Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:View of the Old Portuguese Fort or Qal'at al-Bahrain, location of the ancient capital of the Dilmun civilization. The fortified structure along the horizon is at the top of a tel.In the middle-ground, immediately in front of the fort, a large number reed or palm frond structures as well as several crumbling stone-built structures can be seen. Figures and animals are visible amongst the structures.A stony plain makes up the foreground where some figures are blurred. Along the upper walls of the structure along the horizon to the left a number of figures stand.Inscriptions:Upper right, in pencil alongside image: 'c', '39'Below image, in pen: 'Old Portuguese Fort, Bahrein'Physical description: Dimensions:127 x 208 mmFormat:Albumen print on paperCondition:The print is in good condition with staining and light creasing in the sky area in the upper left and right corners and minor surface dirt throughout. Inscriptions on the verso are faintly visible on the recto.Foliation:‘c’ (crossed out); ‘39’Process:Albumen print
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:View of the Old Portuguese Fort or Qal'at al-Bahrain, location of the ancient capital of the Dilmun civilization. The fortified structure along the horizon is at the top of a tel.In the middle-ground, immediately in front of the fort, a large number reed or palm frond structures as well as several crumbling stone-built structures can be seen. Figures and animals are visible amongst the structures.A stony plain makes up the foreground where some figures are blurred. Along the upper walls of the structure along the horizon to the left a number of figures stand.Inscriptions:Upper right, in pencil alongside image: 'c', '39'Below image, in pen: 'Old Portuguese Fort, Bahrein'Physical description: Dimensions:127 x 208 mmFormat:Albumen print on paperCondition:The print is in good condition with staining and light creasing in the sky area in the upper left and right corners and minor surface dirt throughout. Inscriptions on the verso are faintly visible on the recto.Foliation:‘c’ (crossed out); ‘39’Process:Albumen print
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: Richmond Thackeray Willoughby Ritchie,
British Interests on the Coast of Arabia, Koweit, Bahrein, and El Katr(Government of India, 1905).This document consists of an analysis of British interests on the coast of Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. It was written by Richmond Thackeray Willoughby Ritchie and published in 1905. It is composed of four sections dealing with the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.Arabian coast. This cites a letter, 5th January 1903, from the Government of India to the Naval Commander-in-Chief, noting it gives a concise overview of 'the political geography of the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf': the claims to rule by the Ottomans, Trucial Chiefs and the Sultan of Muscat. It then reviews key treaties with the Sheikhs of Kuwait (23rd January, 1899) , Bahrain, Trucial Chiefs, the 1891 treaty with Muscat, and the agreements with Shaikhs down the coast to Aden.Kuwait. This section discusses two issues with the Turks at Kuwait. Firstly, the status of the British Political Agent, Major Stuart George Knox and his instructions concerning the conflicts and dynamics between Ibn Saud, Ibn Rashid and the Turks. The second issue concerns rights over Bubian Island.Bahrain. This section discusses British non-recognition of Turkish authority in Bahrain and measures to assert British authority there, referring to reports by Sir Nicholas Roderick O'Conor.Qatar. This section discusses Turkish influence in Qatar and the reasons why the conclusions of a treaty with the the ruling Al Thani shaikh by the Government of India would be desirable.Physical description: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio, on number 1, and ends on the last folio, on number 2.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence pertaining to attempts to address issues between Ibn Sa'ud and Britain's Persian Gulf interests and responsibilities. The main correspondents are James More (later Harold Dickson), Political Agent in Kuwait, Cyril Barrett (acting, then later Hugh Biscoe), Political Resident in Bushire, the Government of India, William Bond (later Andrew Ryan), Agent and Consul (later Chargé d'Affaires) in Jeddah, Charles Prior, Political Agent in Bahrain, the Colonial, Foreign, and India Offices, all in London, Ibn Sa'ud, ruler of Najd and the Hejaz, and Fuad Bey [Fu’ād Bey Hamza], Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Hejaz.The main issues at hand are between Najd and Bahrain, and Najd and Kuwait. They include customs duties, trade relations, nationality and passports for Najd subjects, compensation for raids, official diplomatic representation for Najd in Bahrain and Kuwait, the conduct of Najd agents on the Kuwaiti frontier, and the ongoing blockade on Kuwaiti trade imposed by Ibn Sa'ud on his subjects. Much of the volume deals with attempts to heal a rift between Ibn Sa'ud and Hugh Biscoe so that a meeting can be arranged to discuss the issues above.At the back of the volume (folios 245-54) are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence starts on the front cover and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled and found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. There are the following irregularities: 1, 1A, and 1B; 3 and 3A; 104 and 104A; 126 and 126A; 214 and 214A. There is a second, inconsistent sequence between folios 5-251. The numbering is also in pencil in the same place, but are not circled.
Abstract: The volume contains letters, telegrams, and memorandums pertaining to Anglo-Turkish negotiations brought on by the Baghdad Railway and particularly the extension to Basra. Correspondents include: Percy Cox, Political Resident at Bushire, William Shakespear, Political Agent at Kuwait, Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Louis Mallet, Assistant Under-secretary of State for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs, Charles Marling, British Ambassador to Persia, Gerard Lowther, British Ambassador to Constantinople, George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia, Admiral Edmond Slade, the Board of Trade, the Government of India, the India Office, and several private companies, including Trans-Atlantic Trust Company, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Imperial Ottoman Bank, and Imperial Persian Bank.The form of the negotiations was a series of memorandums containing proposals and counter-proposals. The issues and subjects discussed are:ownership and control of the line;custom duty increases in the region;navigation of the Shatt al-Arab, including the establishment of a commission to oversee this;transport of railway materials by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;delimitation of the Turkish-Persian border;status and territorial limit of Kuwait;other Gulf matters, including the statuses of Bahrain and Qatar, the suppression of arms traffic, piracy, and slavery, and the protection of pearl fisheries.Folios 261-262 are a map showing the proposed territorial limits of Kuwait.Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers positioned in the top-right corner of each recto. There are two earlier foliation systems running through parts of the volume. The first uses uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto pages, and the top-left corner of verso pages. This foliation system numbers pages if they have content on them, which is the case for all rectos and some versos. This foliation system appears intermittently through most of the volume. The other foliation system uses circled blue pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto pages, and appears from folios 5 to 42. Numerous printed materials contained in the volume have their own internal pagination systems. The following foliation irregularities occur: 1a, 34a, 51B, 219B, 250B.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence, memorandums, maps and newspaper cuttings relating to a proposed Baghdad to Basra railway, an extension of the German Berlin to Baghdad Railway. Correspondents include: Percy Cox, Political Resident at Bushire, William Shakespear, Political Agent at Kuwait, Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Francis Bertie, British Ambassador to France, Louis Mallet, Assistant Under-secretary of State for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs, Arthur Nicolson, Permanent Under-secretary for Foreign Affairs, Gerard Lowther, British Ambassador to Constantinople, George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia, Edward Goschen, British Ambassador to Berlin, the Board of Trade, William Graham Greene, Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, the Government of India, the India Office, and Sheikh Mubarak of Kuwait.The volume covers the discussion over various matters, with numerous draft conventions and agreements sent back and forth between the various governmental offices and departments. Documents relating to Cox's successful attempts to obtain the acceptance of the agreement from Sheikh Khazal of Mohammerah and Sheikh Mubarak of Kuwait are also included. The issues discussed as matters for agreement with Turkey include:the status of Kuwait, including territorial limits and relations with Britain and Ottoman Turkey;the conservancy of the Shatt al-Arab, including the establishment of a Navigation Commission;the ownership and control of the Baghdad Railway and the question of its extension beyond Basra;the boundary between Turkish Arabia and Persia;other Persian Gulf matters such as Turkish power and influence in Katr [Qatar] and Bahrain.Other subjects that feature are Sheikh Mubarak's temporary illness, and reports of the dispatch of Turkish troops to Qatar, contrary to agreements.Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto pages. There is an earlier foliation system that runs through the volume, using pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto pages, as well as the top-left corner of any verso pages bearing written or printed matter.The following anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 104b, 278a.The following folios are foldouts: 1 (attached to inside front cover), 14, 15, 25, 46, 66, 82, 83, 89, 92, 125, 126, 208, 218-22, 231, 294, 338, 340.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Department, the Colonial Office and the Secretary of State at the India Office in London, the Political Resident at Bushire, the Political Agents at Kuwait and Sharjah, local rulers, and Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) representatives on the negotiations for oil concessions in Kuwait, Bahrain, Nejd [Najd, Jubail, Saudi Arabia], Qatar, Muscat, Oman and Trucial Coast against the competitor Eastern and General Syndicate Limited, represented by Major Frank Holmes.The volume includes the agreement on the oil exploration license in Muscat and Oman, in Arabic and English, signed on 18 May 1925, between Saiyid Taimur bin Faisal, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and D'Arcy Exploration Company limited (folios 281-296).Physical description: The main foliation is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering begins with the first item of correspondence, on number 1, and ends with the last folio of writing, on number 314.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Department and the Under Secretary of State at the India Office in London, Sir Winston Churchill (Secretary of State for the Colonies at the time), the Political Resident at Bushire, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Vice-Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr, Iran] and Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) representatives regarding contacts with local rulers about oil concessions in Bahrain and Kuwait.The file also contains:copy of a letter from the Political Resident to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, dated 8 September 1921, on oil explorations in the various Persian Gulf states, and on APOC's desire to exclusive prospective rights in Oman (folios 11-13);draft agreement between the rulers of Bahrain and Kuwait and D'Arcy Exploration Company Limited for oil explorations (1921 ca.) (folios 22-27, 102-107 and 257-260);notes concerning meetings of Major Frank Holmes with Ibn Saud re oil exploration in Arabia [Saudi Arabia] (folio 80)letter from the Political Agent at Muscat to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf regarding oil in Muscat (folios 96-97).The file is incomplete. Some letters, mainly containing pledges signed by Trucial Coast rulers not to grant any oil concession to anyone except with the permission of the British Government, were removed from the original file and forwarded to the Foreign Office in 1953. In these instances the former numbering sequence presents gaps, and these letters are replaced by folios indicating page numbers, sender, receiver, date and subject of the letter removed. These letters are now in FO 371/7723 and FO 371/104408.Physical description: The main foliation is in pencil in encircled numbers in top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering starts on the front cover with 1 and carries on until 153, which is the last number given on the back cover of the file. A former sequence runs from the first to the last folio of writing, pencil numbers (not circled) in top right recto of each folio, not crossed through - the numbering runs 1-260 missing numerous numbers out. The reason is that some letters were removed from the original file to be forwarded to the Foreign Office in 1953, whereas the former numbering sequence presents gaps.
Abstract: The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to negotiations for the extension of Eastern & General Syndicate Limited’s (hereafter E&GS) concession for oil exploration in Bahrain. Correspondents in the volume include the Political Agent in Bahrain (chiefly Major Cyril Barrett, incumbent from September 1926 to April 1929), representatives of E&GS (including Major Frank Holmes and the Company Secretary, H. Adams), and various British Government officials in the Colonial Office.Key subjects covered by the volume include:Fears on the part of British officials in 1925 to the prospects of the discovery of oil in Bahrain (folios 29-31), and resistance to the E&GS having signed a concession with the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah (folios 62-63);An application by E&GS in 1928 to extend their oil concession agreement (folios 110-11);Confusion over the terms of a new agreement, with particular reference to a new clause insisting that the E&GS would remain a British interest (folios 193-95, 206-10);Reports of American investment in E&GS (folios 196-98);Terms of the agreement between E&GS and the North American Gulf Oil Company (folios 217-50);Assignment of Gulf Oil’s option on the concession to the Standard Oil Company of California (folios 260-61);Negotiations between E&GS and the Colonial Office over the maintenance of British control over oil exploration funded by foreign investment in Bahrain (folios 277-86);Confirmation of the concession extension with the agreed terms over the extent of foreign (American) investment (folios 299-304).The volume also contains copies of the numerous drafts of the oil concession, with its various modifications and amendments, including the original 1925 concession in English and Arabic (folios 79-97), and a draft copy of the 1928 agreement with additions inserted by a representative of the Government of Bahrain, presumably the Adviser to the Government, Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave (folios 156-75).Physical description: Foliation: There is an incomplete foliation sequence and a complete foliation sequence. The complete sequence is circled in pencil, in the top-right corner of the recto of each folio, and runs from 1 on the front cover, to 324 on the inside back cover. The following foliation anomalies occur: f.1 is followed by f.1a-f.
