Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain' [125v] (255/1062)
The record is made up of 1 file in 3 parts (519 folios). It was created in 25 May 1934-23 Sep 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.
58
deinande .» Gouv,™,^.^
S"r pi e nsrr™K.“.“ n —>-»« * ~ >»
membres de 1'umon.’ v eu ill e z agreer, &c.
Le Directeur,
garbani-nerini.
Bahrein:
Persia’s
rights of
sovereignty
or suzerainty.
appendix II
SUBMISSION OF THE QUESTION OF THE VALIDITY OF THE
PERSIAN CLAIM TO BAHREIN TO THE LAW OFFIOERS OF THL
CROWN BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE (1934)
[E 5011/2369/91/1934]
Foreign Office to Law Officers of the Crown
Foreign Office, July 23, 1934.
Gentlemen, . j. , • p iloltn jSimon to tmnsmit
t WAVF ihp honour by direction ot becretary on joiul ,
o? your Sdonon subjeltof tHgCclX^Pe^aS ArcWpelago
^L^rand'atortnddST &Tbian p^ofHaSt |£e
dominions of Ibn Saud, the ruler of Saudi Arabia and by the pemnsu ^ ^ ^
whlrh k the territory of the independent Arab Sheikh of Qatar. 1 ne [ p -
"hS,!; Arab bjlrace,_ **+*.». ***& « “■» P”“‘
century there has been a considerable influx of Persian national
o J r Vh archioelaso is of considerable commercial importance, ine peaii
banks by^whidh it ^issOTrounded make it the. centre of a ^-1 fade which
(rnorl vears is of very considerable dimensions, while oil has recently oeen
discovered there. Its strategic position in the centre of AePemMi G«n a^vvays
imnortant has become still more so of late years with the development oi rne
air route to India and the possibility that it may be desirable to use the is and
as a British^iaval.sta memorandum prepared by 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 deah^
in detail with the history of Bahrein both before and after 1/83 is attache
(Paper A). It is conceived that the answers to the question as to which your
advice is desired will depend almost entirely on the view taken of the historical
facts^there seT out, and^t has therefore been thought necessary to state those
facts in detail. The situation may, however, be summarised as toiloV'S .
5. The Sheikhdom was for some time prior to 1783 under Persian rule
The Persians were in that year driven out of the islands by Arabs from the
mainland of Arabia under the leadership of the direct ancestor oi the present
ruling: house, in whom sovereignty has rested since that date. Claims t
sovereignty, or possibly in some cases suzerainty, over Bahrein have repeatedly
been preferred bv Persia since 1783. They were also preferred by Turkey
(suzerain up to the war of the adjoining mainland) with great insistence on a
number of occasions between 1847 and 1913, in which latter year tne Turkis
Government finally recognised the independence of the island; and they have been
put forward in the past by Muscat; by Egypt; and by the Wahabi Amirs of the
Arab mainland. Tribute was last certainly paid to Persia m 1799 It has at one
time or other between 1800 and 1870 been paid also to Muscat, to Egypt, a pd
to the Wahabi Amirs, although in the case of the last-named, at any rate m the
more recent period, possibly only in respect of possessions on the mainland o
Arabia. Bahrein, at least since 1820, has consistently been regarded as
independent by His Majesty’s Government, who have been in special treaty
relations with its rulers on that basis since that date. Those treaty, relations
(which have throughout involved contingent liabilities for protection) were
strengthened in 1861, while by engagements contracted in 1880 and 1892 the
ruling house have undertaken obligations which place their external relations m
the hands of His Majesty’s Government and preclude them from ceding territory
save to, or with the consent of, His Majesty’s Government.
About this item
- Content
The file concerns the claim of the Government of Iran (generally referred to as the Government of Persia) to territorial sovereignty over Bahrein [Bahrain].
The papers include: the Iranian claim in the light of the Bahrain oil concession; representations by the Government of Iran to the League of Nations, and the involvement of League in the dispute; summary of diplomatic correspondence, 1927-29 (folios 506-511); 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. 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 14 July 1934 - a historical summary of the political status of Bahrain, and Persian claims to sovereignty; the submission of the question by 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. to the Law Officers of the Crown, 1934 (folios 466-472), and the report of the Law Officers of the Crown (folios 400-403), stating their opinion that Persia had no rights of sovereignty or suzerainty over Bahrain; the view of the Foreign Office (subsequently adopted) that references in public pronouncements to the independence of Bahrain needed to be qualified by the statement that the ruler was 'in special treaty relations with His Majesty's Government' (folios 378-380); the status of Tamb and Abu Musa (folio 361); the imposition of Iranian import duty on aviation oil supplied to Bahrain (folios 315-316); the views of 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. on the dangers of submitting the question to international arbitration (folios 308-314); similarities to the dispute between the United States of America (USA) and the Netherlands over Palmas Island [Miangas or Palmas, Indonesia] (e.g. folios 306-307); the views of the Government of Saudi Arabia (folios 268-270); the issue of passports and visas; transcripts of articles in support of the Iranian position in the Iranian and Arabic language press; the effect of the Bahrain nationality and property laws; Italian propaganda in support of the Iranian claim (folio 243); comparison with the Falkland Islands (folio 210); the refusal of the Iranian postal authorities to accept mails from Bahrain (folio 186); the involvement of the United Nations Organisation; Foreign Office 'Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 13 January 1947, substantially based on 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. 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein' of 1934 (folios 97-126); Soviet propaganda over Bahrain (folio 57); the presence in Tehran of a person claiming to represent the Bahrain National Party (folios 50-54); and correspondence dated 1948 concerning the size and position of the Persian community in Bahrain, including a letter on the subject from Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (folios 25-37).
The file contains significant correspondence from the Foreign Office, HM Minister, Tehran (later the British Ambassador to Tehran), and 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 French language content of the file consists of approximately thirty folios of diplomatic correspondence and newspaper extracts.
The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence, dated 1927-31.
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.
- Extent and format
- 1 file in 3 parts (519 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of three physical parts. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of part one with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover of part three with 525; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-524; these numbers are printed, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3810
- Title
- Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain'
- Pages
- 118r, 119r:121r, 123r:125v, 210r, 211r, 228r:229v, 232r:232v, 239r:239v, 241r:241v, 246r:246v, 249r:249v, 277r:278v, 428r, 429r:431r, 434r:438v, 503r:509r, 514r:514v
- Author
- Iran, Minister for Foreign Affairs
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- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3810
- Title
- Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain'
- Pages
- 125r:125v, 439r:439v
- Author
- Universal Postal Union (UPU) xx Bureau International de l'Union Postale Universelle
- Copyright
- ©UPU 2017
- Usage terms
- Creative Commons Non-Commercial Licence