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37. Coll 6/50 'Saudi Arabia: Saudi Relations with the Soviet.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file concerns relations between the Government of the Hejaz and Nejd (Saudi Arabia from September 1932 onwards) and the Soviet Union. It largely consists of copies of correspondence received by the Foreign Office from His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) regarding Saudi-Soviet relations and the activities of Soviet representatives in Saudi Arabia. Other prominent correspondents include His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires to Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill), His Majesty's Ambassador in Moscow (Esmond Ovey), and officials of the Foreign Office, India Office, and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.Matters discussed in the correspondence include:The visit of the Hejazi delegation, headed by Emir Feisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd], Foreign Minister for the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd, to Moscow, and later, via Turkey, to Tiflis [Tbilisi] and Baku, in May-June 1932.Soviet trade interests in the Hejaz.Concerns expressed by Sir Andrew Ryan in July 1932 that the Soviet representative in Jedda could seek to consolidate Soviet relations with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and encourage the latter to take a strong line regarding Transjordan.Unconfirmed reports of a Saudi-Soviet trade agreement in early 1933.Notes on the character and previous career in Jedda of the newly appointed (as of January 1936) Soviet minister at Jedda, Kerim Khakimov.News in May 1938 that the Government of the Soviet Union has decided to close its legations in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, reportedly as a gesture of disapproval of the Anglo-Italian Treaty [Anglo-Italian Agreement], but considered by the Foreign Office to be part of a general policy of reducing the number of its foreign contacts.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 main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 50; 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 2-49; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
38. Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume primarily concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia.It includes interdepartmental discussion regarding the approach that the British Government should take in reaching a settlement with King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] over the demarcation of the boundaries.Much of the correspondence discusses the legal and international position of what is referred to as the 'blue line' (the frontier which marked the Ottoman Government's renunciation of its claims to Bahrain and Qatar, as laid down in the non-ratified Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 and redefined and adopted in the Anglo-Ottoman convention of the following year), a line which is not accepted by Ibn Saud as being binding upon his government.The volume features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Kuwait (Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); the Chief Commissioner, Aden (Bernard Rawdon Reilly, referred to in the correspondence as Resident); the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir John Simon); the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs; officials of the India Office, the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the War Office, and the Air Ministry.Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:Whether the British should press Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] for a general settlement of all outstanding major questions.The extent of territory that the British should be prepared to include in any concession made to Ibn Saud.The British response to what are referred to as Ibn Saud's 'ancestral claims' to territories east of the blue line.Sir Andrew Ryan's meetings with Ibn Saud in Taif, in July 1934.Meetings held at the Foreign Office between Sir Andrew Ryan, George Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), Fuad Bey Hamza (Deputy Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs), and Hafiz Wahba (Saudi Arabian Minister in London), in September 1934.The boundaries of a proposed 'desert zone', suggested by Rendel, where Ibn Saud would hold personal rather than territorial rights.Saudi-Qatari relations.Whether tribal boundaries should be considered as a possible solution to the boundary question.Also included are the following:Two copies of an India Office memorandum entitled 'Historical Memorandum on the Relations of the Wahabi Amirs and Ibn Saud with Eastern Arabia and the British Government, 1800-1934', dated 26 September 1934.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 1934 and 12 September 1934.A copy of a report by Bertram Thomas regarding a Trans-Oman air route reconnaissance, which was undertaken in May-June 1927.The Arabic material consists of one item of correspondence (an English translation is included).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 4).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 394; 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.
39. Coll 6/67(2) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia.It documents preparations for negotiations with the Saudi Government, and includes interdepartmental discussion regarding the approach that the British Government should take in reaching a settlement with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] over the demarcation of the boundaries.The areas of territory discussed include that which separates Saudi Arabia and the Aden Protectorate in the south, that which extends to the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman in the south-east, and the area extending to the south of Qatar in the east.Reference is made to the 'blue line' and the 'violet line' – boundary lines that formed part of the Anglo-Ottoman Conventions, concluded in 1913 and 1914 respectively.The correspondence includes discussion of the following:The likely consequences of not settling on defined boundaries.The extent of territory that the British should be prepared to include in any concession made to Ibn Saud.The legal distinction between personal and territorial sovereignty.References made by Fuad Bey Hamza (Deputy Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs) during conversations with Sir Andrew Ryan (His Majesty's Minister at Jedda), regarding certain assurances made by Sir Henry McMahon to King Hussein of the Hejaz [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] in 1915, on the subject of Arab independence (a summary of a letter from King Hussein to McMahon, together with a copy of McMahon's reply, is included in the volume).Tribal history in Trucial Oman between 1918 and 1934.The Koweit [Kuwait] blockade.The boundaries of a proposed 'desert zone', roughly following the edge of the sands of the Ruba al Khali and considered by the British as a possible concession but later abandoned.Abu Dhabi's claims to Odeid [Al ‘Udayd, Saudi Arabia] and Banaiyan [Bi’r Bunayyān, Saudi Arabia].The volume features the following principal correspondents: the Political Agent, Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Philip Cunliffe-Lister); Bernard Rawdon Reilly (Chief Commissioner, Aden, but referred to in the correspondence as Resident); officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the India Office, the War Office, the Air Ministry, and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.In addition to correspondence, the volume contains a sketch map and a copy of draft minutes of a meeting of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 15 April 1935.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 4).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 365; 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.
40. Coll 6/67(3) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume primarily concerns British policy regarding the south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, the Trucial Shaikhdoms, Muscat, the Hadramaut and the Aden Protectorate.It includes interdepartmental discussion regarding the approach that the British Government should take in reaching a settlement with King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] over the demarcation of the boundaries.References are made to various existing and proposed lines, including the 'blue line' and the 'violet line' – boundary lines that formed part of the Anglo-Ottoman Conventions, concluded in 1913 and 1914 respectively, a 'green line' and a 'brown line', which represent more recent territorial concessions proposed by the British to Ibn Saud, and a 'red line', which is referred to as the Saudi Government's claim for its country's south-eastern boundary.The volume features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Samuel Hoare); the Acting Chief Commissioner, Aden (Lieutenant-Colonel Morice Challoner Lake); officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.The correspondence includes discussion of the following:The extent of territory that the British should be prepared to include in any concession made to Ibn Saud.The abandonment of the idea of a proposed 'desert zone'.The future of the Treaty of Jedda of 1927.Meetings held at the Foreign Office with Fuad Bey Hamza, Deputy Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Hafiz Wahba, Saudi Arabian Minister in London, during June and July 1935.The eastern boundary of the Aden Protectorate.The possibility of the British Government employing Bertram Thomas to carry out enquiries and investigations regarding the question of Saudi Arabia's south-eastern frontiers.Wells and territories of the Al Murra [Āl Murrah] tribe.Preparations for Sir Andrew Ryan's forthcoming visit to Riyadh for negotiations with Ibn Saud.Abu Dhabi's claim to Khor-al-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd].Details of a British aerial reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula, which took place on 11 October 1935.In addition to correspondence the volume includes the following: copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 15 April 1935 and 24 September 1935 respectively; photographs of the Qatar Peninsula, taken during the aforementioned aerial reconnaissance; a map showing the route of the aerial reconnaissance.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 4).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 411; 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.
41. Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Description:
- 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.
42. Coll 6/67(5) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar (Khor al Odeid)'
- Description:
- 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.
43. Coll 6/67(6) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar: Trucial Coast Oil Concessions'
- Description:
- 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.
44. Coll 6/10 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Financial Situation and Internal Situation'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume largely 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, succeeded by Albert Spencer Calvert), relates to financial and political matters in the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia).The correspondence discusses the following:The history of the Wahabi movement and Ibn Saud's [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd's] attitude towards Wahabism.The currency exchange crisis in the Hejaz.Requests from Ibn Saud for the British Government either to assist in establishing a British bank as a state bank in the Hejaz, or to provide a loan directly to the Hejazi Government (both requests are declined).The British Minister at Jedda's accounts of his meetings both with Ibn Saud and with various Hejazi/Saudi Government officials.A Hejazi-Soviet contract for the supply of Soviet benzine and relations between Soviet Russia and Hejaz-Nejd generally.Tensions within the Hejazi Government.The Hejazi Government's budgetary reforms.The prospect of a new Saudi state bank, possibly backed by the financial assistance of the former ex-Khedive of Egypt [ʿAbbās Ḥilmī II].The death of Emir Abdullah ibn Jiluwi [‘Abdullāh bin Jilūwī Āl Sa‘ūd].Saudi-Egyptian relations.The discovery of oil in Hasa.In addition to correspondence the volume includes the following:A copy of an economic survey of Saudi Arabia, produced by the British Legation at Jedda in June 1936.A copy of a note written by Frederick Gerard Peake, Commanding Officer of the Arab Legion, on the history of the Wahabi movement.A copy of a printed Government of India report entitled 'Confidential Report of the Haj Inquiry Committee on the Arrangements in the Hedjaz', dated 1930.A copy of a report by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe), recounting a visit to Ibn Saud at Hasa in early 1932.Copies of extracts from Kuwait intelligence summaries and Bahrain intelligence reports.The volume includes three dividers, which give a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are 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 651; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 563-649 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
45. Coll 6/18 'Arabia: Migration of Hejazis from Hejaz to Transjordan'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file is concerned with the migration of Hejazis from Hejaz to Transjordan.The file consists of copies of Foreign Office and Colonial Office correspondence, which discuss rumours of disaffection among Hejazi tribesmen, and of their desertion from the Hejaz to Transjordan. The correspondence also discusses allegations made in the Hejazi press that the tribesmen are being enticed into Transjordan, and subsequent reports that the Amir of Transjordan [ʿAbdullāh bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī] has disclaimed any responsibility for the rumoured migrations.The file's principal correspondents are His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill), the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan), the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Acting High Commissioner for Palestine and Transjordan (Mark Aitchison Young), and various officials of the Foreign Office.In addition to letters and telegrams, the file includes a memorandum by Sir Andrew Ryan which recounts his interview with the Amir of Transjordan, in Amman, on 13 February 1932.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 for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 54; 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 1-54; these numbers are printed and are not circled. The front and back external conservation covers have not been foliated.
46. Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains copies of annual reports regarding the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia) during the years 1930-1938 and 1943-1944.The reports were produced by the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) and sent to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (and in the case of these copies, forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India), with the exception of the reports for 1943 and 1944, which appear to have been produced and sent by His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda, Stanley R Jordan.The reports covering 1930-1938 discuss the following subjects: foreign relations; internal affairs; financial, economic and commercial affairs; military organisation; aviation; legislation; press; education; the pilgrimage; slavery and the slave trade; naval matters. The reports for 1943 and 1944 are rather less substantial. The 1943 report discusses Arab affairs, Saudi relations with foreign powers, finance, supplies, and the pilgrimage, whilst the 1944 report covers these subjects in addition to the following: the activities of the United States in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Supply Centre, and the Saudi royal family.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 front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 269; 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 2-12 and ff 45-268; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.
47. Coll 6/44 'Hejaz and Indian Muslims. Desecration of tombs by Wahabis, etc.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file compiles copies of appeals made by representatives of Indian Muslims to the British Government (and in one case, to the Shah of Persia [Reza Shah Pahlavi]), regarding the desecration of various holy buildings and monuments by Ibn Saud's [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd's] Wahabi forces. The nature of the appeals is twofold: appeals dating from 1930 request that the Viceroy of India (Edward Frederick Lindley Wood – referred to in the file as Lord Irwin, succeeded by Freeman Freeman-Thomas) use his influence on behalf of the British Government to urge Ibn Saud to reconstruct demolished shrines and monuments such as those at Janatul-Bakia [Jannat al-Baqīʿ]; later appeals, which date from 1933, call on the British Government to remain neutral regarding affairs in the Hejaz and Nejd, and to refrain from providing Ibn Saud with military, naval, or any other kind of assistance.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 for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 31; 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 3-29; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
48. Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file relates to oil concessions in Saudi Arabia, particularly the Hasa [Al Hasa] concession between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Standard Oil Company of California (SoCal). It includes discussion of the following:Oil negotiations in Saudi Arabia during March and April 1933, and the reported involvement of Major Frank Holmes in negotiations relating to the Kuwait (also spelled Koweit in the file) [Saudi-Kuwaiti] neutral zone.Details of an agreement for the oil concession relating to the Hasa region of Saudi Arabia, made between the Government of Saudi Arabia and SoCal (signed on 27 May 1933), and assigned by SoCal to its subsidiary, the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc).British concerns regarding a request made by Casoc via the United States Embassy for its aeroplane to be permitted to fly over Kuwait and Bahrain, as part of a survey of the region relating to its oil concession.Reports that Casoc may be interested in exhanging the southern half of its Hasa concession for land further west, and the effect that this might have on Britain's negotiations with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].Reports of the discovery of oil in Hasa in 1935, and the discovery of commercial quantities of oil there in March 1938.Reports that Casoc is considering the possibility of laying a pipeline from Hasa to Bahrain.Casoc's oil rights in the Kuwait neutral zone.The progress of operations carried out in Hasa by Casoc, including the status of its wells at Dhahran.An account of a visit made by the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman) to Casoc's site at Dhahran as well as to other areas in the region, in May 1939.Details of a loan from Casoc to the Government of Saudi Arabia.Reports of Casoc having taken the decision to construct a refinery at Ras Tanura.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Political Agent, Kuwait; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Jedda; the His Majesty's Minister at Jedda; officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office, the War Office, the Air Ministry, and the Petroleum Department; representatives of Casoc.In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:Copies of the oil agreement and a supplementary agreement between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Standard Oil Company of California, dated 1933 and 1939 respectively.Extracts from Bahrain and Kuwait intelligence reports.The minutes of an interdepartmental meeting held at the Colonial Office on 26 April 1933, concerning British interests in oil in the Persian Gulf (notably Kuwait, Bahrain, Hasa in Saudi Arabia, and the Kuwaiti neutral zone).Draft and final copies of a War Office report entitled 'Brief Summary of the Oil Situation in the Middle East, November 1934'.The date range of the volume is 1923-1945 but only a handful of items date from before 1933. These include copies of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf's correspondence with the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India respectively, which date from 1923 to 1926 and concern the possibility of oil development both in Qatar and on the Trucial Coast.The file includes three dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-4).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 575; 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.