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Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [415v] (830/843)
The record is made up of 1 file (420 folios). It was created in 12 Nov 1935-27 Sep 1937. 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.
limits within which Saudi Arabia and the other Arab States concerned would
respectively be free to exercise full sovereignty. Fuad Bey Hamza replied that
his Government considered that the only basis for a settlement was to establish
and allocate the grazing grounds in accordance with the political allegiance of
the desert tribes concerned. He maintained that the statement of King Abdul
Aziz’s demands was drawn up on the basis of the grazing grounds of four tribal
groups, in particular of the widespread Ahl Murra tribe, who acknowledged
Saudi sovereignty; and, in support of the line claimed by King Abdul Aziz,
he communicated the names of 161 wells said to be owned by that tribe.
Fuad Bey criticised the concessions offered by His Majesty’s Government as being
purely arbitrary and not in accordance with the material facts of the situation in
the desert. The Saudi Government had, he said, worked out, after the most
searching investigation and enquiry, a carefully plotted and rational boundary
which took account of the political and tribal situation, and they were prepared
to provide detailed evidence in support of their proposal; he insisted therefore
that the next move lay with His Majesty’s Government, and that, if they did not
agree with Saudi claims, it was for them to produce a detailed statement of their
criticisms. Hitherto, he asserted, His Majesty’s Government had merely replied
to the Saudi proposals by the simple counter-offer of an arbitrarily limited narrow
area which failed to take account of the material facts.
5. His Majesty’s Government are reluctant to acquiesce in a continuance
of the deadlock reached in the conversations with Fuad Bey Hamza last summer,
without making any further attempt to reach an agreed settlement. As you
yourself have advised, so long as this frontier question remains in its present
indefinite state it stands in the way of the general and lasting settlement of
Anglo-Saudi differences which His Majesty’s Government are anxious to bring
about. Moreover, the rapid development of oil exploitation on the Arabian shore
of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
renders it very desirable that a definite limit should be drawn
between territories which would be recognised as being under the sovereignty of
King Abdul Aziz on the one hand, and as being under that of the rulers of
Qatar, of the
Trucial Coast
A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
States and of Muscat on the other. You will recollect
that only in September last Flis Majesty endeavoured to stop the grant of an oil
concession by the Sheikh of Qatar to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, on the
ground that part of the concession area was included in his territorial claims.
If the frontier is not settled there is a risk that similar difficulties may arise from
the exploitation of the oil deposits in the Trucial Sheikhdoms if oil concessions
should be granted therein.
6. It is clear, therefore, that every effort should be made, especially at
the present critical juncture in world affairs, to reach an agreed settlement of
the dispute, to put an end to an uncertain and unsatisfactory situation, and to
remove a source of friction which has already had an unfortunate effect upon
the general course of Anglo-Saudi relations. With this object in view His
Majesty’s Government, after obtaining fresh information from the British
authorities of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
and of the Aden Protectorate, have reconsidered
the whole question, and they are prepared to go to the extreme limit of concession
in the endeavour to formulate new proposals to meet the claims of King Abdul
Aziz in the greatest possible measure. They have accordingly decided to
authorise you to seek a favourable opportunity during the course of your forth
coming visit to Riyadh to resume negotiations in the matter, if possible with
King Abdul Aziz himself, but otherwise with his Ministers, and to furnish
you with the following instructions for your guidance.
7. You will begin by informing King Abdul Aziz that, as a result of the
conversations with Fuad Bey Hamza last summer in London, the whole question
of the frontiers in South-Eastern Arabia has been fully reconsidered by His
Majesty’s Government, after consultation with the local British authorities in
Arabia. In particular His Majesty’s Government have re-examined the boundary
claimed by King Abdul Aziz, as described in the memorandum communicated
to you on the 3rd April last, in the light of the detailed evidence supplied by
Fuad Bey Hamza, of the arguments advanced by him in the course of discussion,
and of the further information collected by the British authorities in the areas
concerned. You will then express in general terms the earnest desire of His
Majesty’s Government to go as far as possible to meet the wishes of King Abdul
Aziz in an amicable settlement of the question, laying stress at the same time
on the long-standing treaty obligations of His Majesty’s Government towards
About this item
- Content
This file primarily concerns British policy regarding the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat (i.e. the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman).
Much of the correspondence relates to British concerns that the boundaries should be demarcated prior to the commencement of any oil prospecting in the area. The file's principal correspondents are the following: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard); 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); 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. , Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); 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. , Muscat (Major Ralph Ponsonby Watts); the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Secretary of State for India; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; 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. , and the Admiralty.
Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:
- Whether the British should press King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] for a settlement of the outstanding questions relating to the aforementioned boundaries.
- Sir Andrew Ryan's meeting with Ibn Saud and the Deputy Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs, Fuad Bey Hamza, in Riyadh, in November 1935.
- The disputed territories of Jebel Naksh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar] and Khor-al-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd].
- Whether or not a territorial agreement between Ibn Saud and Qatar was concluded prior to the Anglo-Qatar Treaty of 1916.
- The intentions of Petroleum Concessions Limited regarding the development of its oil concession in Qatar.
- The line proposed by the British for the boundary between Saudi Arabia and the Aden Protectorate.
- The Kuwait blockade.
- Leading personalities in Oman.
- Details of Harry St John Bridger Philby's expedition to Shabwa [Shabwah, Yemen].
- Four meetings held between Sir Reader Bullard, George Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), and Ibn Saud, in Jedda, 20-22 March 1937.
Also included are the following:
- Copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East.
- Copies of correspondence dating from 1906, exchanged between 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 Government of India's Foreign and Political Department, and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi [Shaikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan], regarding the latter's claim to Khor-al-Odeid.
- Several maps and sketch maps depicting the proposed boundaries discussed in the correspondence.
The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (420 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 (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 421; 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 in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [415v] (830/843), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2137, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049619519.0x000021> [accessed 29 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2137
- Title
- Coll 6/67(4) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:30v, 33r:47v, 50r:60v, 64r:93v, 95r:107v, 109r:210v, 213r:304v, 313r:358v, 360r:421v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence