File 1855/1904 Pt 8 'Koweit:- Arabia Chiefs' attitude towards tribes of the interior (Nejd etc.)' [7v] (12/336)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
that their interest and influence should he
confined to coast.” No steps,” the telegram
added, “ should he taken to enter into relations
with Nejd or to send Agents into interior without
my previous sanction.”
Bin Saoud lost little time in renewing his
application. In October 1906 he sent a further
message through Sheikh Jasim, in which his
proposals were set forth in greater detail. This
message, which was delivered by Sheikh Jasim
to the interpreter of the British
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.
,
Bahrein, was thus reported by Captain Prideaux Captain Prideaux
on the 17th November, 1906 :—• SoSiber^i?,’
1906.
“The resources of Nejd are stated to have
been strained to the utmost by the recent inter
necine wars, and Bin Saoud considers that the
oases of Hassa and Katif were always the most
profitable possessions of his Wahabee ancestors.
He is anxious, therefore, to recover the two
districts, and he proposes that a secret under-
standing should be arranged between the British
Government and himself, under which he should
be granted British protection from Turkish
assaults at sea, in the event of his ever succeed
ing in driving the Turks, unaided, out of his
ancestral dominions. In return for this protec
tion the Amir is willing to bind himself to
certain agreements (probably similar to those
of the Trucial Chiefs), and to accept a Political
Officer to reside at his Court. The details of
this secret Treaty he wishes to be settled or
discussed at an interview which he is ready to
give me, either in person or with his brother
representing him, at some convenient rendezvous
in the desert. Bin Saoud is determined to make
an effort to obtain possession of Hassa and Kati f,
for without the additional revenue which he can
derive from these tracts he admits that he is
unable to control the tribes who menace the
highways of commerce and pilgrimage. He
proposes, therefore, in the first place, to apply to
the Sultan for the Mutascirrif-Jik (Governorship)
of the districts, and to throw off the Turkish
yoke as soon as he considers the moment favour
able after establishing himself. If his application
is refused, he will invade the districts as soon as
he is ready, and, having captured them, he will
appeal openly to tne British Government for
protection. If he fails, he will never betray the
secret understanding between himself and the
U
/
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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.
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- 170 folios
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/50/3
- Title
- File 1855/1904 Pt 8 'Koweit:- Arabia Chiefs' attitude towards tribes of the interior (Nejd etc.)'
- Pages
- 1r:1v, 3r:158v, 162v:169v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence