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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [40v] (85/898)
The record is made up of 1 volume (445 folios). It was created in 13 Mar 1924-18 Mar 1931. 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.
4
137 /wi /~i sv /~) /~i /kj /t 7 r\Oi r i 'Yi P fl. ~j\I flj tt(j7 •
Nationality —
Javanese (? including Malays)
Total.
Egyptian
Indians
Others ...
35,871
17,136
11,457
20,357
84,821
13. The weather during the festival, and indeed throughout most of May, was
relatively cool. Pilgrimage conditions were generally favourable. ^ There were no
epidemics and isolated cases of serious disease were not numerous. The use of motor
< cars for the journey from Mecca to Arafat and Muna was allowed for the first time
I and some advantage was taken of the innovation. The King brought into operation
and personally superintended arrangements for the departure of the pilgrims from
Mecca in batches, a system which seems to have given good results. The dispersal of
pilgrims leaving Jedda by sea proceeded with unusually little difficulty up to the
end of the month. This generally satisfactory situation was marred in the latter
part of May bv the untoward circumstances described in the following paragraphs.
14. The" Hejaz authorities had, on the 12th May, officially declared the
pilgrimage clean and the claim appeared to be justified. On the 22nd May, however,
the Egyptian Sanitary Board announced that they had brought into application
articles 140 and 141 of the Paris Convention of 1926 owing to the discovery at Tor
of a suspect case or cases of cholera. This was followed by a report from Massowah
of an ascertained case, resulting in death on the 27th May, among pilgrims arriving
in that port. The measures taken have caused a considerable dislocation of shipping
and some controversy based on the apparently true assertion that no cholera has been
detected in the Hejaz itself, but these consequences will come more properly into the
monthly report for June.
15. A disaster unprecedented in the annals of this port, although not in the
history of pilgrim ships elsewhere, occurred on the evening of the 21st May, when the
steamship “Asia," of the French Fabre line, caught fire at anchor in the outer
harbour. She had been loaded with a full complement of some 1,500 pilgrims, mostly
from the Yemen, but including about 300 from French Somaliland. About 115 persons
perished on board or by drowning. The British pilgrim ships in port rendered all
possible assistance, and the local authorities did well in the matter of organising
relief on shore. The disaster gave rise to the most contradictory reports as to the
origin of the fire and the action of the French captain and officers, both as regards
, their handling of the situation and their personal conduct. None of the points at
issue can be said to have been elucidated. The local authorities embarked on an
enquiry, but showed little capacity for conducting it in a way calculated to inspire
confidence in any conclusions. The “ Asia, 5 ' already an old ship, was completely
gutted. Some days after the fire she was diverted on to a reef and any danger of
her encumbering the fairwmy or sinking in deep water seems to have been averted.
i 1 f'-v I H /-v /■* /'nJ ^ X J i* • • . -1 • 1
16. The increased use of motor transport in connexion wdth the pilgrimage has
brought minor troubles in its train. For instance, eleven out of forty pil°Tim motor
buses collected for the night at Bir Ben Hussaini on the Jedda-Medina road, were
burnt out on the 23rd May. Although there was no loss of life, considerable dis
organisation was caused. There has also been a number of cases of cars overturning
m which two deputy collectors from India, amongst others ce»T»irmalv irvinrfid.
About this item
- Content
The volume mostly contains printed copies of despatches from HM Agent and Consul, Jeddah, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, enclosing reports on the situation in the Hejaz (also spelled Hedjaz in the file) [now a region of Saudi Arabia], from January 1924 to December 1930, and related enclosures to the reports. These despatches were sent to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The volume also includes 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. Political and Secret Department minute papers, which include comments on the reports, and indicate that the reports had been seen by the Under-Secretary of State for India and the Political Committee of the Council of India.
The reports are monthly for January to August 1924, May 1925, September 1925 to March 1927, June 1927 to June 1930, and December 1930. Reports between these dates cover shorter periods, except July and August 1930, which are both covered by one report, and September, October and November 1930, which are also covered by one report.
The reports discuss matters including the actions of King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi of the Hejaz, including his attempts to gain recognition as Caliph, and the military and financial situation in the Hejaz during the war between the Hejaz and the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd [Najd]. They report on events of the Hedjaz-Nejd war including: the capture of Taif (September 1924) and Mecca (October 1924) by Nejd; the departure of the ex-King Hussein from Jeddah; the fall of Medina and Jeddah and the surrender of the Hejaz to Sultan Abdul Aziz of Nejd [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also known as Ibn Saud] (December 1925); and the formal assumption of the title of King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies by Ibn Saud (8 January 1925).
The reports following the annexation of the Hejaz by Nejd cover internal affairs, including prohibitions introduced for religious reasons, the Hejaz Railway, the financial situation of the Hejaz-Nejd Government, and the Hejaz Air Force. They also report on foreign relations, including: the publication of an agreement, dated 21 October 1926, between Ibn Saud and Sayyid Hassan-el-Idrisi, establishing the suzerainty of Ibn Saud over Asir; relations between Ibn Saud and Imam Yahya of the Yemen; the situation on the frontiers between Nejd and Iraq, and Nejd and Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ; and the Treaty of Jeddah between Hejaz-Nejd and Great Britain (20 May 1927). They also report Ibn Saud being proclaimed King of the Hejaz, Nejd and its Dependencies (4 April 1927).
In addition, other frequently occurring topics in the reports are: the Pilgrimage [Hajj], including the arrival of pilgrims in the Hejaz, from India, Java and elsewhere, arrangements for the pilgrimage, the welfare of pilgrims, and the repatriation of pilgrims; and the slave trade and slavery in the Hejaz, including the manumission and repatriation of slaves.
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (445 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 1707 (Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)) consists of one volume only.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 447; 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 4-444; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [40v] (85/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998359.0x000056> [accessed 11 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1115
- Title
- File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:88v, 90r:104v, 106r:108v, 110r:124v, 126r:128v, 129v:132v, 133v, 134v:137v, 139r:145r, 146r:161v, 162v:180v, 183r:205v, 206v:267r, 269r:271v, 273r:288v, 291r:308v, 309v, 310v, 311v, 312v, 313v, 314v, 315v, 316v, 317v:321r, 324r:335r, 337r:378v, 379v:381v, 383v:389v, 391r:393v, 395v:397v, 399r:400r, 402r:446v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence