Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain' [‎115v] (235/1062)

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E.3538/1227/
91.
of Persia to Bahrein But it cannot be valid as against the Sheikhs, and while
ft ScLly loosely exp^to ajrd so.e
plaoed^m^it'by Her Majesty’s Ambassador at Constantinople^andsupported^by
f e sl mTr“pretet1on ^ pCd^it with a minimum' of preliminary
discussion in 1886 (paragraph 110); that at frequent intervals between 1870 and
1880 His Majesty’s Government maintained the independence of Bahrein against
Turkey (paragraphs 99-107 above); that so early as January 1870 they drew the
attention of the Turkish Government to the British Note of 1851 (paragraph 61
above) - and that His Majesty’s Government have uninterruptedly maintained the
independence of Bahrein against Persia and Turkey alike since the date of the
correspondence in question. . ,,,
153 The Sheikhs themselves appear, particularly m the early part of the
past century before their relations with Her Majesty’s Government were placed
on a more definite footing by the Agreements of 1880 and 1892, to have been
°'uided bv a consideration of their own immediate interests m deciding on the inie
Sf policy to be adopted towards the stronger rulers by whom they were
surrounded. It is now more than three-quarters of a centiiiy since any appeal,
however flimsy, appears to have been made to Persia by Bahrein. The present
Sheikh, Salman, who succeeded his father in 1942, referred in a speech shortly
after his accession to “this country of ours, Bahrein, .... fortunately an
independent State”, and asserted that he would “ firmly adhere to the ancient
and proven friendship with the British Government/ His father and grand
father were both keenly apprehensive of any recognition of the Persian claim, and
there is no reason to suppose that he is any less strongly opposed to it.
C.—Attitude of British Government, 1820-1934
154. From 1820 onwards His Majesty’s Government consistently dealt with
the Sheikhs as independent rulers. They concluded treaties with them on that
basis in 1820, 1847, 1861, 1868 1880 and 1892, and they have been prepared to
maintain their independence by diplomatic, or on occasion by forcible methods
against challenge from outside, whether from Persia, Turkey, Egypt or the
Wahabis. They originally entered into relations with the Sheikhs and promised
them a measure of protection (paragraph 16) in the interests of securing the peace
of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . In the early stages of those relations they appear to have
been solely concerned to achieve this object (in 1820 they even offered their
mediation, which was, however, not accepted by Persia, to secure the payment of
tribute to Persia by the Sheikhs), and they restricted their interference with the
internal affairs of the Sheikhdom to the minimum required to secure the interests
of British subjects. They were consistently reluctant to establish a protectorate
oyer Bahrein in view of the probable local embarrassments in regulating the succes
sion, &c., in which this might involve them, and in 1849 they formally declined
a request by the Sheikh that he and the islands should be taken under British
protection. In 1861 (paragraph 70) they gave the Sheikhs more categorical
guarantees of protection in return for more binding undertakings. Their
correspondence with the Persian Minister in London in 1869-70 shows the Home
Government, however, still ready at that date to adopt the attitude that if any
other Power would discharge the objects whidh had led Great Britain to under
take certain responsibilities in relation to Bahrein, she would gladly see them do
so. Closer relations with the Sheikh and closer control over his freedom of
action were established for the first time by the Exclusive Agreement of 1880.
Relations became closer still with the conclusion of the Exclusive Agreement of
1892.
XY.—Reference to Law Officers of the Crown
155. -This was the position in 1934 when it appeared possible that the
Persian Government would bring the question formally before the League of
Nations at its September session, and some discussion took place between 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. as to the attitude which His Majesty’s
Government should adopt in the event of the matter being raised under Article 11
or Article 15 of the Covenant. As part of this examination, and in connection
with the abortive treaty negotiations of 1934, the Law Officers of the Crown w r ere
asked to advise whether in their opinion Persia possessed any rights in or over
Bahrein, and, if so, what the nature of those rights was. In their report the Law