Abstract: The file consists of telegrams reporting the activities of Tullio Pastori, an Italian subject in the Persian Gulf, whose objective is to obtain Arab labourers for employment in Eritrea on the behalf of the Italian authorities. He is suspected of seeking to make concessions with the Sheikhs of Dibah [Dib Dibba] and Ras al-Khaimah to cover the exploitation of minerals, and being connected with Italian oil interests. The draft concession agreement entered into by Tullio Pastori & Co. is included along with correspondence outlining the British response to his activities.The main correspondents include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Secretary of State for India; the Foreign Office; the India Office; and HM representatives at Kerman, Baghdad, and Tehran.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 33; 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 2-32; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to the Government of India’s attempts to obtain control over rock salt production on the island of Hormuz [Jazīreh-ye Hormoz], partly in order to thwart Japanese attempts to establish their own concession on the island. The file includes a copy of the contract (in French) agreed between the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Iran, and the British Legation at Tehran, dated 9 June 1941, for the purchase of salt on Hormuz by the Government of India (ff 82-86). Much of the subsequent correspondence concerns the expenditure of the contract. The file also includes discussion of Frank C Strick & Company’s concession for red oxide production at Hormuz. The file’s principal correspondents are: HM Ambassador to Iran, Reader William Bullard; the External Affairs Department of the Government of India; the Foreign Office.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 119; 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 mostly consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, which have been forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India. The correspondence, most of which is between Foreign Office officials and either the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) or His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill, Albert Spencer Calvert, and Alan Charles Trott), relates to the economic development of the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Other correspondents include the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Trenchard Craven William Fowle) and officials of the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.The opinion expressed by British correspondents near the beginning of the file is that the unsatisfactory state of the country's finances is a result of its complete dependence on the pilgrimage for income. Much of the file is concerned with various projects (such as water and mineral surveys) sanctioned by Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in order to explore other sources of revenue.Items of discussion include the following:News that Ibn Saud intends to establish a power station for the purpose of providing Mecca and Jedda with electricity.Ibn Saud's wish to establish a state bank, preferably a British bank, to improve the financial situation in the country.Four reports on the country's water and mineral resources, produced by American engineer and geologist Karl Saben Twitchell in 1932 (copies of three of the four reports are included).The British Minister at Jedda's thoughts on how the economic unification of the newly-formed Saudi Arabia will progress.Proposed improvements to Jedda's water supply.The establishment of an 'Arabian Steam Navigation Company' by the Saudi Government.Details of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate's concession with the Saudi Government for the exploitation of gold and other minerals, which was negotiated by Twitchell, signed in December 1934, and ratified by Ibn Saud in February 1935.Reports of anti-Ibn Saud propaganda in the Indian Muslim press.Details of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate's activities in Saudi Arabia.The history of the Ahrar movement in India, its political party, Majlis-i-Ahrar-i-Islam, and its reported condemnation of the recent Saudi mining concession.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.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 251; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-251; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Copies of correspondence and other papers relating to British Government officials’ response to the deteriorating state of relations between the Persian Government and the Imperial Bank of Persia, in light of the Persian Government’s imposition of restraints upon the bank (such as monopoly laws, restrictions on foreign trade), seen as benefitting the new National bank of Iran (or Bank Melli Iran).The file’s key correspondents are: representatives of the Government of Persia, including the Persian Minister of Finance (Taqizadeh Hassan) and the Persian Foreign Minister (Mirza Mohamad Ali Khan Feroughi); representatives of the Imperial Bank of Persia (E Wilkinson, E M Eldrid, Ord Adams Butters); British Government officials in Persia (Robert Henry Clive, Charles Dodd, Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugesson). Some of the file’s papers are in French.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 123; 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 2-122; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Correspondence exchanged between the British Legation in Tehran, including HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, and the Foreign Office, including the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, John Allsebrook Simon. The correspondence concerns questions over the extent of the concession area of (and jurisdiction within) the telegraph station at Jask (also spelt Jashk). These questions arose from the withdrawal of the Indo-European Telegraph Department (IETD) from Persia [Iran] in 1932, and the takeover of its facilities by Imperial & International Communications Limited. The file’s correspondence covers the Persian authorities’ understanding that the original concession was no longer valid, their dismantling of the boundary fence around the telegraph station, and the construction of buildings within the original concession area.The file contains copies of correspondence dated 1887, including reports from Colonel Robert Murdoch Smith, Director in Chief of the IETD Persian section (ff 89-108), and copies of various agreements ranging in date from 1861 to 1932, relating to the operation and ownership of the telegraph line in Persia (ff 65-88).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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 109; 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: Correspondence concerning diplomatic relations between the British and Persian Governments over the concession and operations of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company Limited (from 1935, Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Limited), referred to as APOC hereafter. The file includes: correspondence dated 1933 to 1935 from the British Consul at Kermanshah, reporting progress of the construction of APOC’s oil refining facilities at Kermanshah; correspondence dated 1939 and 1940 reporting on the Shah of Persia [Reza Shah Pahlavi] and his Government’s efforts to renegotiate the terms of the APOC concession, in light of the heightened strategic importance of APOC’s oil production to Britain during wartime conditions; correspondence dated 1941 reporting on wartime developments, the likelihood of German occupation of Iran, and the threat to APOC oil production in the country. The file also includes: two bound and printed copies of the APOC Concession 1933-1993, printed in French and English, and accompanied by a fold-out map of the concession area (ff 127-149, ff 150-172); an illustrated brochure, published by APOC in 1924 to commemorate the company’s stand at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 (ff 109-126).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 188; 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 largely consists of copies of Colonial Office and Foreign Office correspondence relating to oil and mining concessions in Yemen. Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:Details of a concession for the exploitation of oil and other minerals, reported to have been granted by the Imam of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn] in 1932 to a man named Muhammad Sa'id Saqqaf (also transliterated as Mahommed Sakaf).Details provided by the Political Resident at Aden (Bernard Rawdon Reilly) regarding E R Bailey (formerly associated with the Eastern and General Syndicate) and his commercial interests in Yemen.Subsequent steps taken by the British Government to prevent Bailey from entering either Yemen or the Aden Protectorate.Details of a draft oil concession, which Petroleum Concessions Limited proposes to submit to the Imam of Yemen.Details of a proposed geological examination of Hodeida, in Yemen, reportedly approved by the Imam of Yemen, which is to be conducted by the French company, Compagnie Française des Pétroles.The file's principal correspondents are the following: Bernard Rawdon Reilly as Political Resident at Aden, and later, Governor of Aden; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; Petroleum Concessions Limited; the Imam of Yemen; officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office and the Admiralty.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 77; 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: Papers concerning the institution, status and affairs of the Imperial Bank of Persia (Imperial Bank of Iran from 1935). Correspondence is principally exchanged between the Treasury of the British Government, the India Office, and Foreign Office. Subjects covered include:A request from the Government of India in 1903 for a list of the Bank’s shareholders, and copies of the Bank’s royal charter (ff 131-146) and deed of settlement.The Bank’s application in 1919 to have its charter renewed (without modification) for a further thirty years, and the Treasury’s agreement for a shorter extension of five years.The Treasury’s request in 1921 for a modification to the Bank’s charter that would enable it to open branches outside of Persia (and specifically in Iraq). A copy of the supplemental charter, dated 24 July 1922, empowering the Bank to open branches in the Empire of India is included (ff 81-82).The renewal of the Bank’s charter in 1924 for a further twenty-five years.Discussion throughout 1930 and 1931 regarding the Bank’s liability to pay a stamp duty introduced by the Persian Government, in light of the Bank’s concession exempting it from having to pay such taxes.The granting of a supplemental charter in 1935 enabling the Bank to change its name from Imperial Bank of Persia to Imperial Bank of Iran.The granting of a supplemental charter in 1936 enabling the bank to raise its capital through a conversion of its shares.The request for a supplemental charter in 1945 to provide for a number of powers, including a further extension of the Bank’s concession until 1999, and the authority to establish branches across the Near East, Arabia, and East Africa.At the rear of the file is a bound volume (ff 166-213) published by the Imperial Bank of Persia, entitled
Royal Charter, Deed of Settlement and Concession, with Supplements. This volume is undated, but includes details of supplemental charters dated 1895, 1920, and 1922, and includes a number of loose inserts relating to changes to the concession (1930), and special resolutions passed (1935, 1936).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 213; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio, except for f 166 and f 213 which could not be written on the document due to its original pattern. The foliation for f 167 is located in the top left corner of the verso side for the same reason. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to the Persian Government’s annulment of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) concession in December 1932, and the ensuing diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The papers include: diplomatic exchanges between the British and Persian Governments and APOC, as reported by HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare; correspondence between the Foreign Office and India Office; parliamentary notices reporting questions on the crisis raised in the House of Commons; the response of the British press to the annulment, with a large number of newspaper cuttings from British newspapers (chiefly
The Times,
The Daily Herald,
The Morning Post); the British Government’s referral of the dispute to the Council of the League of Nations; the British Government’s despatch of Royal Naval vessels to Abadan; papers from the Council of the League of Nations reporting on negotiations towards a settlement, including notes, session minutes, and correspondence from the Czech representative to the League, Edvard Beneš, who acted as mediator between the two parties; the settlement of the dispute, culminating in a new agreement between the Persian Government and APOC, dated 29 April 1933 (ff 26-35).The volume includes numerous items in French (Persian Government correspondence and some press cuttings from the Persian Press) and a single item in German (a transcript of an article originally appearing the
Deutsche Bergwerks Zeitung).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 537; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.A number of pages have been bound into the volume upside down (ff 345-358).
