File 2006/1917 'ARABIA: ARAB CONFEDERACY' [210r] (429/603)
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.
but would come in. Excluding the Jiraf they would be
more than lo.COO . this is only an estimate. The
Arhab are Bakil,
The Bakil I do not know; I cannot say how many,
perhaps more than 50,000*?
I know Kaid Ahmed of Hajariya. Ee is with the
confederacy. I ao not know how manrfosVof all these
people are armed*
They have a large quantity of arms, chiefly
I Tench (Le 3ras), also some Turkish. Mostly they arc
Mausers. They have ammunition, hut not very much.
Uasir Mabkhut probably has large quantities. The people
have &0 to 100 rounds per rifle. The quantity of am
munition we have will not last long - less than a
month, some of the Sheikhs will not be willing to
expend all the ammunition they have, net knowing
whether they will get more. Kasir Mabkhut has one big
gun; otherwise we have none, only the western part of
our country is hilly, the rest is plain, so guns will
be useful to us, especially if the enemy have guns. We
have camels, but not mules. We have plenty of foodstuffs
and are self-scpporting. But if we go to another country,
we might not have enough; and we have not enough animals
to carry food in large quantities*
We want you to maintain only the men in the field,
not our families* The Syed has not the means to ao so*
«c. 5000 a month paid to him would suffice for the pre«*
»ent* Afterwards when more people come in, he might need
more* Then about 25,000 dollars would suffice* It would
take about a month and a half or two months to get all
these people in the confederacy down by the eastern
route*
Money, ammunition etc can be sent by any route
Government wishes: J izan is the nearest,and it could be
made safe,but the tribes on the way would have to be
bribed. The eastern ^ ^
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
- 209r:210r
- Author
- Ali Mohsin al Useini
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.