Abstract: The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to the completion of the transfer of the Bahrain oil concession to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (hereafter BAPCO), and BAPCO’s ongoing oil exploration activities in Bahrain. The volume is a direct continuation of ‘File 86/2 II (C 31) Eastern and General Syndicate, Oil, Bahrain’ (IOR/R/15/1/650). The principal correspondents in the volume are the Political Agent in Bahrain (Captain Charles Prior until November 1932, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch thereafter), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe until July 1932, Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Fowle thereafter), and representatives of BAPCO, chiefly Major Frank Holmes in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Hamilton Ballantyne in London.Key subjects covered by the volume include:The British Government’s rejection in 1930 of a request from BAPCO for an extension to the Bahrain concession area (folios 16, 18-21);The appointment of the Canadian-born solicitor Montague G. Powell to the BAPCO board, in response to the British Government’s stipulation that a British subject sit on the BAPCO board (folio 27);The extension of BAPCO’s prospecting license, including provisions, with a copy of the 1932 extension (folio 196);A discussion between British Government and BAPCO officials over the terms of the concession in relation to determining the value of a well (folios 81-82, 84-85);News of oil having been struck in Bahrain (folios 96-97);Holmes’s guarantee in 1923 of 0.5 per cent of the company to Shaikh Abdulla bin Esa al Khalifa [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], for assistance in helping Eastern Syndicate & General win the Bahrain concession (folios 107, 115-16);Concern that Holmes, in his capacity as chief representative of BAPCO in Bahrain, does not spend sufficient time in Bahrain (folios 139-41);Negotiations throughout 1932 for amendments to clauses in the prospecting license, relating to the measurement, payment of royalties and use of crude oil by the company, including copies in both English and Arabic of an indenture modifying the terms of the concession (folios 228-31, 240-43).Physical description: Foliation: There is an incomplete foliation sequence and a complete foliation sequence. The complete sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the front cover on number 1, and ends on the inside back cover, on number 263. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c.
Abstract: The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to ongoing exploratory oil drilling being undertaken in Bahrain by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (hereafter BAPCO). The volume is a direct continuation of ‘File 86/2 III (C 42) Bahrain Oil, Eastern and General Syndicate Limited’ (IOR/R/15/1/651). The principal correspondents in the volume are Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Fowle, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, Political Agent in Bahrain, and Major Frank Holmes, Chief Local Representative of the Bahrain Petroleum Company.Key subjects discussed in the volume include:Discussion amongst British officials in Bahrain and London over whether BAPCO are fulfilling conditions C and D of their contractual obligations in the concession agreement, respectively: the long periods of absence from Bahrain of the Chief Local Representative of the Company (Holmes), and the proportion of British to non-British workers employed by BAPCO;A dispute over exemption of duty on equipment imported by BAPCO;Whether oil royalties should be paid in Indian rupees or Sterling;A request by BAPCO for an extension of the prospecting license, including Holmes’s offer of terms and a draft indenture (folios 68-72), and the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah’s rejection of Holmes’s offer (folios 86-91);A map of the prospective location of the British naval base at Bahrain (folio 117a);Enquiries by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company after a concession for those parts of Bahrain not covered by the existing BAPCO concession.The volume also contains a set of notes which provide a concise overview of the Bahrain concession to date, including details of the commercial viability of Bahrain’s oil, under the heading ‘exploitable quantity’ (folios 58-64).Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence begins on the front cover and ends on the last folio, and uses circled pencil numbers located in the top centre of each recto. A second foliation sequence is present between ff 3-209; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 117 and 117a.