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49. Coll 30/170 'Question of ownership of Libainat islands.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the disputed ownership of the islands of Libaina (rendered Libainat in the file title) al Saghir and Libaina al Khabir (also referred to as Bain-as-Seghir and Bain-al-Khabir, or jointly as the Bainain), lying between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which were the subject of territorial claims by both states. The papers also relate to the islands of Fasht al Jarim, Khor Fasht, and Chaschus (1939). The issue of sovereignty arose because the islands lay in the Bahrain Unallotted Area, and were therefore the subject of interest from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and other oil companies.The file contains correspondence from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent, Bahrain, the British Legation, Jedda, the Foreign Office, and the Admiralty; India Office minutes; and maps.The papers cover: discussion of the question of sovereignty over the islands; the attitude of Ibn Saud [Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]; the issue of territorial waters; proposed lines of demarcation between Bahraini and Saudi spheres of influence; and the attitude of the British Government to a programme of drilling by BAPCO on the reefs of Adala, Fasht al Jarim, Fasht al Ashira, and Fasht Abu Saafa, 1941-42.The file also contains copies of correspondence dated 1909 (folios 78-83) concerning Turkish sovereignty in the area.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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 131; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio
50. Coll 30/122 'Persian claim to the island of Sirri'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the claim by the Government of Iran to the island of Sirri [Jazīreh-ye Sīrrī], which was occupied by the Iranian customs authorities.The issue arose following the seizure by inhabitants of the island of a dhow from Ras al Khaimah. The incident produced a protest by the British Legation, Tehran to the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which the British Government, while acknowledging Iran's de facto occupation of the island, denied any acceptance of Iran's de jure sovereignty there. In response, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted both Iran's de facto and de jure sovereignty. The correspondence shows that following this, the Foreign Office decided against reiterating the British position in regard to sovereignty over the island. The issue of the boat that had been seized was amicably settled (folio 6).The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence dated November-December 1931.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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 31; 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.
51. Coll 30/148 'Qatar: Question of ownership of Zubarah.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the dispute between the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar concerning sovereignty over Zubarah on the Qatar mainland. Zubarah was said to have 'considerable sentimental value' (folio 68) to the Al Khalifah family, as they originally came from there to take over Bahrain; however, in both 1875 and 1919 it had been decided by the British Government that the Shaikh of Bahrain's claims to Zubarah could not be substantiated (folios 136 and 128). The file contains India Office minutes on the subject, and correspondence and reports from, in particular, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent, Bahrain.The papers include: tensions caused by unrest at Zubarah among the Naim [Āl Na‘īm] tribe, who acknowledged the sovereignty of Bahrain; a letter from the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle) summarising the history of Bahrain's claim (folios 125-131); reports of negotiations between the two sides concerning the claim, and British opinion on the matter; the need to avoid weakening the British case for the integrity of the Qatar peninsula against Ibn Saud [Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] (folio 83); reports that the Naim had submitted to the Ruler of Qatar, July 1937; the implications of the dispute for the Qatar and Bahrain Unallotted Area oil concessions; reports of an attempted mediation in the dispute by the Shaikh of Kuwait, October-November 1937; the risk of a linkage between the dispute and Qatar's claim to the Hawar Islands (folio 41); an account of negotiations conducted by the Political Agent, Bahrain (Major Tom Hickinbotham), which led to the signing of an agreement by the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar [Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah and ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī, respectively] to restore friendly relations, June 1944 (letter and text of agreement, folios 24-28, and folio 16); and the statements that relations between the two rulers were now 'as bad as ever' (folio 6) and that the Zubarah question was 'by no means settled' (folio 4), 1945-46.The Arabic language content of the file consists of a single letter from the Political Agent, Bahrain (folio 17).The file also contains copies of correspondence dated 1875 (folios 91-94).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 148; 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.
52. Coll 30/150 'Bahrain: Persian interference with Bahraini dhow.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the detention of a Bahrain dhow at Khoramshahr [Khorramshahr] under standing instructions issued by the Iranian Government (generally referred to as Persia). The nakhudaof the dhow was forced to hand over his vessel's registration documents to the Iranian naval authorities in exchange for Iranian Government registration papers. The incident is said in the file to be connected with the issuing by the state of Bahrain of nationality and property laws, and with the Iranian Government's claim to sovereignty over Bahrain.The incident is discussed in correspondence from the Acting Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the British Minister at Tehran (Sir Horace James Seymour), and the Foreign Office, as well as in India Office minutes, and resulted in the issuing of a protest by the British Government to the Government of Iran (folios 12-13), at the request of the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Sir Hamad bin Isa Alkhalifah [Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah]. The Iranian Government in response asserted that Bahrain was an inalienable part of Iran (folio 9), and the Foreign Office decided to take no further action.There are no papers in the file dated 1939-40; folios 2-3 record a similar incident from 1941.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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 59; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
53. Coll 30/233(S) 'PERSIAN CLAIMS TO TAMB AND ABU MUSA'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the ownership of the islands of Tamb and Abu Musa, following a revival of the Persian Government's claim to both islands in 1948. The British Government's position was that Tamb belonged to the Shaikh of Ras el Khaimah [Ra's al-Khaymah], and Abu Musa to the Shaikh of Sharjah, and after re-examining the evidence in 1949 the British Government saw no reason to alter its position. The file also contains papers concerning the island of Farsi, which was subject to claims by Persia and Saudi Arabia, but which the British Government considered to belong to the Shaikh of Kuwait.The file contains correspondence from the Foreign Office, the British Embassy in Tehran, and the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 15; 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.
54. Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain'
- Description:
- Abstract: 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.Physical description: 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.
55. Coll 30/1 'Tamb Island: Question of Lease to Persia, Persian Govt's Claim to Tamb'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains correspondence related to the disputed ownership of the Tamb (also written as Tanb and Tund) [Greater and Lesser Tumb] islands between Ras al-Khaimah and the Government of Persia. The islands of Abu Musa and Henjam and their status are also mentioned intermittently throughout the file.The file is largely composed of internal correspondence between British officials at the Foreign Office, India Office, Royal Navy (including the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf) and the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf.In addition to this, the file also contains a limited amount of correspondence between British officials and the Government of Persia, some of which is in French.In addition to correspondence, the file also contains the following:Two copies of a memorandum by Mr Lascelles entitled 'Persian Claim to Tamb and Abu Musa (folios 26-32 and 141-145).A 'Note on the Arab Custom of Holding Property "In Common"' written by Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, the Political Agent in Kuwait (folios 40-44).An India Office report entitled 'Status of the Islands of Tamb, Little Tamb, Abu Musa and Sirri' (folios 347-350).A memorandum entitled 'Suggestion that the Island of Tamb Might be Leased to Persia (folios 419-422).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 for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 439; 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 present between ff 4-436 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
56. Coll 6/39 'Kuria Muria Islands: Administration and Status of'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file concerns the status and administration of the Kuria Muria Islands [Jazā’ir Khurīyā Murīyā, Oman]. It features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Resident, Aden; the Governor of Aden; the Secretary of State for India; the Viceroy of India; the British Consul General, Harbin; officials of the Colonial Office, the India Office, the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department, and the Government of Bombay's Political Department.The correspondence includes discussion of the following:A request for a concession to explore guano and phosphate deposits on the islands, submitted in 1931 by two residents of Harbin, China, named James Alexander Hunter and John B Kunst.The potential strategic importance of the islands.The transfer of control of the islands from the Political Resident at Aden to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf in 1931.The separation of Aden from the Bombay Presidency, under a new formation as a Chief Commissioner's Province, in 1932.The formal inclusion of the islands within the Aden Province in 1936, placing them legally under the administration of the Chief Commissioner of Aden.Whether or not administrative control of the islands should remain the responsbility of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, despite the recent change to their legal status.The planned separation of Aden from British India, scheduled to take place on 1 April 1937.The visit of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay) to the islands in April 1947.The properties of specimens of ore given to Hay by inhabitants of Hallaniyah [Al Ḩallānīyah] during his visit to the island.In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:A copy of an extract from the Aden Laws Regulation, 1891.An extract from an issue of The Gazette of India, dated 1 April 1932, announcing the separation of Aden from the Government of Bombay and the formation of a Chief Commissionership of Aden.A copy of the Aden Laws (Amendment) Regulation, 1936 – an amendment to the Aden Laws Regulation, 1932, confirming the Kuria Muria Islands' status as part of the Aden Province.A copy of an article on the islands, written by Hay and considered for publication in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.The aforementioned specimens of ore, given to Hay by inhabitants of Hallaniyah [Al Ḩallānīyah] during his visit to the island.The Swedish material in the file consists of contact details provided in a letter addressed to the Colonial Office from a correspondent named as Alex Ewin [Axel Elvin, editor of Bonniers Konversations Lexikon,a series of Swedish encyclopaedias].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).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 147; 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.
57. Coll 6/53 'Red Sea: The Hanish Islands.'
- Description:
- Abstract: 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).Physical description: 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.
