![Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [‎8r] (15/761)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000272/IOR_L_PS_12_2088_0018.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [‎8r] (15/761)")
Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [8r] (15/761)
The record is made up of 1 file (379 folios). It was created in 14 Jan 1935-12 Apr 1947. It was written in English and Arabic. 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.
copy
Riyadh - 20.9.43
The Amir Saud asked me to go and see him privaterly
this morning. He had previously sent me a message, through
Abd us Salam G-hali, the "Director of Government Hospitality”,
to say that he was thoroughly pro-democratic and pro-ally
in his principles and supported up to the hilt the policy
of his father.
Saud receive!me in the little semi-subterranean chamber
leading off his flower garden at Badia. He, Abd us Salam
and myself were the only persons present.
After a little small talk he referred to the message
he had sent through Abd us Salam and said he had wanted
to speak to me last year (December 1942) when hewaa in
Jedda with the King but there had not been a suitable
opportunity for a private talk. He stressed the private
and personal nature of this present talk and asked me not
to let any of the "Nashia” i.e. the Court, know that it
had taken place, because there were some of them who did
not see eye to eye with him and his father and it was
undesirable to give them a subject for gossip and speculation.
His Royal Highness did not say specifically who these people
were, but said: ”We don’t care about their differing in
’’opinion from us, because we have a strong control of the '
"situation and we can impose on this country the policy
”we hold to be the right one.”
His Royal Highness said the King had yielded the
direction of the country’s affairs to him, retaining only
Foreign Policy in his own hands. Tribal and financial
matters etc, were all thrown on Baud’s shoulders now, and
there would come a time when he would be responsible for
foreign affairs also.
He wanted to emphasize that he was in the fullest
agreement with his father’s policy: that he considered the
British connection to be fundamental and essential to his
country’s welfare. Just as Ibn Saud, in the worst times
for the Allies - when the Germans were at SI Alamein, for
example - had declared firmly that whatever happened he
would be loyal to his friends the British, so he, Saud,
based himself on the principle of loyalty, in the first
place because loyalty to one’s friends and allies was
fundamental in Islam and Arabism, and secondly, because
the welfare of the country demanded it.
Saud referred to conversations he h^d had with Naji Shawkat
and Jamal 1 Husseini, both of whom had tried to persuade
Ibn Saud to abandon the British connection. Saud had
replied to them himself and argued for unswerving loyalty
to Great Britain. His father had highly approved his
answers.
Saud said he had met Mr. Eden, Lord Halifax and
Mr. Macdonald in London and had given them his views. Now,
when one must think about the future, although, please
God, Ibn Saud had many years before him, he wanted His
Majesty’s Government to be assured directly from himself
that he would not only carry out his father’s policy but
better it.
/The
About this item
- Content
This file, like the previous volume (IOR/L/PS/12/2087), concerns relations between the British Government and the Government of Saudi Arabia.
The file largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, mainly between His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, Sir Reader William Bullard, Hugh Stonehewer Bird, and Stanley R Jordan successively) and officials of the Foreign Office. Other prominent correspondents include the following: the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires to Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert, succeeded by Alan Charles Trott); His Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis); Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]; Amir Faisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd], Minister of Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia; officials of the Colonial Office and the War Office.
The correspondence documents the progression of negotiations for a general settlement between the two governments, which would result in the initial prolongation of the validity of the Treaty of Jedda (the treaty signed between Britain and Ibn Saud in 1927, which initially expired in September 1934) for a period of seven years from 1936 (and for another seven years from 1943).
In addition to discussing matters relating to the proposed general settlement (e.g. the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, slavery regulations, arms traffic, and Saudi debts), the correspondence also documents various visits and meetings, including the following:
- The visit of Amir Saud [Āl Sa‘ūd, Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, heir apparent of Ibn Saud] to Britain (17 June-1 July 1935), accompanied by Fuad Bey Hamza, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia.
- Further meetings at the Foreign Office between Fuad Bey Hamza, Hafiz Wahba (Saudi Minister in London), Sir Andrew Ryan, George William Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), and other Foreign Office officials, in July 1935, following on from meetings in September 1934.
- Sir Andrew Ryan's meetings with Ibn Saud in Riyadh in December 1935 and in Jedda in February 1936.
- Four interviews held between Ibn Saud, Sir Reader William Bullard and George William Rendel, in Jedda, during March 1937.
Also discussed are matters relating to the Second World War, including:
- An exchange of letters between Ibn Saud and the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, in early 1939, which principally relate to Ibn Saud's concerns regarding his country's security in the event of the beginning of general hostilities.
- German radio broadcasts in Jedda during the first few weeks of the Second World War and their possible effect on the Jedda population.
- The possibility of Iraq and Saudi Arabia formally joining the Allies in the Second World War.
In addition to correspondence the file includes the following: a copy of a programme for Amir Saud's visit to Britain (ff 339-348); exchanges of notes (in English and Arabic) between the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Legation at Jedda, confirming the prolongation of the Treaty of Jedda, dated 1936 and 1943 respectively (ff 189-192 and ff 4-5); a sketch map showing air routes over Saudi Arabia and Iraq (f 31v).
Although the material in this file falls inside the date range of 1935-1943, the final document in the file does include an additional date stamp which is marked '12 April 1947'.
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.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (379 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 commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 380; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [8r] (15/761), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2088, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048209023.0x000012> [accessed 26 January 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100048209023.0x000012
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100048209023.0x000012">Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [‎8r] (15/761)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100048209023.0x000012"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000272/IOR_L_PS_12_2088_0018.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000272/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2088
- Title
- Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:4r, 5r, 6r:31r, 32r:75v, 77r:77v, 79r:152v, 158r:173v, 175r:180v, 186r:187v, 188v:189r, 190v:191r, 192r:199v, 201r:204v, 206r:266v, 269r:275v, 276v:278v, 280r:286v, 288r:293r, 295r:314r, 316r:380v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence