Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to visits made by Europeans and Americans to Saudi Arabia, and specifically to Riyadh:A visit made in 1937 by Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, former Political Agent at Kuwait, reportedly in his capacity as a representative of the Kuwait Oil Company. The papers include English translations of press reports of the visit as reported in various Arab newspapers, including the Baghdad newspaper
Al-Kifah, the Cairo newspaper
Al-Mukattam[
Al-Muqattam] and the
Wakalat-ul-Sharq Al-Arabia(ff 3-16).Dickson’s request to the Political Resident to visit the Ruler of Saudi Arabia Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in December 1938, and the Ruler of Kuwait’s [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] strong objection to the visit (ff 18-28).Lord Alington’s [Captain Napier George Henry Sturt] visit to Ibn Saud in April 1939, including notes on his visit, and demi-official letters exchanged between the Political Agent at Kuwait (Major Charles Crawshaw Galloway) and the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle) commenting on Alington’s description of Ibn Saud (ff 27-37).Correspondence dated 1942 between the Political Agent at Kuwait and the United States military relating to unauthorised entry into Saudi Arabia by foreigners (ff 41-42).A note written by the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield), dated 5 April 1943, on wartime conditions in Saudi Arabia, based on reports received by Dr Harold Storm and Gerrit Dirk Van Peursem, both of the American Mission at Bahrain, following their medical tour of Saudi Arabia (f 44).Correspondence dated August 1943 relating to a visit to Ibn Saud by Lieutenant-Colonel Harold B Hoskins, personal envoy of US President Roosevelt (ff 45-54).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 60; 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; 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 A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.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: This file concerns the proposal and development of an Extradition Treaty for the mutual surrender of criminals between Bahrain and Nejd [Najd], later Saudi Arabia, following a visit by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd [Ibn Saud] in February 1932. The file includes correspondence between the Secretary to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe and Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven Fowle, Political Residents in the Persian Gulf; Captain Charles Geoffrey Prior and Lieutent-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, Political Agents at Bahrain; Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Bahrain Government.The file includes a copy of a
Treaty of Extradition between 'Iraq and Hejaz[al-Ḥijāz],
Najd and Dependencies(ff 5-7), signed at Mecca on 21 Dhū al-Qa‘dah 1340 [8 April 1931] by Nuri As Sa'id [Nūrī al-Sa‘’id], Prime Minister of Iraq, and Faisal 'Abdul 'Aziz [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd], and a draft Extradition Treaty between Bahrain and Najd by Belgrave (ff 11-14), which excludes the return of escaped slaves and a stipulates that applications for extradition should be forwarded through the Political Agent, Bahrain. A further draft copy of the treaty with Arabic translation is enclosed with a letter from Belgrave, dated 7 Rabī‘ I 1351 [10 July 1932]. There is further correspondence regarding the clause on excluding escaped slaves and making applications for extradition through the Political Agent (ff 21-29), as well as copies of correspondence between the Political Resident and the Colonial Office and India Office, London, regarding the proposed Extradition Treaty (ff 30-42). On 25 November 1932, it is decided by the Secretary of State for India that the matter should be left in abeyance.At the end of the file is a compliments slip, dated 29 August 1942, enclosing printed copies of:Agreement for Friendship and Neighbourly Relations between the Government of the United Kingdom (acting on behalf of His Highness the Sheikh[Shaikh]
of Kowait[Kuwait]
) and the Government of Saudi Arabia, Jedda, 20 April 1942 (ff 44-47);Trade Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom (acting on behalf of His Highness the Sheikh of Koweit) and the Government of Saudi Arabia, Jedda, 20 April 1942 (ff 48-49);Agreement for the Extradition of Offenders between the Government of the United Kingdom (acting on behalf of the Government of Koweit) and the Government of Saudi Arabia, Jedda, 20 April 1942 (ff 50-51).Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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 between ff 2-51; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence, memoranda, maps, and other papers relating to questions over the position of Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontier adjoining Qatar and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, notably Abu Dhabi. Negotiations over the frontier had long been deferred by British Government officials, as a result of the Ruler of Saudi Arabia ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd’s [Ibn Saud] firm stance in negotiations before the Second World War. However, the need for a resolution became increasingly apparent as a result of ongoing oil exploration in Saudi Arabia by the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco), and exploration in Qatar and Abu Dhabi by Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL). The principal correspondents in the file include: representatives of the India Office, Foreign Office, Ministry of Fuel and Power; the British Legation at Jedda; the Political Agent at Bahrain; and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The file includes:correspondence, dating from 1944 and 1945, between British Government officials in the Persian Gulf, India Office and Foreign Office, discussing the previous difficulties encountered in negotiating Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontiers with Ibn Saud, and the agreement that further negotiations be left until after the event of Ibn Saud’s death (ff 2-29);correspondence from late 1945 through 1947, between Government officials on the possible establishment of a neutral zone between Aramco’s concession area in Saudi Arabia, and PCL’s concession area in Qatar. Also, there is some discussion of Aramco’s proposals to begin seabed exploration off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia (ff 36-59);PCL’s request for permission to conduct seismic surveys at the southernmost limit of their concession area in Qatar (ff 76-95);reports of Aramco survey parties making incursions into PCL’s concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (ff 104-127);Government criticism of PCL’s delay in exploiting its concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (f 133);preparations in August 1949 for the reopening of frontier negotiations with the Saudi Government in Jedda. Papers include: a copy of a confidential memorandum with map, dated 2 February 1948, on the south-eastern frontier of Saudi Arabia, prepared by J E Cable of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office (ff 164-169; copy also at ff 87-91); three further confidential memoranda with maps, prepared by the Eastern Department in 1940, outlining past and present negotiations on the position of the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia (ff 170-180, ff 181-185, ff 186-188); proposals to send representatives from Qatar and Abu Dhabi to the Jedda negotiations (ff 190-203).