Abstract: The file contains papers regarding the status of Socotra [Suquṭrā], and a visit made by the Resident to the island and to the eastern borders of the Aden Protectorate.Papers dated 1926 consist of a text of the following questions asked by Viscount Sandon in the House of Commons: whether any British agent was resident in Socotra; whether any form of administrative supervision existed there; whether any trading revenue accrued to the Crown. A reply by the Under Secretary of State for India is included.Papers dated 1928 consist of correspondence between the India Office (Sir J Laithwaite) and the Colonial Office, regarding published information on Socotra, the Brothers and Abd al Jura.Papers dated 1929 consist of a letter from the Aden Resident (George Stewart Symes) to the Secretary of State for the Colonies regarding his visit to Socotra in April, where he discussed Socotra affairs with Sultan Abdulla bin 'Isa bin 'Afrar at the capital Hadibu [Hadībū].Papers dated 1933 concern the report by the Aden Resident (Reilly) of the death of Sultan 'Abdulla bin 'Isa bin 'Afrar, the succession of his cousin, Sultan 'Ali bin Salim bin Ahem bin Tu'ari, and the authorisation of his stipend. There is also correspondence concerning the Resident's visit to Socotra and the Hadhramaut. A report on the visit (folios 6-12) provides information on the following: his travels to Abd-el-Kuri, Socotra, and the ports of Qishn, Mukalla [Al Mukalla], Bir 'Ali and Balihaf, and his visit to the Hadhramaut; negotiations at Qishn regarding the establishment of emergency landing ground for the Royal Air Force; discussions with the Sultan of Qishn and Socotra regarding Ras Darbat 'Ali forming the eastern boundary of the Aden Protectorate; the development of villages in the Hadramaut; and a recommendation that the limits of the Red Sea Patrol be extended to the whole of the Gulf of Aden up to the eastern boundary at Ras Darbat 'Ali.Included at the back of the file is a copy of the following: James Theodore Bent, 'The Island of Socotra',
The Nineteenth Century, No. 244 (June 1897),(folios 37-46).The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 47; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Papers and correspondence regarding the boundaries of the Aden Protectorate, and the inclusion of the Hadramawt in its definition. Hadramawt is spelt variously as Hadramut, Hadhramaut and Hadramaut throughout the file. The principal correspondents are the Aden Resident; the Foreign Office; the Colonial Office; and the India Office Political Department.The discussion was initiated by a Foreign Office circular
Travel Documents for Persons proceeding to, and for Natives of, certain British Protectorates and certain Arab States,1932 (folios 35-36), and the definition of Hadramawt favoured by the Foreign Office, "a coastal area of Southern Arabia lying between the Aden Protectorate and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman".The correspondence concerns the suggestion of the Aden Resident that the Aden Protectorate should be regarded as including the Hadramawt, and as extending eastwards to the western limits of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. It is agreed that no particular legal instrument would be needed for the Foreign Office to adopt the definition, but that care should be taken to avoid giving the impression that the British were pursuing a forward policy in southern Arabia, and tightening their control in the region.At the back of the file is a copy of India Office publication B. 424 [P. Z. 1471/31],
Aden and its Administration, (folios 37-48).The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 48; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.