Abstract: The volume contains memos, reports and correspondence exchanged between the British officials in the Persian Gulf, the Political Resident and his Agents at Sharjah and Bahrein [Bahrain], the Ruler of Katr [Qatar], Shaikh Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī, and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Zayid bin Khalīfah, discussing hostilities between the two rulers, occurring between 1888 and 1889. The hostilities were initially due to the dispute on the sovereignty over Al Udaid [’Odaid, Qatar] considered to be Abu Dhabi property, and provoked attacks and raids. The main events dealt with in the volume are the attack of Bedouin from Abu Dhabi on Al Bida [Qatar] during which twenty-four men were killed including Ali, Shaikh Jasim's son, and the subsequent Qatari attack to Dhafrah [Abu Dhabi].The volume also contains copious letters in Arabic (with English translations) sent to the Political Resident in Persian Gulf at Bushire by local rulers.Physical description: Condition: three bound volumes.Foliation: The foliation sequence runs through three volumes as a single continuous series. It commences at the title page of volume one with 1, 1A and 1B, and terminates at the last folio of volume three with 402; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file concerns an agreement between Shaikh Shakbut bin Sultan bin Za'id [Shaikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan], Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited, which relates to the Abu Dhabi oil concession of 11 January 1939. The agreement details the general terms and conditions of the concession including the amount to be paid to the Shaikh by the company, and the benefits he will receive. The agreement is signed by Stephen Longrigg, General Manager of Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Ltd., and Shaikh Shakbut bin Sultan bin Za'id.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 11; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Map depicting the south-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Several lines have been drawn on the map by hand to show the existing or proposed boundaries of south-eastern Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Published by the Geographical Section, General Staff.Physical description: Materials: Printed in colour on paper, with manuscript additions in pencil and ink.Dimensions: 310 x 283mm, on sheet 415 x 283mm.
Abstract: Correspondence and minute papers concerning the slave trade in Saudi Arabia and the Trucial Coast. The papers consist of intelligence reports, parliamentary notices, memoranda, letters, and telegrams. Matters covered by the file include:Concern over a lack of application of anti-slavery legislation in Saudi Arabia, especially in the eastBritish threats of bombardment and withdrawal of good offices given to the Shaikh of Abu DhabiSlave traffic coming from the Mekran [Makran] CoastA suspected slave market at Buraimi.Principal correspondents include officials at the India Office, Foreign Office, Admiralty, and Political Residency in the Persian Gulf. Additional correspondence, usually included as enclosures, comes from: Amir Feisal, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia; the Residency Agent, Sharjah; Commander-in-Chief, East Indies; Political Agent, Bahrain; British Vice Consulate, Zahidan, East Iran; British Consulate, Kerman; and Sultan Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] of Muscat.Folio 40 is an article on the slave trade in the Gulf taken from
The Times, 18 July 1942.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 237; 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 contains correspondence concerning negotiations with Shaikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, for air facilities at Yas Island [Sir Bani Yas] and Abu Dhabi. The required air facilities include emergency landing grounds, moorings for flying boats, and petrol storage facilities. A copy of the agreement reached (in both Arabic and English) can be found on folios 83-84.Following the conclusion of the agreement, the file documents the Shaikh's subsequent refusal to permit the construction of a fuel storage tank near Abu Dhabi and his ‘discourtesy’ towards the Commander of HMS
Fowey. This includes measures taken by British authorities to ensure the Shaikh's compliance with the agreement and to obtain an apology for the aforementioned commander.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven William Fowle), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch), and the Commander in Chief of the East Indies Squadron. It also contains correspondence with the following British Government departments: the Admiralty, Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, and 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 inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 117; 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: Part 3 comprises correspondence relating to an incident occurring in 1902 in which four Abu Thabi [Abu Dhabi] pearl fishers (described as being of the Sudan tribe) were murdered near Charak [Bandar-e Chārak], Persia, by inhabitants of the nearby port of Taona [Bandar-e Ţāḩūneh]. The part’s principal correspondents are: Major Percy Zachariah Cox (Political Resident in the Persian Gulf); Sir George Head Barclay (British Minister at Tehran); William Graham Greene (Assistant Secretary to the Admiralty).The correspondence covers:efforts by the British authorities to establish the identities and whereabouts of the perpetrators of the crime, and efforts to obtain compensation for the crime on behalf of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi. Much is also made in the correspondence of the long period of time taken to resolve the case, and the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi’s frustration at the delay;the capture in 1909 by HMS
Redbreastof one of the men believed to have been involved in the murders (including a report of the capture by Lieutenant Commander Joseph Armand Shuter of HMS
Redbreast, dated 5 July 1909, ff 222-225);the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi’s refusal to detain the suspect at Abu Dhabi, for fear of the unrest that it might cause in the town, chiefly amongst the relatives of the murdered men;a proposal made by the Government of India to pay 11,000 Indian rupees as compensation to the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, with hope of compensation forthcoming from Persia looking unlikely.A minute at the end of the correspondence, written by Sir Thomas William Holderness of the India Office, dated 1913 (f 190), offers a succinct précis of the events of the case.Physical description: 102 folios
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to a number of issues concerning the slave trade and slavery in the Gulf region.The volume includes correspondence between the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Fowle), the Bahrain Political Agent (Hugh Weightman) and naval representatives in the Gulf, during the period July 1938 to May 1939, exploring the military options available to the British for punishing the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi for its alleged continued involvement in the slave trade. Related copies of correspondence sent to and from the Residency can also be found in the Bushire Residency series '5/193 IV (B55) Slavery in the Gulf' (IOR/R/15/1/228). A letter from the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf dated 21 July 1938 (folio 7), includes a track chart of HMS
Shoreham’strip along the Arab coast on 13 July 1938 (folio 8A). The chart shows the positions of pearling dhows and pearl banks, and was drawn up in order to assess the feasibility of British ships seizing the Abu Dhabi pearling fleet. There is also a report on the reconnaissance trip, dated 27 July 1938 (folios 18-20).Also included is correspondence from mid-late 1942 reports on a perceived increase in slave trading activity across the Gulf, from Iranian Baluchistan to Saudi Arabia (folios 184-213). Charles Dalyrmple-Belgrave, Adviser to the Bahrain Government, reports in July 1942 that his intelligence suggests that Qatar is a key landing point for slaves (folios 200-201).Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence begins on the first folio of text and continues through to the third folio from the back of the volume. The front cover and first two folios are unfoliated, as are three blank folios and the inside back cover at the end of the volume. These numbers are written in pencil in the top-right corner of the recto side of each folio. Foliation anomalies: 8A and 8B; 204A and 204B. Foliation omission: f 220. Folio numbers 256 and 262 are written on the verso side of the preceding folio.Binding: Tight binding means that the text on some pages is difficult to read, where it runs too closely into the gutter.