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at 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. This file has the following foliation anomaly: 111A. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-203; 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: This file concerns the circulation of currency between Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and India. The file contains correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; the Political Agent at Bahrain; Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Advisor to the Government of Bahrain; C W F Skrimshire and M Gunn, the Eastern Bank Limited, Bahrain; Yousuf bin Ahmed Kanoo [Yūsuf bin Aḥmad Kānū]; the Residency Agent, Sharjah. There is also correspondence from the India Office and the Government of India, which has been forwarded to the Political Agent by the Political Resident.The correspondence for 1935-36 (ff 3-21) concerns the import of large quantities of Indian rupees into Saudi Arabia via the port of Jedda and Persian Gulf ports, due to the Saudi government’s preference of paying officials and tribal subsidies in rupees instead of dollars. The essence of this situation is explained in a report by Loch, entitled 'Note on the Rupee-Maria Theresa Dollar position in Najd, Hasa and Bahrain', sent to the Political Resident on 3 March 1936. The correspondence for 1939-40 (ff 22-49) concerns further abnormal exports of rupees from Bahrain to Kuwait and Hassa (al-Aḥsā’) due to a lack of confidence in the stability of the Saudi Arabian riyal as a result of the Second World War; also discussed is the possibility of an embargo being placed on the export of rupees from India to Saudi Arabia and the impact that that would have on the Trucial Coast states and Qatar. The final section of correspondence for the year 1944 (ff 50-55) concerns a request from ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Saud) for the British government to send senior military and financial experts, preferably Sunni Muslims, to Saudi Arabia to aid the establishment of an army and reorganise the financial structure of the state.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-61; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file concerns new arms regulations concerning the prohibition of the import, sale, carrying and possession of arms in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which were issued by Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in October 1935. The correspondence in the file is between Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, Political Agent at Bahrain, and Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven Fowle, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire. In addition, there are copies of correspondence with John Charles Walton, India Office, London; Sir Andrew Ryan, His Majesty's Ambassador, Jedda; George William Rendel, Foreign Office, London; and Albert Spencer Calvert, British Legation, Jedda.The correspondence includes a translation of the regulations consisting of twenty-four articles published on 3 Shabān 1354 [31 October 1935] in the Saudi newspaper Umm al Qura [Umm al-Qurá] (folios 8-15); highlights of articles that immediately affect foreigners (folios 17-18); the effect of the regulations on Bahraini shaikhs going to the mainland for hawking (folio 18); the effect of the regulations on Muscat, Bahrain, the Trucial Coast and Kuwait (folios 19-21, as well as Qatar (folio 22); and Ryan's views concerning how the policy will affect internal politics in Saudi Arabia (folios 28-31).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file concerns plans in 1944-45 and 1949 to open bank branches on the mainland of Saudi Arabia. The file contains correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; Ernest Vincent Packer, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Bahrain; the Assistant Secretary to the Government of India; D Ham, Manager of the Eastern Bank Limited, Bahrain; and the Chancery, British Embassy, Jedda. There are also copies of correspondence between the India Office, the Government of India and the Political Residency at Bushire, as well as between the Foreign Office and His Majesty's Government at Jedda. In addition, there is correspondence between Ham and N S Golder, General Manager of the Eastern Bank Limited, London, gathered through interception.The correspondence from 1944-45 concerns the possibility of opening a branch of the Eastern Bank Limited on the mainland of Saudi Arabia at Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān] or Al Khobar [al-Khubar], and possibly at Ras Tanura [Ra’s Tanūrah]. Folios 31-37 include a letter and diary with details of Ham's trip to the mainland of Saudi Arabia in July 1944, his meetings with officials from the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (later Aramco) and Saudi officials, as well as a dispute regarding his Jewish Head Clerk. In addition, the correspondence includes details of other banks making attempts to open branches on the mainland, including the Chase National Bank, the Imperial Bank of Iran, and the National City Bank of New York. There are details of conditions imposed on the National City Bank of New York for opening in Saudi Arabia (f 48) and of a visit by their representative, G Martel Hall (ff 57, 60, 65 and 67).The correspondence from 1945 (ff 71-72) concerns the possibility of the British Bank of Iran and the Middle East opening a branch at al-Khubar.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at 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 between ff 3-72; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled. The volume also contains a pagination sequence between ff 73-75.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence reporting on visits to ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Saud) undertaken by Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe and Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior in 1932 and 1946 respectively.The report of Prior's visit (ff 2-9), dated 5 February 1932, is sent to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir Philip Cunliff-Lister, and copied to the Political Agent at Bahrain. Details of his journey are included, as well as meetings with Yusuf Yasin [Yūsuf Yāsīn] and Ibn Saud, with discussions concerning the Kuwait blockade, emergency landing grounds in Hasa [al-Aḥsā’], and the latter's administration and financial difficulties. The report is followed by a letter, dated 16 February 1932, forwarding translations of letters exchanged between Biscoe and Yusuf Yasin on 28 January 1932 (ff 11-14).The report of Prior's visit (ff 15-19), dated 13 May 1946, is sent to Hugh Weightman, Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department, and copied to Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway, Political Agent at Bahrain. Details of his journey are included, as well as meetings with Abdullah al Sulaiman [‘Abdullāh al-Sulaymān], Finance Minister; Harry St John Bridger Philby; Hafiz Wahba, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Britain; and Ibn Saud. Discussions concern Ibn Saud's health, various aspects of regional and international politics (including Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the Indian independence movement, the Arab League and the Persian Gulf states, Iran, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), Indian visas for Saudi Arabian subjects, and foreign advisors. The report also includes a number of reminiscences of, and comparisons with, a visit to Ibn Saud which was undertaken fifteen years previously.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-19; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence and papers relating to visits to the Persian Gulf by foreign dignitaries. Correspondents in the file include the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agents at Bahrain and Kuwait.The file includes:correspondence relating to the visit to Bahrain in December 1937 of Amir Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd from Saudi Arabia, including: discussion amongst British Government officials who take a positive view of the proposed visit; a letter from the Political Agent in Bahrain (Captain Tom Hickinbotham) to the Ruler of Bahrain (Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), dated 7 October 1937, insisting that he be present during any political discussions (ff 24-25); reports in late December 1937 of the visit, written by the Political Agent Hugh Weightman (ff 43-48) and an unknown author (ff 50-53). Both reports include details of: the visiting dignitaries, receptions and dinners; the large quantities of gold sovereigns brought up by the Saudi party in the Bahrain bazaars, to be used to purchase Maria Theresa dollars in Saudi Arabia; rumours amongst the Bahrain bazaars of the purposes of the trip;correspondence relating to the Sheikh of Kuwait’s (Sheikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) proposed visit to Bahrain, his intention being to meet the Ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, and offer mediation over the Bahrain-Qatar (Zubarah) dispute (ff 26-30);a proposed trip in 1936 by the Iraqi statesman Nuri Pasha to Bombay, stopping off at Kuwait, Bahrain and Muscat, and the consequent postponement of this trip due to unforeseen circumstances (ff 2-10). Correspondence relating to Nuri Pasha’s later trip to Riyadh via Bahrain in April 1940 is also included in the file (ff 57-63);the return of the Egyptian Chargé d'Affaires, Abdul Hamid Munir, to Egypt from Riyadh via Bahrain in 1944 (ff 72-76);wartime and post-war various visits by United States dignitaries and legations, including: a US legation at Bahrain in 1942 (ff 65-66); Colonel Hoskins, Personal Envoy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1943 (68, 70-71); and US senators in 1943 and 1944-45 (ff 69 77-79);Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-81; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
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: Copies of correspondence from the British Minister in Saudi Arabia (Stanley R Jordan) to the Foreign Office, dated 2 March 1944, and subsequently forwarded by the India Office to the Government of India, describing the Ruler of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud’s [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] request that Britain send financial and military advisers to Saudi Arabia. In his correspondence Jordan describes Ibn Saud’s dissatisfaction with his country’s financial structure, and his stipulation that the adviser should be a Sunni Muslim, as most of the work would be based in Mecca.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 7; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file concerns the sale of an International Emergency Food Council (IEFC) quota of wheat by Kuwait to Saudi Arabian merchants. The file consists of one telegram, forwarded by the Political Resident at Bahrain to the Political Agencies at Bahrain and Kuwait, from Alan Charles Trott, His Majesty's Ambassador in Jedda, to the Foreign Office, London, and repeated to the Political Resident at Bahrain. The telegram mentions the price of bread at Jedda compared with Bahrain and Jordan, as well as a meeting with Yusuf Yasin [Yūsuf Yāsīn], adviser to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raṃān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover on folio 1 and terminates at the back cover on folio 5; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence between the Political Agent at Kuwait (Major Maurice O’Connor Tandy), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), and officials at the India Office and Foreign Office in London, concerning a request from the King of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] that his trade agent at Kuwait be permitted to fly the Saudi Arabian flag on Fridays. Discussion centres on the grounds for rejection of the request (international convention, local custom), and the Ruler of Kuwait’s [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] reluctance to issue a general prohibition on the flying of foreign flags, for want of damaging relations with Ibn Saud.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 32; 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 2-31; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.