Gulf order is contained in the file.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 335; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file concerns negotiations over the granting of oil concessions to companies with a significant British interest by a number of states on the Trucial Coast: Dubai, Sharjah, Ras-al-Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, and Ajman. The negotiations were initially with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company Limited (APOC) (later known as the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC)) and the D'Arcy Exploration Company Limited, but D'Arcy's rights were subsequently taken over by Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) (a subsidiary company of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), but in which the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company were a partner).The papers cover: oil explorations in the region; the role of Frank Holmes in the negotiations; claims on the area by the Iraq Petroleum Company; the desire of the British Government to encourage exploitation of Trucial Coast oil by a group with a majority British element, as the Iraq Petroleum Company was strongly non-British controlled; official British satisfaction that a company with substantial British interests (PCL) had been able to counter the threat of American penetration in the area (folios 257-258); draft concession agreements; correspondence between PCL and local rulers about the transfer of D'Arcy's rights to PCL (folios 85-86); correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and local rulers making them responsible for the safety of surveying parties in their territories (folios 69-78); correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and local rulers informing them that approval had been granted to PCL by the British Government to enter into negotiations over concessions in their territories (folios 36-47); and the insistence of the Shaikh of Dubai [Sa‘īd bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm] that Haji Williamson [William Richard Williamson] should accompany any survey party sent into his territory (folios 10 and 14).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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 447; 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 two leading and two ending flyleaves.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file concerns negotiations between Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) and the rulers of several states on the Trucial Coast over oil concession agreements. Petroleum Concessions Limited was the company approved by the British Government to seek oil concessions in the area; it later operated under its subsidiary company Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited. The papers principally relate to Ras-al-Khaimah and Abu Dhabi, but also concern Dubai, Sharjah, Umm-al-Qaiwain, Ajman, and Kalba.The papers consist of correspondence and memoranda issued by the India Office, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent, Bahrain; and correspondence from the oil companies involved and local rulers (including four folios in Arabic, with English translations).The papers cover: correspondence concerning undertakings by local rulers to protect oil surveying parties in their territories, and the amount of their liability in the event of any incidents; the involvement of Major Frank Holmes and Haji Williamson [William Richard Williamson]; the demarcation of boundaries in the Trucial Coast; draft agreements relating to Ras-al-Khaimah; British concern over interest in the area on the part of the American company California Arabian Standard Oil; the definition of the phrase 'the Trucial Sheikhs' (folios 386-387); papers concerning a request by PCL for permission from the British Government to employ a French assistant geologist (August-September 1937); a PCL report on the progress of negotiations in Abu Thabi [Abu Dhabi], February 1938 (folios 218-226); other draft agreements; minutes of meetings between British officials and PCL; statement giving the financial terms of certain oil agreements in Arabia (folios 144-147); and the prolongation of the agreement between the Ruler of Ras-al-Khaimah, Shaikh Sultan bin Salem, and Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited in 1941, as a result of the international situation (the Second World War, 1939-45).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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 454; 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 2-454; 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.
Abstract: The file relates to geological survey work carried out by Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) (and its subsidiaries Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited and Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited) to identify productive sources of oil in the hinterland of the Trucial Coast and Muscat and Oman (particularly in the area around Buraimi).The papers include: the extent to which the Trucial Coast hinterland was under the control of Trucial Coast rulers; the question of the boundaries of the Trucial Coast states, including a set of reports by the Political Agent, Bahrain and Residency Agent, Sharjah, dated 1937 (folios 461-473); local tribes; the importance to general British policy in the Middle East of the friendship and stability of Saudi Arabia (folio 444); the question of the borders of Saudi Arabia and Muscat and Oman; minutes of meetings between India Office officials and representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited; agreement that the Royal Air Force (RAF) should assist in carrying out aerial surveys of the area, 1937; the emphasis of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Trenchard Craven William Fowle) on the importance of establishing whether oil existed in commercial quantities within the British sphere of influence in the Persian Gulf, in view of the fact that the majority of oil wells in the region were in Iran, 1937 (folios 395, 382, 208-210); the difficulties in arranging a visit by the Company's geologists to Jebel Faiyah [Jabal al Fāyah] and other parts of the Trucial Coast interior, 1938; the use by the Company of a civil aircraft for aerial surveys, 1938 (folios 328, 263); a report on local tribal politics in the Baraimi [Buraimi] area, 1938 (folios 229-236); sketch map of region, folio 216; the presence in the area of two PCL exploration parties to Buraimi, November-December 1938; a report by the Assistant Political Agent, Bahrain (Captain John Baron Howes), who accompanied one of the parties, with comments by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Political Agent, Bahrain, and two sketch maps, folios 144-169; further plans for exploration by the Company in 1939, with sketch map (folios 116-118); Fowle's view that the explorations should help to dispel the view that American oil interests would do more to explore the region (folio 151), contrasted with his feeling in July 1939 that PCL were looking for excuses not to proceed with proposals from the Sultan of Muscat for further exploration (folio 49); the postponement of surveys in 1939 and 1940 as a result of war conditions; and the continuation of annual concession payments to the shaikhs concerned, 1943 (folio 4).The papers also contain a significant amount of correspondence from the Political Agent and HBM's Consul, Muscat.The Arabic language content of the papers consists of four annual reports in both English and Arabic on the Company' operations in 1940, sent to local rulers.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 501; 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 2-500; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file concerns geological and geophysical surveys for oil and other minerals in the hinterland of Muscat and Oman (especially Dhofar Province, also referred to as Dhufar) and the Trucial Coast (especially Sharjah) undertaken by the substantially British-owned Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) and its subsidiaries Petroleum Concessions Limited, Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited, and Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited. The British Government were keen to assist IPC to resume exploration, which had been discontinued during the Second World War, in view of the political, strategic and economic importance of the Company's oil concessions in the area (folio 275).The papers include: the extent to which certain tribal areas were under the control of local rulers; the need for demarcation of the boundaries of the Trucial Coast states; list of concession and political agreements in force in 1945 in the various Trucial Coast states (folios 267-268); interest on the part of the Shaikh of Fujairah in entering into treaty relations with the British Government (folio 210); minutes of meetings at the India Office between British Government officials and oil company representatives; permission from the British Government to employ American personnel in survey work (folios 186-193); papers concerning a report by Sir Cyril Sankey Fox, formerly Director of the Geological Survey of India, for the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman entitled 'The Geology and Mineral and Other Resources of Dhufar Province and Other Parts of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, South-East Arabia', March-May 1947 (folios 64-100), including correspondence from the author of the report; sketch map provided by the Political Agent, Muscat (Major Andrew Charles Stewart), which is said by him to have been marked by the Sultan of Muscat [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr] to show the western boundary of Dhofar (folio 68); a request by Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited that geological factors be taken into account in determining the boundary between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with sketch map (folios 57-58); Petroleum Concessions Limited 'Instructions to Field Party for Geological Reconnaissance of Southeastern Hadhramaut, the Mahra, and Dhofar' (folios 49-53); and minutes of Foreign Office meeting to discuss the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia, July 1947.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.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 336; 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 between ff 327-335; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and have been crossed out. Finally, the second folio is listed as ‘1A’ rather than ‘2.’
Abstract: The file concerns a survey of the Trucial Coast in June to August 1945 by a United States Army Survey Mission. The survey was undertaken in conjunction with Survey Branch Middle East. Correspondence dated August-October 1945 discusses the Survey Mission's request to extend its work into Muscat territory. The papers record that the Sultan of Muscat gave permission for coastal areas to be surveyed, but stated that it was at that time impossible to meet a request from the survey party to travel along a parallel line fifty miles inland in addition.The file includes correspondence from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent, Muscat.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 9; 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; these numbers are printed, and are not circled. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding British Government policy on the Trucial Coast. Specifically, this includes discussions concerning the possibility of appointing an Assistant Political Agent to the region, incorporating it into civil air routes and whether or not Britain should take more formal control of the area. The correspondence is primarily between officials at the Political Residency in Bushire, the External Affairs Department of the Government of India, the India Office, the Air Ministry and the Foreign Office.In addition to correspondence, the file also contains the following:Minutes from several meetings of the 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East' (folios 103-131, 149-174, 353-354)1929 India Office memorandum entitled 'Future Policy on the Trucial Coast' (folios 333-337)1929 India Office memorandum entitled 'Question of British Interference in the Administration of Bahrain' (folios 342-345)1928 India Office memorandum 'The Trucial Chiefs, 1908-1928' (folios 401-404)1928 India Office memorandum 'El Katr [Qatar], 1908-16' (folio 406)a series of ten small photographic portraits of tribal leaders from the region (folios 28-32).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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 409; 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 between ff 1-382; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file concerns the question of whether Bahrain (also referred to as Bahrein), the Trucial Coast, and Kuwait should be considered part of the British Empire for the purposes of import duties and international agreements. The issue is mainly discussed in terms of the Import Duties Act, 1932 (copy of the Act, folios 221-233), which granted exemption of general ad valorem duty and any additional duty on goods consigned from any part of the British Empire, and produced in:any part of His Majesty's dominions outside the United Kingdomany territory under His Majesty's protectionThe papers include: discussion of the status of Bahrain under the terms of the Import Duties Act, 1932; India Office and Foreign Office agreement, 1935, that Bahrain (and the Trucial Coast and Kuwait) should not be classed as part of the British Empire for the purposes of the Act; representations from a company importing red oxide from Abu Musa about the payment of such duty, 1935; the decision of the Foreign Office to reverse their earlier decision and to include Bahrain, the Trucial Coast, and Kuwait in the British Empire for the purposes of the Act, 1936; enquiries from various companies over the status of Bahrain and other British-protected states in the Persian Gulf for import purposes; a request, which the British Government declined, from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) for imperial preference to be given to Bahrain oil for export to Australia and New Zealand, 1937; the view of the Foreign Office, 1937, that Bahrain should be counted as a British protectorate for the purposes the Narcotics Drugs Convention of 1931; and related correspondence concerning the duty on imports from the region.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 265; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding political developments in Sharjah and the surrounding area.The file is composed solely of internal correspondence between British officials including the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, several Royal Navy officers and India Office officials.The correspondence relates specifically to the following events:The seizure of power in Ras al-Khaimah by Saqr bin Mohammed bin Salim in 1948 (folios 3-4).Political tensions in Sharjah in 1938 (folios 5-7).Fighting between the rulers of Sharjah and 'Ajman in 1933/34 (folios 10-16).The murder of the Shaikh of Hamriyah and associated political fallout in 1931 (folios 19-66).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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 67; 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. The front cover has an additional flap which wraps around to the back of the folder and so has been marked as a fold-out.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence, memoranda, and minutes related to a proposal to relocate the Persian Gulf Air Route (linking Europe and India) from Southern Persia to the Arabian Coast. The proposal is related to difficulties between the British and Persian governments over securing an extension of Imperial Airways' concession to operate in Persia. The volume therefore also contains papers related to the progress of negotiations between the British Government and the Government of Persia. However, the majority of the volume relates to the examination of the Arabian Coast option; this includes potential route options, possible sites for facilities, estimates of expenditure, and progress reports on negotiations between the Trucial Shaikhs – primarily at Dubai and Ra's al-Khaymah – and Hugh Vincent Biscoe, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The volume also contains minutes of the meetings of the Official and Ministerial Sub-Committees of Imperial Defence for the Consideration of Middle Eastern Questions: 2 November 1931 (folios 226-35), 5 November 1931 (folios 217-25), 17 November 1931 (folios 175-82), 17 December 1931 (folios 89-102), and 15 February 1932 (folios 28-31 and folios 22-5). Related notes and memoranda can also be found within the volume.A number of extracts from reports (dated 24 March, 26 April, and 25 September 1932) from E C Denison and D S McGrath, Commanding HMS
Bideford, on trips to the Trucial Coast can be found on folios 3-9; this includes details relating to the construction of the Sharjah Aerodrome.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, officials of the Admiralty, officials the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, and officials of the India Office.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 395; 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 cover, nor does it include the two leading flyleaves.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.