File 2182/1913 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Policy towards Bin Saud (Capt. Shakespear's Mission)' [116r] (231/426)
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. .
Transcription
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■ IT I-
1,0. C-o of ±914.
K U Vr - 1 t .
Persian lulf
rr om
Certain VPH.I. Shc-kesje r, I.a.,
Politic:-! Officer on Special Duty*
To
The politic.'-1 Resident in the “lursien Gulf,
B u s h i r e .
20th Kovernber 1914.
Sir,
I:., continuation of v l etter Ro. C-4 do ted the 9th Roverri
der 1914, I Rn.ve f e ronour to report tint from Bushire 1
proceeded to the Shatt-al-Ar j, ■ r ■ * r ' rd t ie v . c. . el
discussing v/itli Sir Percy Cox the latest ners as to the at.itude
of '’pin Send" and the lines on 1 hich his copper- tion v. r as
desired. Incidentally I was informed also of S yic. Tdid's
meneouvres and of the fact that as lie hud fled to Kuwait it was
considered advisable that he should remain there.
2. 1 reached Kuweit on the 18th Povemucr and ^ learnt fr >
1,1 eutenent-Colonel Grey that Saiyic Talib had left on the 16th
instant with n small follow ing of some 50 men ostensibly for
x,ejc to interview "Bin Baud". From conversations with Shaikh
Sir i.n.barak-as-Bubal:., at which the P liticrl An^-it v: -r- also
present, nd other loc 1 information the situation as rep .us
h-u-ld T lib seems to be s follows. The B iyic. was ordered
the Turks to go to Aejd and secure "Bin Couchs" cooper.-, cion;
feeling nervous as to his own position in the event of trie bri-
ish occupying Basrah Sa:*yid T lib endeavoured, to secure terms
on Kis AaJ esty 1 s Government; news of his negotiations "' 0 .1±
> e '"'Y to nave reacnec o.iie Turkish offici.-lb in Basraii. ioi
vie T lib seems to have apprehended the direst consequence to
■If and ads f mil,, if he re-mined in^ Basrah. . ceording'A
msic er. ble feme of his life he moved to Kuwait, whence he
About this item
- 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:
- Secretary of State for India [Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe];
- Viceroy of India [Charles Hardinge];
- Foreign Office;
- 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. ;
- War Office;
- Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, Thomas William Holderness;
- 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Zachariah Cox;
- Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait (Lieutenant-Colonel William George Grey);
- Secretary to the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department [Alfred Hamilton Grant];
- Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart George Knox (on special duty in the absence of 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. );
- Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear;
- Bin Saud.
- Extent and format
- 1 item (211 folios)
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 2182/1913 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Policy towards Bin Saud (Capt. Shakespear's Mission)' [116r] (231/426), 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_100034341124.0x000029> [accessed 4 June 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/387/1
- Title
- File 2182/1913 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Policy towards Bin Saud (Capt. Shakespear's Mission)'
- Pages
- 3r:23v, 24ar, 24r:45v, 48r:63v, 64ar, 64r:85v, 85ar:85av, 86r:119v, 120ar, 120r:120v, 121ar, 121r:212v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
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