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Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [198r] (396/1144)
The record is made up of 1 file (570 folios). It was created in 21 Dec 1932-5 Mar 1948. It was written in English and French. 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.
7. As regards the position of the Arab States
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, all the disadvantages of a federa
tion apply to them with greater force and the advantages
appear less attractive; in other words they have less
to gain and more to lose. Any form of zollverein or
unified customs control would cost them a large propor
tion of their customs revenues, since this would presum
ably be allocated on a population basis. Again, there
is little doubt that the other members of a powerful
federation would expect Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar to pass
on to tiem a large portion of the oil royalties which they
now enjoy, if only on the plea of providing for their
defence. Finally, their distance from the centre, their
paucity in numbers and their relatively backward condi
tion would make it obvious that they could carry little
weight in any organized body of Arabs and they would
have little say in a federation to v:hich they would, how
ever, be expected to make very substantial contributions.
8. From the Imperial point of view, the advantages
of a federation to the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
are even less obvious.
There is little doubt that any form of greater unity
amongst Arabs would carry as a necessary corollary a^
closer front against non-Arab interests. We should in
evitably find the discrimination against Indians which
exists already in Iraq and which was responsible for
their being ejected as soon as the mandate terminated
extended to the Gulf States, and, though its climate
would help to deter a Syrian or Palestinian invasion on
any scale, there is little doubt that the Nejdis would
be only too delighted to use the slogan "Arabia for the
Arabs" to expropriate the businesses of their Indian
competitors.
9. Our Imperial interests in these States are so
vital that we cannot afford to encourage them to turn
away from us. The security of the air routes, our naval
base, the new r oil fields that are being discovered and
developed all point to the fact that these States should
be encouraged to look to us and to no one else. Even the
instance of postal and telegraph communications which I
mentioned above would, if taken to its logical conclusion,
i.e. a Federal Post and Telegraph Service, hit our control
over post offices in this area which is very valuable to
us and injure our cable communications. Now that the
Red bear has tasted the Persian honey he may well prove
1 reluctant to return to his Caucasian mountains, in fact
I it is almost a foregone conclusion that he will find
\ some means of remaining in this Naboths vineyard. Since
the Russians have found their strength this may well lead
to a great extension of their influence and as a con
comitant a waning of ours. The more our position on
the Persian coast v/eakens, the more valuable our links
on the Arab shore become. We should therefore do all w r e
can to preserve and strengthen them.
10. I see that the proposals have been alluded to
throughout the correspondence as a Federation of Arab
States, and I have therefore continued to use this term.
Actually what is contemplated is a Confederation and not
a Federation, for while a Federation means a Union of
States in which the accent is laid on the supremacy of
the common government, (which is a chimera so far as
the Arab w'orld is concerned), a Confederation implies
a Union of Sovereign States in which the stress is laid
on ...
About this item
- Content
This file concerns the British Government's response to the Pan-Arab movement during the 1930s and 1940s. Much of the correspondence refers to the prospect of an Arab federation, although the use of the word 'federation' is noted in some of the correspondence as being a mistranslation of the original Arabic expression, which would be more accurately represented by the words 'unification' or 'unity'.
Significant subjects of discussion include:
- Arab party politics in Palestine.
- Iraqi-Egyptian relations.
- Italian propaganda in the Middle East.
- The future of Palestine.
- Britain's post-war policy in the Middle East.
- Whether the Arab states should be induced to make a wartime declaration in favour of the democracies (i.e. the Allies).
- The formation of the Arab League (also referred to as the Arab Federation in the correspondence).
- Details of the Pact (also referred to as Covenant) of the Arab League, signed in Cairo on 22 March 1945.
- Whether representatives of the Arab League should be present at the Palestine Conference in London, in 1947, in addition to representatives of Arab states.
Notable correspondents include the following: 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. ; the High Commissioner for Iraq; His Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad; the High Commissioner for Egypt; His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo; the High Commissioner for Palestine; His Majesty's Minister at Jedda; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the Minister of State in the Middle East; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, 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 Commonwealth Relations Office, and the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. 's External Affairs Department; Noury Said [Nūrī al-Sa‘īd], Prime Minister of Iraq; George Antonius, Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat.
Also included with the correspondence are the following:
- Extracts from Palestine police summaries dating from 1933 to 1936, produced by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Jerusalem.
- A printed copy of a paper on Arab federation by the Foreign Research and Press Service, dated 20 June 1941.
- Copies of documents produced by the War Cabinet's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East (also referred to as the Middle East (Official) Committee), including minutes of meetings (1941-1942) and a copy of a report on Arab Federation, dated January 1942.
- A copy (in French) of the Protocol of the Preparatory Committee for the Arab Congress, dated 7 October 1944.
- Copies of the Pact/Covenant of the recently formed Arab League (consisting of a printed copy in French, distributed by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an English translation of the full Arabic text, which includes a passage that was omitted from the French version).
The French material consists of the aforementioned Protocol and Arab League Pact, plus one item of correspondence and a copy of a newspaper extract.
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-3).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (570 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 571; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Two previous foliation sequences, which are also circled, have been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [198r] (396/1144), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2110, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047229910.0x0000c7> [accessed 17 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2110
- Title
- Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:6v, 9r:24v, 27r:59v, 61r:62v, 73r:78v, 82r:93v, 95r:103v, 105r:106v, 111r:111v, 113r:115v, 118r:120v, 122r:132v, 134r:152v, 158r:199v, 201r:265v, 273r:354v, 356r:381v, 384r:394v, 398r:407v, 410r:516v, 518r:565v, 567r:571v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence