File 2006/1917 'ARABIA: ARAB CONFEDERACY' [13r] (35/603)
The record is made up of 1 volume (295 folios). It was created in Mar 1917-Nov 1917. 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.
ipy.
1629
17.
16243)
e Under
TREASURY CHAMBERS,
November 14 th ,■ 1917,
My Lords- _ J. I
I have laid before the Lords Commissioners of His
Majesty's Treasury Sir R, Graham's letter of the 18th
, v ultimo (198349/f/44) enclosing copies of telegrams from
His Majesty's High Commissioner for Egypt, relative to the
grant of assistance to the Idrisi Sayed of the Yemen and
to certain friendly Arab Sheikhs in the south of that
Province*
Mr, Secretary Balfour has already authorised His
Majesty's High Commissioner for Egypt to incur expenditure
on these objects up to £30,000 in cash and to supply the
Idrisi with such food stuffs as may be required; and in the
circumstances Their Lordships give Their covering sanction
for this action, subject to the observations below, although
They trust that in future the Secretary of State will find
- it possible to obtain Their previous authority before
committing Them to expenditure of this kind.
My Lords observe that, in agreeing to the course
proposed by Sir R. Wingate, the Secretary of State for India
stipulated that the Indian Exchequer should not be asked to
accept any charge in respect of the financial advances
involved. My Lords admit that in dealing with previous
proposals for expenditure in connection with the Idrisi They
have accepted the position that the whole expenditure
must fall on Imperial funds during the war owing to the
Resolution
Secretary of State,
foreign Office.
About this item
- Content
The volume comprises correspondence, telegrams, summaries, reports, notes and other papers concerning the support given by Britain to the tribes of South Arabia [present-day Yemen] in 1917, chiefly in relation to Britain’s principal wartime aim of ousting the Turks [Ottoman Empire] from the region and securing the Aden Protectorate.
The papers notably cover:
- British relations with Saiyid Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Idris, the Idrisi [Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Alī al-Idrīsī, ruler of the Idrisid Emirate of Asir], including the 1915 agreement with the Idrisi in return for his attacking the Turks; financial assistance (subsidy) for arms, ammunition, hirelings and transport; the Idrisi’s recruitment of Hashid wa Bakil (also spelled Bakill and Bekil in this volume) and British doubts about the loyalty of these ‘mercenary’ (f 259) tribesmen; British concerns over the Idrisi’s effectiveness against the Turks and his predominating enmity towards Imam Yahia bin Mohamed Hamid-ud-Din of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn, also referred to as 'Imam Yahya' in this volume]
- British policy towards the 'Arab Confederacy' of tribes formed around May 1917 (also referred to as the 'Yemen Confederacy' in this volume), including concerns over its potential effectiveness and lack of concrete victories against the Turks; and meetings with various Arab tribal chiefs explaining their intentions or applying for assistance from Britain
- British relations with the ‘neutral’ Imam Yahya, including a concurrently open-door and non-committal policy; avoidance of decisions or actions that could cause the Imam to stop ‘sitting on the fence’ and ally with the Turks; the Imam’s approach to the British in July 1917 offering support in exchange for territory, the removal of the Idrisi, and a position as sole leader in Yemen (the British politely declined the offer)
- Division of opinion between the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in Aden, and the First Assistant Resident in Aden and Government of India, regarding the risks in either supporting or not supporting the Arab Confederacy; the viability and true aims of the Confederacy; and whether or not it was likely the Confederacy would to turn to Italy if Britain prolonged delaying assistance.
The principal correspondents are: Major-General James Marshall Stewart, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Aden; Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Fenton Jacob, First Assistant Resident, Aden; Saiyid Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Idris, the Idrisi [Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Alī al-Idrīsī, ruler of the Idrisid Emirate of Asir]; Imam Yahia bin Mohamed Hamid Ud-Din of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn] (also referred to in this volume as Saiyid Yehia bin Mohamed Hamid-ad-Din, Al Mutawakil, the Commander of the Faithful, and as Imam Yahia of San’a / Sana’a [Sanaa] and 'Imam Yahya'); senior officials of the Government of India at Simla [Shimla]; Secretaries of State and diplomats of the Foreign Office and 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. in London; General Sir Reginald Wingate, British High Commissioner in Egypt; Ronald William Graham, Foreign Office diplomat. Also included are translations and summaries of numerous communications from and between various chiefs of Arab tribes in Yemen.
The enclosures date from 1917 but some include content (mainly printed documents) dating from 1916.
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (295 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 295; 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. Multiple intermittent additional mixed foliation/pagination sequences are also present. A previous foliation sequence in part of the volume, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/683
- Title
- File 2006/1917 'ARABIA: ARAB CONFEDERACY'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:8r, 8ar:8av, 9r:23v, 27v, 30v:35v, 37v, 40v:46v, 48v, 50v, 51v:78v, 79v, 81v, 84v:193v, 194v, 195v, 196v, 198v, 200v, 201v, 202v, 203v, 204v, 205v:208v, 210v, 211v, 213v:255v, 256v:265v, 271v:275v, 277v:278v, 280v:283v, 285v, 287v, 288v, 291v:295v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence