'File 10/3 VI Qatar Oil Concession' [‎85r] (181/481)

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218. On the withdrawal of the Egyptians in 1840, and a fresh revival of
Wahabi power, endeavours were again made in 1842-3 by the Wahabi Amirs to
re -establish themselves in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . Baraimi was surrendered by the Naim
in 1845 and between that year and 1853 Wahabi influence was to a large extent
re -established.
211). Between 1853 and 1869 the Wahabis continued to maintain an Agent
at Baraimi. His influence was, however, much less than before, and there are
fewer signs of Wahabi influence in the affairs of the Trucial Sheikhdoms or their
hinterland. In 1855 the Wahabi Amir, who appears to have paid a tribute to
Turkey since 1840, claimed to be a Turkish subject (paragraph 105 above) and
in 1866 he appealed unsuccessfully to Turkey for help against Her Majesty's
Government (paragraph 92 above). In 1869 the Wahabi Agent at Baraimi was
murdered at Shargah, and in the same year the Sultan of Muscat captured
Baraimi, in alliance with the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the Wahabi
ruling family, which had since 1865 been internally divided by disputes regarding
the succession, were expelled from Hasa by the Turks. They were unable to
take steps to re-establish themselves in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , and by 1879 their influence
was reduced to Riyadh. Baraimi came under the influence of the Sheikh of Abu
Dhabi and so remained for the next 50 years.
220. From 1875 to 1901 the Saudi family are of merely local political
importance. Cut off from the coast and confined to the centre of Arabia their
influence is of the smallest and does not extend to Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. or its hinterland.
The principal power in Nejd at this period is the Amir Ibn Rashid of the Jebel
Shammar, a Turkish vassal.
221. The Saudis, under the present Saudi King, in 1901 attacked Ibn Rashid.
The history of Central Arabia for the next 15 years is that of the struggles for
supremacy between the Rashidi and Saudi families, culminating in the victory
of the latter in 1922. Between 1901 and 1914 repeated overtures were made by
Ibn Saud to H.M. Government with a view to securing their protection against
the Turks. These were invariably declined. In May 1914 he reached an under
standing with Turkey under which, as a Turkish subject and a Turkish vassal,
he was appointed Wali and Commandant of Nejd.
222. On the outbreak of the war Ibn Saud was approached both by the Turks
and by H.M. Government. He alleged his preoccupations with Ibn Rashid as
an excuse for not co-operating actively with the Turks but did not repudiate his
allegiance to them. In 1915 he concluded a treaty with H.M. Government under
which he undertook to respect their special relations with the Sheikhs of Bahrein,
Koweit, Qatar, and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , whose boundaries should thereafter
be delimited, and thereafter he co-operated with them. The treaty of 1915
regulated relations between H.M. Government and Ibn Saud until 1927.
223. Throughout this time there were no signs of any importance of Wahabi
advances in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. or its hinterland. In 1925^26 emissaries from the
Wahabi Viceroy of Hasa were reported to have been moving in the hinterland, to
have approached the Trucial Sheikhs, to have reached Baraimi and to have
collected zakat from the tribes (paragraphs 201 to 207 above). The matter was
Qot regarded as of great moment and no special steps were taken to deal with
the affairs of the hinterland being at that stage of no concern to H.M.
Government. But when the Treaty of Jedda of 1927 replaced the Treaty of
1 (\t f* • • •
iy io, steps were taken to include in it a provision that Ibn Saud would respect
the territories of the Sheikhs of Qatar and the Oman Coast which were in special
treaty relations with H.M. Government.
224. Information accumulating since 1927 goes to suggest that Ibn Saud, as
the result of the general prestige which he has achieved, and his authority with
Bedouin of Central Arabia, is becoming increasingly a power in the Trucial
hnterland and even as far east as Baraimi. H.M. Government have
adopted the attitude, both in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and in dealing with the King, that
the eastern boundary of Nejd is the eastern boundary represented by the Blue
^ ln e of the Anglo-Turkish Convention of 1913, and that they cannot acknowledge
^ Saudi authority to the east of that line. This contention is vigorously con
ned by Ibn Saud, partly on the basis of what he describes as '' his ancestral
claims."
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