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Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [198r] (396/680)
The record is made up of 1 file (338 folios). It was created in 24 Oct 1939-1 Jan 1945. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
U 2260/2060/25;
Note on Jedda Telegram No. 170 of 1st August, 1940.
Mr. Bird suggests that a . arther M loan" of <;600 > 0o0
sterling to Ibn daud be given on the same conditions as the
previous B200,000 sterling. In our telegram No. 58 of the
PZ.Znof 6th April, in which His Majesty’s uovermnent’s decision to
/ g give financial assistance to Ibn daud was conveyed to Mr.
Bird, it was stated that as there was little prospect of a
credit of ^200,000 ever being repaid it would be better to
treat it frankly as a subsidy. Mr. Bird was therefore
instructed to inform the daudi Arabian Government that
r ’His Majesty’s Government have now decided as a matter
"of friendly regard to make advances up to a total of
"£200,000 without any signed agreement providing for the
"annual payment of charges, or laying down the terms of
"repayment. His Majesty’s Government are content to
"rely on Ibn Gaud to repay the advances as soon as his
"convenience permits."
2. In the absence of any Budget or statistics it is
difficult to give any estimate of the Saudi revenues. In
1938 Sir header Bullard estimated that the total revenue
amounted to £1,300,000 gold (say *,2,600,000 sterling at
today’s prices) of which £600,000 gold (say £1,200,000 sterling)
is derived from Customs receipts and about £600,000 gold
(£1,200,000 sterling) of the remainder comes from the pilgrimage
This estimate leaves out of account the oil royalties. In
1939 the output of the oilfield at Dhahran was 10,000 barrels
a day, the royalties on which would amount to about £100,000
gold (£200,000 sterling) per annum. It may be supposed that
the war will prevent any increase of production, if it does
not actually lead to a curtailment of the present output.
Another possible source of income, the gold mine at Mahd, has
also suffered from the war owing to the difficulty of obtaining
cyanide. Customs receipts may also be presumed to be
seriously affected by the interruption of communications in
the Ked Gea.
3. As regards the pilgrimage it can be said roughly
that the daudi Government takes about £10 gold (£20 sterling)
as dues from each pilgrim. The revenue from this source must
then have fallen from £600,000 gold (£l,200,GCC sterling) in
1938-1939, when there were about 60,000 pilgrims, to
£250,000 gold (£500,000 sterling) in 1939-1940, when the
estimated number of oversea pilgrims was 25,000. It is
unlikely that there will be any larger number of pilgrims this
year in spite of what His Majesty’s Government are trying to
do to ensure that the number shall at least be no fewer, and
Ibn Gaud cannot count on any more, if indeed he can count on
as much, revenue from this source.
4. Besides the sums taken by the Government, each pilgrim
spends a certain amount of money in the country. Mr. Bird gives
the average annuel value of the pilgrimage, based presumably on
a normal year of about 60,00C pilgrims, as £2,250,000 sterling.
Of this sum about £1,200,000 sterling represents Saudi
/Government
About this item
- Content
This file concerns British policy towards Saudi Arabia during the Second World War (the abbreviation 'Qn' in the title stands for 'Question'). The correspondence discusses the question of providing financial or material assistance to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], as well as the United States' growing economic and strategic interests in Saudi Arabia.
The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader Bullard, Hugh Stonehewer Bird, and Stanley R Jordan successively); the Secretary of State for India (Leo Amery); the Viceroy of India (Archibald Percival Wavell); the Chancellor of the Exchequer (John Anderson); officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , the Treasury, the Government of India's Finance and External Affairs Departments, and the United States Embassy in London.
Related matters of discussion include the following:
- The idea (initially discussed in correspondence dating from 1939) of an alliance or a bloc of Arab states (chiefly comprised of Saudi Arabia and the Yemen), which would support the Allied cause.
- The Italo-German reaction to Ibn Saud's refusal to receive German diplomat Dr Fritz Konrad Ferdinand Grobba, a decision that was applauded by the British.
- Italian influence in the Middle East.
- Anglo-French co-operation in the Middle East.
- Details of the Saudi Government's finances (i.e. expenditure and revenue) during the early war years.
- Arrangements for loans and payments from the British to the Saudi Government, as well as details of royalties and loans paid to the Saudi Government by the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc).
- Proposals for an irrigation and agricultural mission to Saudi Arabia, headed by a United States agricultural expert.
- Conversations between Ibn Saud and United States General Patrick Hurley during the latter's visit to Riyadh in May 1943.
- The Government of India's decision in 1942 not to allow pilgrim ships to sail from India to Saudi Arabia, because of a risk of the ships being attacked.
- Ibn Saud's requests in 1944 for the British Government to send to Saudi Arabia financial and military advisers, preferably Sunni Moslems [Muslims].
- The proposed appointment of Ibn Saud's requested financial adviser, which is delayed and eventually abandoned, following the United States' suggestion that the position be given to a United States adviser, because of the United States' 'preponderant interest' in the Saudi economy.
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (338 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 339; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 262-286; 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.
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- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [198r] (396/680), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2163, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046518047.0x0000c7> [accessed 2 April 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2163
- Title
- Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:36v, 39r:57v, 59r:110v, 113r:182v, 184r:189v, 191r:310r, 311v:339v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence