Abstract: The file contains a printed copy of a booklet containing two agreements: I.
Agreement between the United Kingdom and Italy, consisting of a Protocol with Annexes and Exchanges of Notes; and II.
Bon Voisinage Agreement and Exchanges of Notes between the United Kingdom and Italy, agreed in Rome on 16 April 1938. The booklet is labelled Treaty Series No. 31 (1938), and published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1938. A cover slip (folio 2) indicates that the booklet was sent by the Secretary of the Political Department in the India Office, and that copies were also sent to India, Bushire, Koweit [Kuwait], and Muscat.Annex 3 is the one most pertinent to British officials in the Gulf, in that it relates to certain areas of the Middle East, namely: Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It concerns an agreement not to interfere in each other’s affairs and possessions in the Red Sea; those islands in the Red Sea to which Turkey had renounced its rights to; and Britain’s Aden protectorate. Other regions and places covered by the annexes include: the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, East Africa, and Lake Tsana [Tana] in Ethiopia. It also covers the exchange of military information between the two countries, the use of propaganda, and Italian assurances on Spain and her possessions.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 2-3; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.The copy of the agreement included in the file (ff 4-23) has its own printed pagination system running from 3 (f 5) to 39 (f 23), and a contents page which refers to this pagination on the verso of folio 4.
Abstract: This file concerns relations between Italy and Yemen. It largely consists of copies of Foreign Office and Colonial Office correspondence discussing the following:Reports in 1936 that the Treaty of Friendship (1926) between Italy and Yemen has been extended until November 1937.Details of negotiations for the renewal of the aforementioned treaty and reports of its conclusion on 4 September 1937.Claims made in the British press that Italy's supply of arms to Yemen contravenes certain clauses in the Anglo-Italian Agreement.Rumours of renewed French claims to Sheikh Said [Ra’s Shaykh Sa‘īd].The Foreign Office's response to unconfirmed reports of Italian military presence in Yemeni territory in early 1939, including reports of the Island of Jebel Zukur in the Red Sea (also spelled Djebel Zukur in the file) [Jazīrat Jabal Zuqar] having been occupied by Italian troops, and reports of Italian intentions to mount forty-three heavy guns at Sheikh Said.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident, and later Governor, of Aden (Bernard Rawdon Reilly); His Majesty's Ambassador in Paris (Eric Phipps); His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo (Miles Wedderburn Lampson); His Majesty's Ambassador in Rome (James Eric Drummond, Earl of Perth); His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires to Rome (Edward Maurice Berkeley Ingram); the Secretary of State for the Colonies; His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); officials of the Foreign Office and the Colonial Office.In addition to correspondence the file includes copies of Aden political intelligence summaries from 1933 and a copy of a translation of the Italian text of the treaty between Italy and Yemen, signed on 2 September 1926.The date range of the file is 1926-39; however, most of the file dates from between 1933 and 1939, with the exception of the aforementioned copy of the Italo-Yemeni treaty.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 (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 92; 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 17-36; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.