58. Coll 6/81 'Syria: Status of Alexandretta and Antioch.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file documents the British response to developments regarding the status of the Sanjak [administrative district, referred to in Arabic as Liwa] of Alexandretta, including the cities of Alexandretta [İskenderun, Turkey] and Antioch [Antakya, Turkey].The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Ambassador, Istanbul (Sir Percy Loraine, succeeded by Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen); His Majesty's Ambassador, Bagdad [Baghdad] (Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, succeeded by Sir Maurice Drummond Peterson); His Majesty's Ambassador, Paris (Sir George Russell Clerk, succeeded by Sir Eric Phipps); the British Consul, Aleppo (Archibald William Davis); the British Consul, Damascus (Gilbert MacKereth); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden); officials of the Foreign Office.The correspondence includes discussion of the following:The demography of the Sanjak of Alexandretta.Turkey's claim for the Sanjak to be given autonomy.The progression of Franco-Turkish negotiations, brokered by the League of Nations and resulting in the Sanjak's new autonomous status (in its internal affairs only), as granted in a League of Nations statute, concluded in January 1937 and brought into force on 29 November 1937.Reports of both Arab and Turkish demonstrations in Alexandretta and Antioch during January 1937 (as well as Arab demonstrations in Aleppo).Pressure from Syria and Iraq for the Sanjak to be partitioned between Syria and Turkey.The reported registration of non-Turkish electors in the Sanjak as Turks.Reported divisions in the Syrian Nationalist Government.The conclusion of a treaty of friendship between France and Turkey in July 1938.The announcement in September 1938 that the Sanjak of Alexandretta will in future be known as the Republic of Hatay, with Antioch as its capital.The Franco-Turkish agreement regarding the change of status of Hatay to that of a Turkish province, concluded in June 1939.The French language material in the file consists of several items of correspondence, plus copies of the aforementioned Franco-Turkish agreement (dated 23 June 1939) and the Turco-French treaty (dated 4 July 1938).The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-3).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 287; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
59. 'Abstract of Correspondence and Memorandum respecting the Yemen'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains an account given on the control and occupation of Yemen from June 1832 onwards. It covers the rebellion of Toorche Bilmer; the acquisition of Mocha by Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt; the intentions of Mehemet Ali towards Aden, Muscat, and Baghdad; relations with the British Government and the Government of India; the proposed transfer of Aden to the British Government; communications between Colonel Patrick Campbell, British Consul General to Egypt with Boghos Bey, Egyptian Foreign Minister, and Mehemet Ali regarding troops in Yemen; and the actions of Captain Haines of the Indian navy in arranging the transfer of Aden with the Sultan of Aden.The memorandum discusses the right of sovereignty claimed by the Porte over Yemen, and the consequences this has for: the claim of duty under the Commercial Treaty of 1838; the question of reparations for 'insults and injuries' against British interests by Sheriff Mocha; and the right by which the British Government holds Aden.It is broken down into three sections:1. Turkish Claim of Sovereignty in Yemen;2. Sovereignty over Mocha;3. Sovereignty over Aden.Each section outlines the history of the area in terms of changes in sovereignty, and gives the British view on Turkish sovereignty.Includes three short letter quotes in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 60, and terminates at f 71, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 60-71; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
60. File 3089/1908 'Persian Gulf:- Sirri Oxide.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume contains correspondence and papers concerning the granting of a concession to British companies to mine red oxide on the Island of Sirri (also referred to as Siri and Sirra) in the Persian Gulf.The main correspondents are HM Minister, Tehran (Sir George Head Barclay); the British Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran (Charles Murray Marling); senior officials of the Foreign Office, the Government of India, the India Office, and the Board of Trade; and representatives of the companies involved: Hadji Ali Akbar and Sons Limited (Manchester), Frank C. Strick and Company Limited (London), and Ellinger and Company (Manchester).The papers cover: the initial application to mine red oxide on Sirri from Hadji Ali Akbar and Sons Limited, Manchester, April -June 1908 (folios 194-220); papers concerning the question of whether the company could provide a guarantee that it would act in British interests, April-August 1908 (folios 168-193); papers concerning the standing of the company, including correspondence from the Board of Trade, August-September 1908 (folios 153-167); the question of sovereignty over the island, and whether the British Government, by upholding the rights of the company, would be admitting Persian sovereignty against the claims of the Shaikh of Sharga [Sharjah], June-September 1908 (e.g. folios 193, 145-152); the right to mine red oxide disputed by Frank C. Strick and Company Limited, London, and Ellinger and Company, Manchester, who claimed that the concession granted to the Muin-ut-Tujjar [Haji Agha Muhammad, Mu‘in ul-Tujjār] on the island of Hormuz entitled them to mine on Sirri also, October-December 1908 (folios 108-144); investigations by the British Government showing that the Muin-ut-Tujjar had not established his claim to be the holder of a concession on Sirri, December 1908 - January 1909 (folios 73-107); further correspondence, August 1908 - February 1909 (folios 34-72); reports that deposits of red oxide on Sirri were actually very scanty, February 1909 (folios 28-33); and papers concerning further investigations into the presence of red oxide on Sirri and adjacent islands, February-May 1909 (folios 4-27).The volume includes a divider which gives the subject, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.The date range gives the covering dates of all the documents in the volume; the covering dates of the Secret Department minute papers, which enclose those documents, as given on folio 3, are 1908-09.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 222; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.