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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.' [114r] (227/761)
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.
117
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 2313/177/25]
Copy No.
Viscount Hatifoujc to Sir R. Bullard (Jedda).
(No. 86.) v '
rrxjT . . . . Foreign Office, March 29, 1939.
1HE Amir Faisal came to see me on the 24th March in order to say good-bye
befoie leaving London on the conclusion of the conferences on Palestine. His
Royal Highness was accompanied by Sheikh Hafiz Wahba and by Fuad Bey
Hamza, who interpreted.
2. His Royal Highness said that he had received from the Prime Minister
the day before a letter which Mr. Chamberlain had asked him to convey to King
Abdul Aziz in reply to the letter which he had brought to Mr. Chamberlain from
his father on his arrival in this country. The Prime Minister had suggested
that, if there were any points in this letter which he desired to discuss before
his departure, he should do so when he saw me to-day. He was most grateful
for the full reply which had been given to his father’s enquiries, and for the
frank and friendly tone of the letter as a whole. There were, however, certain
points in the letter which were not entirely clear, and he wondered whether there
were any additional explanations which I would care to give him.
3. I told His Royal Highness that I was glad of this opportunity to make
certain comments upon the letter, as it dealt with one point of fundamental
importance about which I would like to say something. This point was the
possibility of aggression against Saudi Arabia. King Abdul Aziz had asked,
if I remembered rightly, what would be the attitude of this country were Saudi’
Arabia to be the victim of aggression. The meaning of the Prime Minister’s
letter upon this point was, I hoped, entirely clear, but the language used was
official and diplomatic. I therefore wished to fill in the picture in language which
it w T ould be difficult to put on paper.
i. I then went on to say that I could not imagine circumstances ever arising
in which Saudi Arabia was the victim of aggression by a major Power without
(Heat Britain being at war; and if Great Britain were at war, those who were
atuacked by her enemies would be her friends, and she would, I was convinced,
shape her policy accordingly. Moreover, the facts of geography made it inevitable
that Great Britain, with her manifold responsibilities in India, Singapore,
Australia and New Zealand, should always regard the eastern coast of the Red
Sea as an area of vital consequence. I did not think, therefore, that King Abdul
Aziz need have any doubt but that, if the case arose, the interests of Saudi Arabia
would be found to be the interests of Great Britain. I was not trying to say
anything new which was not already said in the letter. I only wished to give
additional emphasis to certain points made in the letter.
5. The Amir Faisal said that King Abdul Aziz had never doubted the
objects of British policy or supposed that they had changed. But he had felt
that the times demanded that his relations with Great Britain should be set out
more clearly than might have been necessary hitherto. Since, therefore, the
opportunity had occurred he had thought it right to address this enquiry to His
Majesty's Government in accordance with the frankness which characterised all
his relations with Great Britain.
6. Both His Royal Highness and I had other appointments and the few
remaining minutes had to be devoted to Palestine. It must therefore be a matter
for speculation whether His Royal Highness would have asked for a guarantee
of a more formal and binding character had there been more time for discussion.
His Royal Highness did, however, ask Sir Lancelot Oliphant, whom he saw a
little later, how the mechanical side of the community of interests between Great
Britain and Saudi Arabia would work in a crisis : how soon, for instance, could
help from Great Britain reach Saudi Arabia and what form would it take ? His
Royal Highness was told that the difficulty of answering hypothetical questions
of this kind was as a rule insuperable. But the enquiry would nevertheless be
examined with a view to seeing whether there was any'answer which could be
sent through you to the Saudi Arabian Government.
I 555 ff—1]
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
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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.' [114r] (227/761), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2088, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048209024.0x00001e> [accessed 24 December 2024]
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- 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