Abstract: The file contains correspondence discussing the ownership and status of the Hawar Islands and the competing claims of Bahrain and Qatar.It includes the following:a translation and original letter from Abullah bin Qasim Al Thani to Hugh Weightman, Political Agent, Bahrain (ff 6-9);a petition in support of Ruler of Bahrain's claim to Hawar Islands (f 74);photographs of Hawar Island: Bilad as-Shamalia; Hawar Fort; and Hawar Pier (f 33).Correspondents include William Rupert Hay, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Abdullah bin Qasim Al Thani, Ruler of Qatar, Hugh Weightman, Political Agent, Bahrain.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 267; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 56-188 and ff 189-229 respectively; 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 A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.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: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman), the India Office (Roland Tennyson Peel, John Percival Gibson), the Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department (Sir Aubrey Metcalfe), the Shaikh of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), Bahrain Petroleum Company (Hamilton R Ballantyne, Fred A Davies, Max W Thornburg), and Petroleum Concessions Limited (Frank Holmes, John Skliros) regarding the Shaikh of Bahrain’s proposal to grant a concession for the whole of the unallotted area, including the Hawar Islands, to the Bahrain Petroleum Company and His Majesty’s Government’s approval of the proposal.Following on from the approval of the proposal to grant a concession to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) the correspondence focuses on discussion around the proposed agreement, to take the form of a deed of modification to BAPCO’s 1934 lease and the political agreement which would accompany the concession. The main areas of discussion including the definition of the area the concession would cover, and the need to include a pre-emption clause in the political agreement. Copies, in Arabic and English, of the draft deed of modification (ff 146-161, 170-180, 218-227) and draft political agreement (ff 133-139) are included in the volume.Also discussed in the volume is the conclusion of the sovereignty question relating to the Hawar Islands following the submission by the Shaikh of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī) of a response to the counter-claims made by the Shaikh of Bahrain. On reviewing both claims and supporting evidence His Majesty’s Government's final decision was that islands belonged to Bahrain and not Qatar.Also included in the volume are copies of draft concession agreements put forward by Petroleum Concessions Limited including one for the Hawar Islands (ff 8-26) and one for the waters and islands of Bahrain, described as the shoal area (ff 44-65).A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 242-248Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 253; 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 6-241; 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: The file contains correspondence between the Political
Resident in the Persian Gulf (William Rupert Hay); the Political Agent at Kuwait (Gordon
Noel Jackson, Maurice O’Connor Tandy); the India Office (later the Commonwealth
Relations Office, Eion Pelly Donaldson, Adrian Harbottle Reed, Ralph Ingham Hallows);
the Foreign Office (Lancelot Frank Lee Pyman); the Ministry of Fuel and Power (William
Dunmore Monsell-Davies); His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda (Alan Charles Trott); the
Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and various oil companies in relation
to the auction process instituted by the Shaikh of Kuwait for his share in the
Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone oil concession.The companies which expressed an interest in bidding for the
Kuwait neutral zone concession included Petroleum Concessions Limited, the Burmah Oil
Company, the Eastern Gulf Company, the Amerada Petroleum Company, the American
Independent Petroleum Corporation, the Superior Oil Company of California and the
Canadian Eagle Oil Company. However owing to the Shaikh's requirement that
financial backing and resources to undertake exploitation of an oil concession are
proven by each potential bidder only four companies were permitted to continue and
submit final bids on 1 June 1948 – Petroleum Concessions Limited, the Burmah Oil
Company, the Eastern Gulf Company and the American Independent Petroleum
Corporation.Other matters discussed in the file include:the question of the political agreement between His
Majesty’s Government and successful Oil Company and discussing whether such an
agreement could be made with an American Company and also what changes and special
requirements would have to be made owing to the concession only being for the Shaikh
of Kuwait’s share of the neutral zone.a visit paid by the Shaikh of Kuwait to Ibn Saud (‘Abd
al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd)and the question of whether or not
the neutral zone was discussed by them.debate around the possibility of a geographic division
of the neutral zone in order to make administration of the zone easier, and the
conclusion that negotiations for such a division could take years and would not
perhaps be in the best interests of the Oil Companies exploiting an oil concession
there.a hydrographic survey of the coast-line of the neutral
zone to locate a suitable landing site for heavy equipment.a new air service instituted by Iraq Airways in 1947
that would fly from Basra to Kuwait and Bahrain.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of
the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 272-299.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for
referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with
302; 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 2-99 and ff 113-300; these numbers are also written in pencil,
but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman, Reginald George Evelin Alban), the India Office (Roland Tennyson Peel, John Percival Gibson), the Admiralty (Clifford George Jarrett), the Shaikh of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Hamilton R Ballantyne) and discusses the conclusion of negotiations in London for a political agreement to accompany the concession secured by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) from the Shaikh of Bahrain for the unalloted area of Bahrain.The correspondence focuses primarily on the question of whether a pre-emption clause is required in the political agreement or whether a force majeure clause would be an acceptable alternative given His Majesty’s Government’s likely need for oil in wartime and other emergencies. The negotiations were concluded in June 1941 with the concession agreement being signed in Bahrain 19 June 1941 and the Political Agreement signed in London 29 June 1941.Other correspondence discusses a request made by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) to accelerate their exploration work in the Unallotted area of Bahrain and