Abstract: The file comprises papers concerning the finances of the Political Office in Doha, Qatar. The papers chiefly concern the second quarter of 1950, but extend to December 1950 and up until March 1951. Most of the papers were prepared by the Political Officer at Doha, Arthur John Wilton.The first paper in the file is titled ‘Account current of His Majesty’s Political Officer at Doha, Qatar, for the quarter ended 30th June 1950’, and contains details of local currency held by the office, a list of receipts, subheads and payments, and a certificate of account, signed by Wilton.Other papers in the file include:schedule of payments (for example, clerk’s wages, car hire, candles, typewriter repairs);trial balance;statements and details of suspense account;schedules of registration for British subjects for April, May and June 1950;statements for the passport and visa office, with details of fees levied and stamps issued.At the end of the file is a handwritten balance sheet, dated March 1951 on its cover (ff 29-30).Monetary values stated in the file are given in Indian rupees, annas and pies (Rs), or in English pounds, shillings and pence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 30; 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 item consists of copies of correspondence, consultations, resolutions, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, a political letter from the Government of Bombay, which appears in IOR/F/4/2445/134344. The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell, Political Agent in the Persian Gulf; Commander John Porter, Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; and Hajee Jassim [Ḥājjī Jāsim], British Agent at Bahrein [Bahrain]. It is the sixth in a series of twenty-one items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item concerns:Intelligence of two ‘pirates’, Soheil bin Ateish [Suhayl bin ‘Uṭaysh] and Rugragee [Jāsim bin Jābir al-Raqrāqī] cruising off the Gutter [Qatar] CoastDetails of an attack on a Batinah boat by bin Ateish and the assistance rendered to him by Mahomed ben Sanee [Shaikh Muḥammad bin Thāni al-Thāmir]Hennell’s decision to exact the money taken by the ‘pirates’ from Wukrah [Al Wakrah], Doah [Doha], and Fowarit [Fuwairit], which he believes have been sheltering and supporting them.The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft N 34 – 1852’, and ‘Collection No 32’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 166, and terminates at f 175, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume contains copies of letters, agreements and other papers relating to the temporary cessation in 1942 of oil operations undertaken by Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited (PDQ) in Qatar, in response to events in the Second World War, and negotiations over an agreement between the Ruler of Qatar and the Political Agent at Bahrain for the cessation of operations, and continued payment of the concession and other costs. The volume’s principal correspondents are the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, superseded by Major Tom Hickinbotham in October 1943); the Manager of PDQ (Ernest Vincent Packer, also in the file as chief correspondent for Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL)); the Ruler of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī).The volume includes:a telegraphic instruction from the Under Secretary of State for India, dated 19 June 1942, informing of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East’s decision to plug all oil wells in Qatar and suspend drilling operations, ‘for reasons connected with the War Effort’ (f 10);a copy of a report marked Most Secret, detailing the oil denial proposals for PDQ’s operations in Qatar, prepared by Major E Boaden of the Royal Engineers, and dated 23 May 1942 (ff 19-20);correspondence dated June to July 1942, relating to the plugging and junking of oil wells in the Qatar oil field, and evacuation of oil and water supply equipment, under orders received by the Tenth Army (ff 45-53, ff 67-69);correspondence relating to arrangements to transfer oil drilling equipment from Qatar to Karachi;correspondence between PDQ/PCL, the Political Agent at Bahrain, and the Ruler of Qatar, relating to the protracted negotiation of terms for the suspension of oil operations in Qatar, chiefly concerning: retention and pay of guards to protect oil company property; salaries for the Ruler of Qatar’s representatives and the Director of Customs at Zekrit [Zikrīt, also referred to in correspondence as Zekhrit]; rent of the oil company’s house (Company House) in Doha [occasionally referred to as Dohah], and employment of servants; supply and use of the Company’s ice machine, water pump; provision of communications between Doha and Dukhan; maintenance of a launch between Zekrit and Bahrain;correspondence relating to the method of continued concession payments to the Ruler of Qatar: chiefly in the form