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File 1855/1904 Pt 8 'Koweit:- Arabia Chiefs' attitude towards tribes of the interior (Nejd etc.)' [‎4r] (5/336)

The record is made up of 170 folios. It was created in 4 Feb 1904-30 Jan 1908. 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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[This Document is the Property of Hig Britannic Majesty’s GoYemman^]
Printed for the use of the Foreign Office. January 1908.
CONFIDENTIAL.
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A itchi son,
vol. x, p. 116.
Mr. Brodrick’s
Lord Lansdowne
to Sir N. O’Conor,
October 1, 1901.
(e.) British Relations with the Wahahees.
[Communicated by 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 April 1866 the then Wahabee Amir, Imam
Abdullah-bin-Fysul, entered into a voluntary
engagement with the British Government (in
the form of a declaration, which was not signed
on our side), by which he bound himself—
1. Not to oppose or injure British subjects
residing in territories under his authority.
2. Not to “ injure or attack the territories of
the Arab tribes in alliance with the British
Government, specially on the Kingdom of
Muscat, further than in receiving the zukat that
has been customary of old.”
With the decline of the Wahabee power and
the withdrawal of their influence from politics
on the coast, the above engagement ceased to be
of practical value, and all relations between the
Wahabees and ourselves came to an end. It
is worth recording that in October 1901, at a
time of serious intertribal disturbances in the
interior of Arabia, we came to an understanding
with the Turkish Government that we would
do what we could to discourage the Sheikh of
Koweit from aggressive action, on the under
standing that the Turks would endeavour to
restrain the Amir of Nejd.
The successes of the present Wahabee Amir,
Abdul Aziz-bin-Saoud, over his rival the Amir
of Nejd (Abdul Aziz-bin-Rashid) again brought
the Wahabee question to the front. In February
1904, when the Government of India were
February 8^, 1904. considering a proposal to send an Agent to
Riadh, the Wahabee capital, for the purpose of
collecting information on Central Arabian affairs,
Mr. Brodrick telegraphed to the Viceroy as
follows :—
“No steps should be taken to enter into
closer relations with Nejd, or send Agents there,
1098 (2) B

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The papers concern the attitudes of Shaikh Mubarak [Mubārak bin Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] of Koweit [Kuwait] and rulers of other Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. coast states toward the political activities of Bin Saood (also referred to as Ibn Saood) [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, (Ibn Sa‘ūd)] in Nejd [Najd].

The principal correspondents are 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Major Percy Zachariah Cox); the 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 (Major Stuart George Knox); HBM's Consul, Basrah (also referred to as Bussorah) [Basra] (Francis Edward Crow); the British Ambassador at Constantinople (Sir Nicholas Roderick O'Conor); and senior officials of the Government of India, 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. .

The papers cover: papers concerning a proposed visit by Ibn Sa‘ūd to the Pirate Coast [ Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ] and Oman, including discussion of whether, in the event of his gaining ascendancy in the region, an approach should be made to him through the Shaikh of Kuwait or the Sultan of Muscat to safeguard the rights of British subjects residing in his territories and to ensure that there was no interference with Arab tribes in alliance with the British Government, October 1905 - February 1906 (including copies of treaties with chiefs of the Pirate Coast, 1862-92, folios 159-162) (folios 144-170); the decision of the Government of India, with Foreign Office approval, to authorise 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. to issue a warning to the chiefs of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. not to engage in 'intrigues' with Ibn Sa‘ūd, so as to avoid unrest that would be damaging to British commercial interests in the area, March-April 1906 (folios 121-143); papers concerning Ibn Sa‘ūd's relations with the Turkish [Ottoman] and British Governments, August-October 1906 (folios 108-120); papers concerning a possible Arab confederacy, November 1906 (folios 103-107); reports of fighting between Turkish troops and Arab tribesmen in Hassa [Al Hasa], overtures by Ibn Sa‘ūd to the British, and correspondence concerning the passage of Turkish troops through Kuwait, December 1906- April 1907 (including enclosures dated 1904) (folios 41-102); papers concerning Najd affairs, and the decision of the Government of India, with the agreement of 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. and the Foreign Office, that it was inadvisable to issue further warnings to Shaikh Mubarak not to interfere in Najd, as this might tend to weaken British influence over him, January-July 1907 (folios 11-40); and a memorandum concerning British relations with the Wahabees [Wahhabis], January 1908 (folios 4-10).

The date range gives the main covering dates of all the documents; however, the papers also include copies of treaties dated 1862-92 (folios 159-162). The date range of the Secret Department minute papers given on the subject divider on folio 1 is 1906-07.

Extent and format
170 folios
Written in
English in Latin script
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File 1855/1904 Pt 8 'Koweit:- Arabia Chiefs' attitude towards tribes of the interior (Nejd etc.)' [‎4r] (5/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/50/3, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035754160.0x00000f> [accessed 3 April 2025]

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