Abstract: The volume contains correspondence relating to the work of Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited, a subsidiary of Petroleum Concessions Limited, in Qatar. The correspondence is principally between the Political Agent in Bahrain, the Political Residency in Bahrain [Persian Gulf Political Residency], representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited (at their offices in Bahrain and the United Kingdom) and Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited, the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Government of India, the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, the Staff Liaison Officer (RAF) in Bahrain, and the ruler of Qatar, Abdulla bin Qasim al Thani [‘Abdullāh bin Qāsim Āl Thānī].The papers contained in the file cover the following matters:
use of certain radio frequencies by Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited;jurisdiction of the Shaikh of Qatar over non-Qatari and non-British subjects in his country;employment of foreign nationals, including Iranian drivers and mechanics, Palestinian welders and other technicians, and Hungarians and Romanians;employment of the Lebanese firm Contracting and Trading Company to recruit skilled labour;use of the telegraphic address PETROQAT QATAR by Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited;the provision of meat for workers in the field;the extent of the Qatar concession, specifically if it covers its waters and islands;interference in the erection of navigational buoys by Su'aad bin Abdur Rehman Al-Thani, Shaikh of Wakrah;advance payment of concession royalties to Shaikh ‘Abdullāh of Qatar;the Shaikh of Bahrain's claims on Zubarah.Folios 155-66 are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-152; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to how the dispute between Bahrain and Qatar over Zubarah has affected the work of Petroleum Concessions Limited. The principle correspondents are: the Political Agent at Bahrain; Sir Charles Belgrave, Advisor to the Government of Bahrain; Shaikh Sulman bin Hamad Al Khalifa [Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah], ruler of Bahrain; Shaikh Abdulla bin Qasim Al-Thani [‘Abdullāh bin Qāsim Āl Thānī], ruler of Qatar; and representatives (usually Ernest Vincent Packer) of Petroleum Concessions Limited (hereafter, the company) and its subsidiary, Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited.The matters covered by the file are mostly founded on the rival historic claims to the old settlement of Zubarah. They are as follows:the need to settle normal relations between the two countries, partly driven by the clarity needed to define oil concessions;the company's attempts to buy land in Manama which lead to conditions imposed by the ruler of Bahrain concerning mosques, tombs and properties in Zubarah that are claimed by the Āl Khalīfah family;disagreements over the company's use of the port of Sitra in Bahrain, and what they are permitted to import and export;a meeting held between Packer and Shaikh Salmān on 15 February 1947 to settle these issues;incidences of violence and conflict between Bahraini seamen employed by the company and Qatari guards at Zekrit during 1947 and 1948;the refusal by Qatari authorities to allow Shaikh Shafi bin Salim, head of the Bani Hajir tribe, and his four sons to land at Zekrit in July 1948.Folios 43-45 are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-33; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Title corrected to: ‘Sketch map of the QATAR PENINSULA’.Relief shown by hachures.Coast between Zubara and Jabel al Tabena outlined in red.Numerous additions and corrections to place names and topographical features.‘Al Doha’ underlined in blue crayon and ‘DOHAH’ added in later hand with coordinates inserted in pencil and annotation: ‘All these villages now form the town of Dohah the capital of QATAR’.Physical description: Material:Pen and ink with wash on paper with additions in pencilDimensions:765 x 460 mm
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard C Fowle, Percy G Loch, Olaf K Caroe, Hugh Weightman), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy G Loch, Hugh Weightman, Tom Hickinbotham, John B Howes), the India Office (Maurice J Clauson, Roland T Peel, John C Walton, John P Gibson), the Shaikh of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles D Belgrave), Petroleum Concessions Limited (John Skliros, Stephen H Longrigg, Frank Holmes, Ernest V Packer) and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Hamilton R Ballantyne, Edward A Skinner) regarding negotiations for a concession in the unalloted area of Bahrain which would include Bahrain's territorial islands and the Hawar Group of Islands.The correspondence centres on the Shaikh of Bahrain’s decision to postpone negotiations for one year until May 1938 in order to concentrate on the resolution of his ownership claim to Zubarah [Az Zubārah] which was being contested by the Shaikh of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī). Later correspondence relates to the Shaikh’s decision to split the unalloted area into two concessions with the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) being granted the remaining area on the main island and some territorial waters including Sitrah Island; and Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) being granted the Hawar Group of Islands and a number of other territorial islands and waters along with an allocated site at Muharraq for use in constructing a refinery and storage areas.Also included is continued discussion around the question of ownership of the Hawar Islands and Fasht Dibal [Fasht ad Dībal]. The India Office concluded that their evidence supported the Shaikh of Bahrain’s claim to the islands and that therefore responsibility for disputing the claim lay with any other potential claimants. The question under discussion however was whether to make the Shaikh of Qatar, as the other potential claimant, aware of their conclusions.Other matters discussed in the volume include:the question of oil rights to Zubarah, which had been granted under the Qatar Oil Concession, and the assurance given by the Shaikh of Bahrain to His Majesty’s Government that should his claim of ownership to Zubarah be recognised it would not affect the Qatar Oil Company’s work in that area;notes on a meeting at the India Office with Hamilton R Ballantyne, a representative of the Standard Oil Company of California who were interested in oil concessions on the Trucial Coast as well as the unalloted area of Bahrain.discussion regarding Major Frank Holmes’ actions during his work for PCL in 1936/1937 on the Trucial Coast and the Political Resident’s wish to prevent him from travelling to Bahrain or the Trucial Coast in order to prevent further potential confusion and intrigue. Also reported on is a conversation between the Political Agent at Kuwait and Major Holmes at which Holmes' vision for oil concessions to drill under the pearl banks between Bahrain and Qatar is revealed.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 193-200.The correspondence with the Shaikh of Bahrain and various draft concession documents are in English and Arabic.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 205; 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 also present in parallel between ff 6-192; these numbers are written in pencil and red crayon, are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding tensions between Qatar and Bahrain over the ownership of Zubarah and related clashes that took place between the forces of Qatar and members of the Al Naim tribe (allied to the Al Khalifa, the ruling family of Bahrain).Much of the correspondence relates to British-mediated negotiations and as such, it consists of letters (in Arabic and English translation) between Tom Hickinbotham, Britain's Political Agent in Bahrain, and the rulers of Qatar and Bahrain, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī and Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, respectively. The file also contains correspondence between Hickinbotham, Shaikh Rashīd bin Muḥammad, Chief of the Al Naim tribe and Charles Belgrave, the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain.The file contains copies of British Government correspondence from 1874-1876 when similar tensions had arisen between Qatar and Bahrain over Zubarah (ff 178-197) and also includes a series of 12 black and white, aerial photographs of Qatar, mainly of Zubarah (ff 251-263).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 219-234; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding tensions between Qatar and Bahrain over the contested ownership of Zubarah on the Qatari peninsula, as well as other issues concerning Qatar-Bahrain relations more broadly.This correspondence includes original copies of letters (in Arabic) from Shaikh Abdullah bin Qasim Al Thani [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī], the ruler of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], the ruler of Bahrain and his successor, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa [Shaikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah]. These letters are primarily to Hugh Weightman, the British Political Agent in Bahrain and Charles Belgrave, Adviser to the Bahrain Government. They are accompanied by translations in English.The file contains two English translations of Arabic-language press articles related to the Zubarah issue:'Zubarah Problem' - published in
Rabitat Al Arabiehin Cairo on 21st July, 1937 (ff 37-40);'Is This True?' - published in
Um-ul-Qorain Mecca on 23rd July, 1937 (f 46).The file also contains a British Government memorandum entitled 'Note on History of Zubara and Claims of Shaikh of Bahrein to Zubara' that is followed by a simple map of the Persian Gulf (ff 132-134).Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence concerning a request made by Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī, the ruler of Qatar, to allow his son, ‘Alī bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Thānī, to enter Bahrain in order to be admitted in to the American Mission Hospital for medical treatment.This request - to which Shaikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah, the ruler of Bahrain objected - came in the context of tensions between Qatar and Bahrain over ownership of Zubarah situated on the Qatari peninsula.The file contains a number of letters in Arabic sent from Shaikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah, to Tom Hickinbotham, Britain's Political Agent in Bahrain.The file also contains a copy of an agreement from 24 June 1944 signed by Shaikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah of Bahrain and Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī of Qatar in order to restore friendly relations between the two states (folio 28).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An addition foliation sequence is also present between ff 4-44; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding a dispute that broke out between Qatar and Bahrain over the ownership of Zubarah on the Qatari peninsula. The hostilities began after the ruler of Qatar, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī, attempted to impose taxation on members of the Al Naim tribe who were resident in Zubarah but proclaimed allegiance to the Āl Khalīfah family.The correspondence (in English and Arabic) is primarily between British officials (Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Percy Gordon Loch and Political Agent in Bahrain, Tom Hickinbotham) and the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī and Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, respectively. The file also contains correspondence between Charles Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain and Hickinbotham.The file contains three black and white aerial photographs of Zubarah (ff 80-81).On folios 82-92 the file contains a report written by Hickinbotham entitled 'Zubarah incident' that contains a summary of relevant events and recommendations for British Policy on the issue.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 7-323; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence related to tensions between Bahrain (and the Al Naim tribe) and Qatar concerning the ownership of Zubarah on the Qatar peninsula that took place between March and June 1937.At this time, the Al Naim tribe were allied to the Al Khalifa ruling family of Bahrain who claimed Zubarah as a part of their own territory (the family had been based there before their conquest of Bahrain in 1783). The British authorities did not recognise the Al Khalifa's claim to Zubarah and mediated between the two sides. The file contains extensive details of this mediation process.Physical description: A bound correspondence volume of which the front and back covers have become unattached.The main foliation sequence starts at the title page and continues through to the 2nd folio from the back of the volume; these numbers are written in pencil, circled and can be found in the top right of the recto side of each folio.A second foliation sequence, also written in pencil but not circled starts on f.2 and runs to f.204; these numbers can also be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. This system forks on f.30 to form a third foliation sequence, which is out of step with the second sequence due to the fact the 1st folio marked with this sequence is labelled with a range; these numbers are also not circled, written in pencil and can be found in the same position as the other two sequences.Foliation Errors: 1A and 1B.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence about on-going tensions between Bahrain and Qatar regarding the ownership of Zubarah after the Al Khalifa and Al Thani families had signed an agreement (mediated by the British) in 1944. The correspondence discusses disagreements between Bahrain and Qatar concerning their interpretation of the wording of the 1944 agreement and also the emigration of the Al Bu Rumaih tribe from Bahrain to Qatar (without permission of the ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa).On folios 8-4, the file contains a summary of all the key events related to the dispute over Zubarah from 1766 until 1946.A small sketch map of Zubarah and the surrounding area is contained on folio 117.Physical description: Formerly a correspondence file bound with treasury tags, the file's pages have been unbound and are now loose.There are three incomplete foliation sequences and one complete foliation sequence. The complete sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and runs through to 161, ending on the inside of the back cover of the file.f.117 is stored in an envelope (f.116).
Abstract: File contains correspondence related to hostilities that occurred between the forces of Shaikh Abdullah bin Qassim Al Thani of Qatar and the Al Naim tribe that took place in June and July 1937.At this time, the Al Naim tribe was allied to the Al Khalifa ruling family of Bahrain who claimed Zubarah as a part of their own territory (the family had been based there before their conquest of Bahrain in 1783). The British authorities did not recognise the Al Khalifa's claim to Zubarah and did not intervene on their behalf. Hostilities ended in July 1937 and Shaikh Rashid bin Muhammad, Chief of the Al Naim tribe, agreed to recognise the rule of the Al Thani family over Zubarah.The file also contains a map of Qatar (folio 164) and four aerial photographs of Zubarah (folios 160-163).Physical description: A bound correspondence file. Foliation starts on first page of text, top right hand circled number. Ends on last page in volume. A second foliation penciled, uncircled from folio 1a-209.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence concerning the ongoing dispute between the Rulers of Bahrain and Qatar over the sovereignty of Zubarah and the surrounding area on the Qatar Peninsula. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Cornelius James Pelly; Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay), the Ruler of Bahrain (Sheikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah), and the Ruler of Qatar (Sheikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī).The volume includes:an initial exchange of letters between the Political Agent and the Rulers of Bahrain and Qatar, between February and July 1945, relating to the Ruler of Bahrain’s complaints that some of his subjects had gone to a place called Bruk on the Qatar Peninsula (near Zubarah) to collect wood, and had been harassed by men associated with the Ruler of Qatar (ff 2-41). Underlying the dispute are the differing interpretations of the two Rulers to the agreement, signed by them in June 1944, to restore friendly relations between the states of Bahrain and Qatar, and to restore conditions at Zubarah to what they had been prior to 1936;correspondence between the Political Agent and Political Resident, relating to Bahrain-Qatar relations and the 1944 agreement, including: comment on the vagaries of the 1944 agreement (ff 61-63); the difficulties encountered in the handing over of the role of Political Agent from one individual to another; the historical context of Bahrain-Qatar relations, including a note, prepared by the Political Agent (Galloway) on the history of Zubarah, up to the present day (ff 100-107); discussion over the possibility of requesting the Ruler of Qatar to demolish his fort at Zubarah;ongoing correspondence amid a stalemate in the disagreement over Zubarah, including: the imposition by the Qatar Customs Officer of export duties on limestone shipped from Qatar to Bahrain (ff 50-54); the Ruler of Bahrain’s agreement that the Al Bu Rumaih tribe be allowed to emigrate from Bahrain to Qatar (ff 95-96); the dispatch of a deputation to Zubarah by the Ruler of Qatar; continued letters, some enclosing petitions, from the Ruler of Bahrain, making his historical claim to Zubarah (ff 125-138);correspondence relating to an incident in early 1947, in which an individual from the Al Bu Rumaih tribe, on returning to Qatar, was arrested and imprisoned by the Ruler of Bahrain (ff 167-204). An attempt by the Assistant Political Agent (Captain Hugh Dunstan Rance) to intervene in the matter in the Political Agent’s absence, provoked a strong complaint from the Ruler of Bahrain, which in turn brought a rebuke from the Political Agent (Pelly) on his return. In correspondence exchanged with the Political Resident in the wake of the incident, Pelly suggests that Arab rulers, including the Ruler of Bahrain, are beginning to challenge British orders, in light of Britain’s ‘recessive’ policy in Egypt and India (ff 203-204).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 235; 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 also present in parallel between ff 4-213; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 214-232) have been paginated using pencil.