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File 2182/1913 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Policy towards Bin Saud (Capt. Shakespear's Mission)' [‎54r] (104/426)

The record is made up of 1 item (211 folios). It was created in 22 Sep 1914-17 Jan 1916. 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. .

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From Secretary of State to Viceroy, Foreiyn Depart merit,
22ml April 1915.
Foreign Secret. Your telegram dated 26tli March. Treaty with Katr
Sheikh. It is perhaps desirable that this and any treaties with Hadramaut
Sheikhs, as to which see last sentence my secret despatch Fo 57,
6th Novemhei last, should be accomplished facts whenever future of Arabia
conies u]) for discussion among the i’owers.
Hare yon news of treaties with Idrisi and Bin Sand.
Ejection of Turkish garrison at El Bida is essential preliminary to negotia
tions with El Katr Sheikh. Garrison has now dwindled to 90 men, but we
cannot yet spare ship of war or men to remove them. Moreover, it appears
undesirable to detach even small force at present from Mesopotamia for lids
purpose. Apart from this it appears desirable that negotiations with Bin
Sand should be satisfactorily concluded before we touch El Katr as El Katr
question is intimately connected and it would be a mistake to risk estranging
Bin Sand by any previous agreement with El Katr. Again it is not certain
that Sheikh Abdullah’s position in El Katr is secured, and local conditions
would require further investigation before we commit ourselves. Decline
in arms traffic owing to war renders El Katr treaty no longer urgently
necessary. These are our primd facie views, but we are consulting (’ox
and will telegraph our considered views later.
From Viceroy, 6th May 1915.
Foreign Secret. Your telegram dated 22nd April. Treaty with El Katr.

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Content

Part 4 primarily concerns British policy towards Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], following the outbreak of the First World War. It includes the following:

  • discussion regarding Bin Saud's relations with the Ottoman government, and the need for the British to secure Bin Saud's goodwill, especially in the event of the Ottoman government entering the war on the German side;
  • details of Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear's mission (as a political officer on special duty) to meet with Bin Saud, with the aim of ensuring that, in the event of hostilities between Britain and the Ottomans, no assistance is offered to the latter by Bin Saud;
  • translated copies of letters from Shaikh Mubarak [Shaikh Mubarak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ], Ruler of Kuwait, to Bin Saud, urging the latter to side with the British Government;
  • details of a proposed preliminary treaty between the British and Bin Saud;
  • reports of Captain Shakespear's death;
  • reports on Bin Saud's military engagements against Bin Rashid [Saʿūd bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Āl Rashīd];
  • a copy of a draft of a preliminary treaty between the British government and Bin Saud;
  • details of proposed gifts from the British to Bin Saud of arms and ammunition captured from the Ottomans, plus a £20,000 loan.

The principal correspondents are the following:

Extent and format
1 item (211 folios)
Written in
English in Latin script
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File 2182/1913 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Policy towards Bin Saud (Capt. Shakespear's Mission)' [‎54r] (104/426), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/387/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034341123.0x000072> [accessed 6 June 2026]

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