Abstract: This file primarily concerns British policy regarding the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat (i.e. the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman).Much of the correspondence relates to British concerns that the boundaries should be demarcated prior to the commencement of any oil prospecting in the area. The file's principal correspondents are the following: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); the Political Agent, Muscat (Major Ralph Ponsonby Watts); the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Secretary of State for India; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the India Office, and the Admiralty.Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:Whether the British should press King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] for a settlement of the outstanding questions relating to the aforementioned boundaries.Sir Andrew Ryan's meeting with Ibn Saud and the Deputy Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs, Fuad Bey Hamza, in Riyadh, in November 1935.The disputed territories of Jebel Naksh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar] and Khor-al-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd].Whether or not a territorial agreement between Ibn Saud and Qatar was concluded prior to the Anglo-Qatar Treaty of 1916.The intentions of Petroleum Concessions Limited regarding the development of its oil concession in Qatar.The line proposed by the British for the boundary between Saudi Arabia and the Aden Protectorate.The Kuwait blockade.Leading personalities in Oman.Details of Harry St John Bridger Philby's expedition to Shabwa [Shabwah, Yemen].Four meetings held between Sir Reader Bullard, George Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), and Ibn Saud, in Jedda, 20-22 March 1937.Also included are the following:Copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East.Copies of correspondence dating from 1906, exchanged between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Percy Zachariah Cox), the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department, and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi [Shaikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan], regarding the latter's claim to Khor-al-Odeid.Several maps and sketch maps depicting the proposed boundaries discussed in the correspondence.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 (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 421; 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 volume primarily concerns British policy regarding the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Muscat (i.e. the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman). Much of the correspondence relates to British concerns that oil companies operating in the region may begin prospecting in disputed territory.References are made to various existing and proposed lines, including the 'blue line' (laid down in the non-ratified Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 and redefined and adopted in the Anglo-Ottoman convention of the following year). Reference is also made to a 'final offer' proposed by the British to the Saudi Government in November 1935, since which time no conclusion has been reached.Matters discussed in the correspondence include:The reported activity of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc) near Qasr-es-Salwa [Salwá, Saudi Arabia] (located east of the blue line), and whether this activity necessitates a renewed effort by the British to reach a settlement with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] regarding the Qatar-Saudi boundary.Ibn Saud's claim to Jebel Nakhsh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar], which lies in territory included in the Qatar oil concession.Whether the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi should be persuaded to cede Khor-el-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd] to Ibn Saud.The impact of Britain's Palestine policy on Anglo-Saudi relations.The Foreign Office's suggestion that the Khor-el-Odeid question should be submitted to arbitration.In addition to correspondence dating from 1937-39, the volume contains copies of correspondence dating from April 1904 (including translations of two letters from the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi), which discusses Abu Dhabi's claim to Khor-el-Odeid.Correspondents include the following: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Captain Tom Hickinbotham); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, Viscount Halifax); the Secretary of State for India and Burma (Lawrence John Lumley Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland); the Viceroy of India (Victor Alexander John Hope, Lord Linlithgow); the Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd]; officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.Also included are the following: copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 8 November 1937 and 8 February 1938; a sketch map depicting the various possible boundary lines of south-eastern Saudi Arabia.The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of volume one (ff 1-188) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 189-395); 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 2-394; these numbers are printed, and are not circled.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This volume concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically its border with Qatar.The correspondence and memoranda near the beginning of the volume discuss from a British perspective the origins and recent history of the boundary dispute, which is described as having been in abeyance since 1938; much of the later correspondence is concerned with whether the British should make renewed attempts to reach an agreement with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] .References are made to various existing and proposed boundary lines, the most recent of the latter is the 'Riyadh line' (the name given to the boundary proposed by the British to the Saudi Government in November 1935, referred to elsewhere as the 'final offer').Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior, succeeded by William Rupert Hay); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Reginald George Alban, Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, and Cornelius James Pelly); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Stanley R Jordan, succeeded by Laurence Barton Grafftey-Smith); officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Government of India's External Affairs Department, and the Ministry of Fuel and Power (Petroleum Division); representatives of the United States' State Department, Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited, Petroleum Concessions Limited, and the Iraq Petroleum Company respectively.Related matters of discussion include:Ibn Saud's claims regarding the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia, particularly those relating to Jebel Nakhsh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar] and Khor-el-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd, Qatar].Reports in 1941 of a rumour that the Shaikh of Qatar [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī] and Ibn Saud have reached an agreement regarding the Saudi-Qatar boundary.The likelihood of oil prospecting either near or within the disputed territory, and its implications for the territorial dispute.British concerns in 1947 regarding the possibility of the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) initiating drilling operations in the seabed near to the disputed territory.The precise location of proposed drillings by Petroleum Concessions Limited in the Qatar Peninsula.A reported complaint in 1947 from the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi [Shaikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan] that Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited has laid buoys in his territorial waters.Whether the British should permit or impede a proposed survey in Qatar by Petroleum Concessions Limited, which is thought likely to provoke protests from Ibn Saud.Also included are three maps depicting the eastern and south eastern parts of the Arabian Peninsula.The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 195; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.