of discussion over whether the payments should be in silver rupees, preferred by the Ruler but potentially difficult to supply, or in paper currency through the Eastern Bank Limited;multiple copies of the draft agreement of terms between the Ruler of Qatar and the Political Agent at Bahrain;correspondence dated October and November 1943 relating to arrangements for the Political Agent in Bahrain to visit Doha and the Ruler of Qatar, in order to conclude the suspension of operations agreement;a copy of the original agreement between the Ruler of Qatar and the Political Agent at Bahrain, dated 23 November 1943, setting out payments and facilities to be provided by PDQ during the suspension of operations in Qatar (in English and Arabic, with the latter signed by the Ruler of Qatar and Major Tom Hickinbotham, ff 336-338).While the volume’s correspondence begins in in May and June 1942, an extract of an earlier letter from the Political Resident, dated 5 June 1935 (f 6) provides the earlier date indicated in this catalogue entry’s date range.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 371; 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 163-349; 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: Plan of Doha harbour. The plan indicates roads and settlements, and provides some indication of relief in the form of hachures. Includes the following printing statement: 'Produced under the Superintendence of Rear-Admiral J.A. Edgell, C.B., O.B.E., Hydrographer.'Prepared by naval staff in the Admiralty's Naval Intelligence Division.Physical description: Materials: Printed in colour on paper.Dimensions: 139 x 253mm, on sheet 240 x 330mm.
Abstract: The photographic print is an aerial photograph showing Raiyan [Al Rayyan] Fort and Doha landing ground looking west; part of the aircraft is visible in the shot. It was taken by the Royal Air Force during a reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula on 9 May 1934.Physical description: Dimensions: 133mm x 133mm
Abstract: The photographic print is an aerial photograph showing Dohah [Doha] Palace looking south. It was taken by the Royal Air Force during a reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula on 9 May 1934.Physical description: Dimensions: 133mm x 133mm
Abstract: The photographic print is an aerial photograph showing central Doha looking north-west. It was taken by the Royal Air Force during a reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula on 9 May 1934.Physical description: Dimensions: 133mm x 133mm
Abstract: The photographic print is an aerial photograph showing Doha looking south. It was taken by the Royal Air Force during a reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula on 9 May 1934.Physical description: Dimensions: 133mm x 133mm
Abstract: Part 4 contains correspondence relating to attacks against Bahrain pearling dhows, committed by members of the Beni Hajir tribe and led by an individual named Ahmed bin Selman, in the waters around Bahrain and the Turkish administered territories of Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] and El Katr [Qatar]. The part’s principal correspondents include: the Political Agent at Bahrain (John Calcott Gaskin; Captain Francis Beville Prideaux); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Percy Zachariah Cox); the British Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul] (Sir Walter Beaupre Townley); the Ambassador to the Court of the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire (Sir Nicholas Roderick O’Conor).The correspondence covers:reports of the activities of Ahmed bin Selman and his followers in around the waters of Bahrain, Nejd, and the Qatar peninsula, including accounts of theft and violence committed against pearling dhows, as reported by the Political Agent at Bahrain;representations made by British officials to their Turkish counterparts, protesting against the acts described as piracy being committed from Turkish-administered territories in the Persian Gulf;Government of India proposals for the provision of a boat for the Political Agent at Bahrain, and gunboat patrols of the pearl banks;a visit made by HMS
Sphinxto the Nejd coast in 1905, in order to pursue enquiries against Ahmed bin Selman, which provokes an official complaint from the Ottoman Turkish Government (in French, f 108);the appearance in 1906 of Ahmed bin Selman in Doha of Al Bidda [Doha], representations made by British officials to the ruler of Qatar Shaikh Jasim bin Thani [Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī], and further Turkish complaint at British interference on the Qatar peninsula;the visit of HMS
Lapwingto Katif in 1907 in pursuit of Ahmed bin Selman, resulting in a show of ‘discourtesy’ by a Turkish official towards British naval officers, and subsequent British demands for an official apology, which is tendered by the kaimmakam [kaimakam] of Katif in June 1908 (f 8).Physical description: 178 folios