the need for a final settlement of the terms of both the concession agreement and political agreement in order to support the company’s acceleration proposal.Also discussed is the drilling work undertaken by BAPCO in order to obtain structural information on their newly acquired concession area. The drilling work undertaken had also succeeded in finding drinking water on Fasht al Jibal [Fasht ad Dībal] and their intention to drill on Hawar Island included the intention to create water wells should drinking water be found there too. The correspondence concludes with the decision taken by BAPCO in 1941 to suspend their exploration work in new areas owing to a lack of available labour and to concentrate instead on their existing production and refining activities.Another topic under discussion in the volume is the question of the ownership of the Hawar Group of Islands with His Majesty’s Government reaching a decision in August 1939 that the Hawar Group of Islands belonged to Bahrain and not Qatar. Correspondence includes the Shaikh of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī)’s dissatisfaction at the outcome.Later correspondence from 1941 includes the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf expressing their concerns over the decision that was reached and suggesting that the evidence be reconsidered and an expert in that area such as Sir Clive Kirkpatrick Daly be consulted for his opinion on the question.As part of the discussions a request is made to the Air Vice-Marshall, Commanding British Forces in Iraq for a photographic mosaic to be taken of the Hawar Group of Islands. The mosaic was required in order to determine a line of division between the territorial rights of Bahrain and Qatar.Also discussed was the question of ownership of the island of Fasht Dibal [Fasht ad Dībal], which was at that time claimed by Bahrain; regarding the Political Resident’s scepticism regarding the validity of Bahrain’s claim and the question of whether the Shaikh of Qatar should be given the opportunity to put forward any claim he had towards the island.One other matter of note within the volume relates to reports and rumours of attempts by Turkish officials at Hasa to secure their authority over the district they controlled. These attempts were alleged to include Turkish officials visiting Zakhnuniya Island [Jazirat az Zakhnūnīyah] to try and convince the Dowasir tribe there to swear allegiance to Turkey; it is claimed their intention was to take control of Dohah [Doha], and perhaps the whole Katar [Qatar] peninsula from the Shaikh of Qatar. The alleged movements of Turkish officials on Zakhnuniya Island resulted in an official protest being made by the Shaikh of Bahrain who considered the island to be part of his territory.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 214-227.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside of 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 188-227; 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: 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: The file contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Agent in Bahrain, the Political Resident in Bushire, the Financial Adviser to the Government in Bahrain, Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, and representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO) on the temporary modification to the agreement on the Bahrain additional area during the war.The file also contains correspondence on the ownership of Hawar Island and Deebel and Jaradeh shoals, between Bahrain and Qatar, and maps of 'Bahrain & Vicinity' (3 copies on folios 14, 15, 40) and 'Hawar Island' (folio 44).There are letters in Arabic to and from the Sheikh of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifah.Physical description: The foliation is in pencil, encircled, in the top right corner of each folio. The numbering begins on the front cover of the file, on number 1, and runs through to 62, 62A; and then it carries on until 67, which is the last number given on the back cover of the file. There is another foliation, incomplete: the numbering starts with 1 on the first page of writing (folio 2) and ends with 203 (folio 66); missing folios: 2-14; 20; 23-25; 29; 31-39; 197; 199-201.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and telegrams between the Sheikh of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifah, the Sheikh of Qatar, Abdullah Bin Qasim Al Thani, the Political Agent in Bahrain and representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO), on the division of the sea-bed between Bahrain and Qatar, notably the Hawar Islands and Deebel and Jaradeh shoals.There are letters in Arabic and a map of Bahrain (folio 45).Physical description: The foliation is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. The numbering begins on the front cover of the file, on number 1 and it carries on until 51, which is the last number given on the last page of writing. There is another foliation, incomplete and misplaced: the numbering starts with 4 on the first page of writing (folio 2) and ends with 136 (folio 31); missing folios: 6-23; 25-35; 38-42; 43-44; 49-54; 59-65; 67-74; 82-87; 88-95; 97-129; 133-135.
Abstract: The file concerns the disputed claims of the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar to sovereignty over the Hawar Islands. The issue arose afresh in 1936 in response to a request from Petroleum Concessions Limited to settle the issue of ownership, in order that the Company could claim oil concession rights over the island as part of the concession not previously allocated to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (the Bahrain Unallotted Area).The papers contain statements of evidence on both sides, and correspondence discussing the question from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Foreign Office; Petroleum Concessions Limited; the Government of Bahrain; and the two rulers concerned. The British Government decided in 1939, after examining the evidence, that the islands belonged to Bahrain (folio 44). The papers show that the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior, challenged the validity of this judgement in 1941, stating that the case had been decided 'according to western ideas, and no allowance has been made for local custom and sentiment' (folios 6-8). However, a subsequent letter on the subject from the Government of India to the India Office concluded that it was then too late to reverse the decision (folio 4).The Arabic language content of the papers consists of approximately five folios; these include photographs of judgements (with translation, folios 57-58) submitted by the Government of Bahrain to the British Government, showing that the Bahrain Court had exercised jurisdiction in legal cases concerning residents of Hawar (folios 130-133).The file also includes photographs of places in Hawar (folios 126-127).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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 181; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 3-179, and ff 48-88; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.