Abstract: The volume contains correspondence and memoranda relating to the affairs of the Aden Protectorate. The correspondence is mostly between the Political Residency in Aden, the Government of Bombay, the Government of India, the India Office, and the Foreign Office. There are many enclosures to the correspondence, often in the form of printed series of related papers. This includes translations of correspondence to and from tribal leaders.The papers cover the discussion over, and conclusion of, treaty relations with several tribes and sections of tribes in the Aden Hinterland. This was largely brought about by the delineation of the border with Ottoman Turkish territory and the need to secure support from the tribes of this region.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 264; 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 A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.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: The file contains correspondence, notes and press cuttings relating to the movements of the explorer and naturalist, George Wyman Bury. The majority of the correspondence is between Bury himself, the India Office, the Government of India, the Government of Bombay, and the Political Residency at Aden. There are also letters from the Royal Geographical Society, Foreign Office, British Embassy at Constantinople, British Consulate at Jeddah, British Museum (Natural History), British Commissioner in Somaliland, and the British trading company, Antony Gibbs & Sons.The papers cover various matters, including:Bury's employment as Assistant Resident at Aden in 1903;his dismissal in 1904 on the grounds of corruption;his successful attempts to clear his name;his repeated attempts between 1908 and 1912 to journey into the interior of South Arabia with the support of either the Royal Geographical Society or the British Museum but against the wishes of the British and Indian Governments;his numerous requests for references from officers of the British Government.Included in the file are several extracts and cuttings from newspapers and magazines covering Bury's plans for exploration.Folio 79 is a sketch map of South Arabia highlighting the areas under Turkish and British control.The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in it arranged by year. This divider is placed at the front of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 227; these numbers are written in pencil, but are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The front and back covers, along with one leading and ending flyleaf have not been foliated.
Abstract: The volume mainly contains copies of News Letters from the Political Resident, Aden, which were forwarded to the Under Secretary of State for India. The News Letters report on the political situation in the Yemen.The volume consists of two parts: Part 3, dated 28 February 1919 to 16 February 1921 [IOR/L/PS/10/611/1]; and Part 4, dated 16 February 1921 to 26 February 1924 [IOR/L/PS/10/611/2].Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 639; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The front and back covers, along with the leading flyleaf and ending flyleaf, have not been foliated.A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 438-639 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This part contains correspondence between British officials, primarily in the Colonial Office, concerning the potential implications of the Treaty of Sevres for the Arabian peninsula, particularly in regards to the future political status of Yemen and Asir.Physical description: 1 volume (12 folios)
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence, telegrams, summaries, reports, notes and other papers concerning the support given by Britain to the tribes of South Arabia [present-day Yemen] in 1917, chiefly in relation to Britain’s principal wartime aim of ousting the Turks [Ottoman Empire] from the region and securing the Aden Protectorate.The papers notably cover:British relations with Saiyid Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Idris, the Idrisi [Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Alī al-Idrīsī, ruler of the Idrisid Emirate of Asir], including the 1915 agreement with the Idrisi in return for his attacking the Turks; financial assistance (subsidy) for arms, ammunition, hirelings and transport; the Idrisi’s recruitment of Hashid wa Bakil (also spelled Bakill and Bekil in this volume) and British doubts about the loyalty of these ‘mercenary’ (f 259) tribesmen; British concerns over the Idrisi’s effectiveness against the Turks and his predominating enmity towards Imam Yahia bin Mohamed Hamid-ud-Din of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn, also referred to as 'Imam Yahya' in this volume]British policy towards the 'Arab Confederacy' of tribes formed around May 1917 (also referred to as the 'Yemen Confederacy' in this volume), including concerns over its potential effectiveness and lack of concrete victories against the Turks; and meetings with various Arab tribal chiefs explaining their intentions or applying for assistance from BritainBritish relations with the ‘neutral’ Imam Yahya, including a concurrently open-door and non-committal policy; avoidance of decisions or actions that could cause the Imam to stop ‘sitting on the fence’ and ally with the Turks; the Imam’s approach to the British in July 1917 offering support in exchange for territory, the removal of the Idrisi, and a position as sole leader in Yemen (the British politely declined the offer)Division of opinion between the Political Resident in Aden, and the First Assistant Resident in Aden and Government of India, regarding the risks in either supporting or not supporting the Arab Confederacy; the viability and true aims of the Confederacy; and whether or not it was likely the Confederacy would to turn to Italy if Britain prolonged delaying assistance.The principal correspondents are: Major-General James Marshall Stewart, Political Resident, Aden; Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Fenton Jacob, First Assistant Resident, Aden; Saiyid Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Idris, the Idrisi [Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Alī al-Idrīsī, ruler of the Idrisid Emirate of Asir]; Imam Yahia bin Mohamed Hamid Ud-Din of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn] (also referred to in this volume as Saiyid Yehia bin Mohamed Hamid-ad-Din, Al Mutawakil, the Commander of the Faithful, and as Imam Yahia of San’a / Sana’a [Sanaa] and 'Imam Yahya'); senior officials of the Government of India at Simla [Shimla]; Secretaries of State and diplomats of the Foreign Office and the India Office in London; General Sir Reginald Wingate, British High Commissioner in Egypt; Ronald William Graham, Foreign Office diplomat. Also included are translations and summaries of numerous communications from and between various chiefs of Arab tribes in Yemen.The enclosures date from 1917 but some include content (mainly printed documents) dating from 1916.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 295; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Multiple intermittent additional mixed foliation/pagination sequences are also present. A previous foliation sequence in part of the volume, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence and documents related to the work of the Aden Boundary Commission, the British Government body tasked with the delineation of the borders of the British Protectorate of Aden. Much of the correspondence in the file relates specifically to the Subaihi border region.The file contains a number of letters from Colonel Robert Alexander Wahab, the Commissioner of the Aden Boundary Commission, sent to the Political and Secret Department of the India Office in London (and the British Political Residency in Aden). The file also contains extracts from Wahab's diary related to his work on the commission.The file contains a detailed report on the demarcation of the frontier entitled: 'Report on the Demarcation of the Frontier between the Tribes in the Protectorate of Aden and the Turkish Province of Yemen; by Major-General P. J. Maitland, C.B., Political Resident at Aden' (folios 25-44).The file contains a number of maps as follows:a printed map of the Sheikh Sa'id Peninsula (folio 94);a printed map of the border region of the British protectorate of Aden (folio 112);a printed map entitled 'Map of Haushabi and Subaihi Border' with list of place names in English and Arabic (folio 237);a printed map of the Sheikh Sa'id Peninsula (folio 239);a hand-drawn entitled 'Map Illustrating Southern Subaihi Frontier Proposals Referred to in Sir N O'Conor's Telegram No. 112' (folio 288);a printed sketch-map entitled 'Aden Boundary Commission Survey Sketch Accompanying No. 19 of 15th March 1904' (folio 291);a printed sketch entitled 'Aden Boundary Commission Survey Sketch Accompanying No. 21 of 15th March 1904' (folio 456);a printed map entitled 'Aden Frontier Survey, Subaihi Boundary in Wadi Ma'din' (folio 457).The file also contains correspondence related to French claims of ownership over Sheikh Said (Cheikh Said), a peninsula near the island of Perim on the Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea. The file contains original copies of articles on this topic that were printed in the French newspaper
La Dépêche Colonialein September and October 1904
.The majority of the correspondence in the file is in English, but also enclosed is a limited amount of correspondence from the Ottoman Ambassador in London that is in French.The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in it arranged by year. This divider is placed at the front of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation commences at the inside 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.
Abstract: This part of the volume contains correspondence and other papers concerning relations between Nejd, Transjordan, Hejaz, Yemen, and the Idrisi state, as well as policy in Arabia more generally. Correspondence comes from officials at the India Office, Foreign Office, War Office, the Political Residency in Aden, the Office of the High Commissioner in Palestine, the Office of the High Commissioner in Cairo, the Office of the High Commissioner in Iraq, and the British Agency at Jeddah. Further correspondence comes from King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] of the Hejaz, his sons Emir Abdullah [ʿAbdullāh bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī] and Emir Feisal [Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī], the French Ambassador in London, and officials of the German and United States Governments.This part deals with relations between Nejd and the neighbouring territories of Transjordan, the Hejaz, Yemen, and the Idrisi state. Matters covered include the supply of Arms to the Idrisi, control of Hodeidah and the proposed withdrawal of the British garrison there, the British subsidy to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]of Nejd, efforts to reach an agreement between the Hejaz and Nejd, trouble along the Transjordan boundary involving the Ikhwan and local tribes, and future British policy in the region.Physical description: 1 item (133 folios)