• J • 1 f 'A STUDY OF QA~ARÏ-BRITISH RELAT.IONS 1914 - 1945 , 1 1 " " By .CD Yousof Ibrahim ll-Abdul.1a r A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Graduate Studies , , and Research. McGill University, Montreal, in partial fulfilment of the require­ ments for the ,degree of Master of Arts , 1 Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University Montreal , Oct., 1981 ;J - • ..w..... '......, _ ~ ___ .......... ___ ...... __.. __ - ~ __ ...... -~-~, 1 .:!;. 'c , ' ABSTRACT ,. ilE '. Ibrah~m A'., Author Yousof Al-Abdulla i Title of 1ihesis A Study of Qa"t;arI-Brltish Relations, i.":. ..,~ 1914-1945 Department Institute of IslanlÏc Studies'" \v~ if McGill University, Montreal Degree 1 Master of Arts This thesis is an' attempt to study Qa~arI-British ,< relations from 1914 until 1945. Although British relations t9 .. ê\. lf wi th Qa~ar started eariier, the outbreak of World War l in ;; f: 1914 gave the British an opportuni ty to eliminate the -Ottoman presence in eastern Arabia, so tnat Qa~ar came undêr direct British protection. This British objective was J achieved through aolong process of negotiations and treaties. The B~itish played an important role in the disputes between the Al KhalIfah of Ba1}rain and the Al ThanI of Qa"t;ar, whi-ch involved al-Zubarah and the ~awar islands, as weIl as in the " disputes over the Qa"t;arI-Su'üdI bord~r. The British oil policy was sucpessful in obtaining an oil concession and in r: keeping American oil oompanies away from Qa~ar. \ ;, ,, ,1 ,, ii Cl f. 1> ~- t,~, .j.<, (1 .. __ 1 - .' .. 1 Auteur 1 . Yousof Ibrahim Al-Abdulla Ti tre de la th3se 1 Étude sur 1e8 relation~ qa~arI­ britanniques, 1914,-194.5, D6partement Institut des,études islamiques. '\ Universit~ McGi11,. Montreal Degr& Maîtrise ès Arts ct Cette thèse veut une étude des re~ations qakarI- ~ l:J:citanniques de 1914 à 1945. Quoique les relations brJ,tanniques avec le Qa~ar aient commencé plus tat, la p~riod de la première guerre mondiale de 1914 a fourni aux bri~anniques l'occasion d·éliminer~la présence ottomane dans l'est de l'Arabie, et c'est ains~ que le Qatar est devenu directe- ment sous la protection britanniqùe. Cet objectif britannique 'fut accompli après un long processus de négotiations et de trait&s. Les britanniques ont jou~ un r~le important dans les querelles entre les familles Al, Khallfah du BàQrain et "" .. 1 Al ThinI de Qa~ar à propos des iles al-Zubarah et ijawar ainsi que de la frontière QatarI-Su,udI. La politique bri tannique ;du pétJr01e au Qakar a, réussi il obtenir une con­ ~ssion de pétrOle et à ga~er les comp~~nies de pétrOle .. il,. americaines 10in du Qa~ar. iii ------~~--------, -------- -> .. , . ... ',' t CO NrENTS ACKNOWLEIlGEMENTS •••••••••••••• * •••••••••••••••••••••• vii NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• viii ~ \, ABBREVIATIONS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ix ~ ç' w i1 Chapter ~" .. ~., $ INT RO DUCT 10 N 1 t;. .................................. ~ ~ ~ A. General Survey •••••••••••••••••••••••••• ',' 1 ~ " 1. International and National Situa- l l 1 tians in the Gulf ..................... 2. Al Thini. the Rulers of Qa1ïar ....... B. Qa~ar's Relations with Its Neighbours tft' ~, during the Second Half of the Nine- .. ( ,. teenth Century •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 11 1. Qa~ar's Relations with B~rain •••••••• 11 ~ 2. Qa~ar·s Relations with the Ottomans ••• 16 J. Qa~ar's Relations with Kuwait ••••••••• 19 4. .Qa~ar·s Relations with Abù ~abI ••••••• 20 , 5. Qat;ar's Relations with Su'üdI Arabia •• 23 Notes .......................................... 29 II. THE 1916 TREATY BETWEEN QAr.cAR AND GREAT BRITAIN ..•..•..••....•.......•.•...•..•••••••. JJ A,' Circumstances Which Led to the Conclu­ sion of the 1916 Treaty ••••••••••••••••••• JJ B. The 1916 Treatyl Critical Analysie of the Text •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• J7 iv la_ Io..___ -....;..---~----~- ~-- ~-- - -~- li ~ / ) jl) / \\ ~ / \\ / • v • 1 \ C. The Developmeri~ of Qa~arI-Bri tish Rela­ Il tions after the Conclusion of the \ 1916 Treaty •• ~......................... 45 1. InternaI Political Conditions of Qa~ar •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 45 2. The Problem of Renewal of Protection 54 Notes •• 1 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 67 III. TERRITORIAL DISPUTES WITH BaTH SU'UDÏ ARABIA AND BA1j:RAIN, AND THE BRIT ISH ATTITUDES TOWARDS THESE CONFLICTS •••••••••• 72 A. Qa~arI-su 'üdI Relations in Regard to the Border Sep~~ting the Two Countries •••• 72 B. Qa~arI-BaQrainI Relations in Regard to al-Zubarah and ~awar Islands ••••••••••• 81 1. Al-Zubarah 1 •••••••••••••••••••, 0 •••• 82 . - 2. ~war Islands •••••••••••••••••••••• 86 Notes ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 0 •••••••••• 92 IV. GREAT BRITAIN AND ITS aIL POLICY IN QAtAR •• 102 A. Struggle for Oil Concessions ••••••••••• 102 B. The 1932 Agreement between Qatar and Anglo-Persian Oil Company •••••••••••••• 106 C. Bri tish Oil Po1icy in Qatar ••• Il • ••• • •• 109 D. Qa~ar ail Concession ••••••••••••••••••• . 116 Notes •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 122 • (l' "''''' ... ---,.-~ vi 1 1 1 S~Y AND CONCLUSIONS ........... ...............~ , .'/ 126 APPENDIX 1 • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 1 •• l~ l)J APPENDIX 2 • ••••••••••••• 1 ••••• 1 •••••••••••••••••••• J 1)8 APPENDIX ) 140 • • • • • • • • 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • j' APPENDIX 4 • • • • • • • • • • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • f • 149 1 APPENDIX 5 • •• 1 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ";' 1 150 APPENDIX 6 ·. .. .. .. .. .. .. f .. 151 APPENDIX 7 ·........................................ .152 APPENDIX 8 • .J ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 •••• 153 BIBLIDGRAPHY ••••• 1 • 1 ••••••••••••••• 1 ......... 154 , (J / 1 " , liw, ~ :;. v " , .. ," ! i" ~' ~ ~ ~ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1· 1 / 1ACKNOWLEDGEMENT l would 1i*e te express my sincere gratitude to/the i Government of Qa~ar for providing a scho1arship to atudy at - 1 McGi1l university,1 l am specia11y grateful to His Exce11ecy Mt'. 'is' Ghànim al-kawari, Minister of Information, and to 1 [) 1) Mr. al-~ayyib ~a1ib, the previous Director of the sarne min- istry, for ~heir ~ncouragement. o." l shou1d ~ecord on this occasion the valuable help 1 1 offered ta me by fhe Director and staff of the Islamic Studies. / ~of..} A.M. Abu-HQ~imaT graciously and patiently supervised / this werk. l wish to express my thanks to my two colleaguesl • . ' Mrs. Pat Dubuisson for editing the English and proof-reading of this thesis, and to Mr. M.A. 'Abd al-~arnad .for various sug­ gestions and the final typing of the manuscript. Last but net least, l would like to express my thanks to the staff of the Institute's Libraryand especially Miss ù-', Salwa Ferahian, for their unfai1ing help whenever it was requested and ta extend similar thanks' to the staff of the India Office Library and Records, London, England', .\ / Montreal, October, 1981 '. vii \ .) 1 NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION The system of transliteration of Arabie ls that used by the Instit~te of Islamic Studies, McGill University. wlth the following exceptions. the place names Kuwait, Baqrain, and Do4a have been rendered in their commonly accepted Anglici~ed forms. This system ie as fOl+owss A. Consonants 1 / 7 initiall unexpressed.. 5' medial and final. ' 4.--> b ...) z • •• '~ s uq ~ th ~ sh éJk &P Q JI '01' 4 , m .lot On \~ . -IP .; ~h ) dh t' ~ w ..J r [gh (jY B. Vowele. Diphtongs. etc. s short. L a; - il L u. / longs \ al <.S Il ~ ü. / alif mag ~ürah 1 (5 â J diphtongs 1 U ay 1 -' " aw. T ~ ,. ~ - long wi th tashd~d 1 ~H," ~yal ""f uwa. ta' marbütah 1 ~ ah; in i4afah., at viii j, ,~, ,'":.: ...... ,.r.'""I~.,.~~ ,,,,~4"",· ...... ~~~~'lf1,f;ro..~~ , . '1 , ' ABBREVIATIONS ' APOC Anglo~PerBian Oil Company ,Bapco Bahrain Petroleum Company CAB Cabihet Conclusions CID Commi ttee of Imperial Defence' FO Foreign Office IOR India ~ffice Library and Records IPC Iraq Petroleum Company L/P&S Political and Secret Department Library PCL Petroleum Concessions (Qatar) Company Ltd. PRO Public Records Office R/151t Political Residency Bushire 1763-1947 R/15/2 Political Agency Babrain 1900-1947 RAF Royal Air Force ! Socal California Standard Oil Company / Il , 1 ix (; .' ( , 1 ' .. o 1 CHAPl'ER l INTRODUCTION A. ,General Survey Qa~ar is l~\cated in the middle of' the western coast of the Arabian Gulf 'and is surrounded by sea in t;te north, e.aat and west, while in the south i t shares i ts border wi th • 1 the Kingdom of Su tüdI Arabia and the Emirate of Abu ~abi.· ria area is about 11,400 km2 with 160 kril long' from north to South and 80 km wide :from east to west. 1 Qa"t;ar has a flat surface with interval sand dunes, ( hills covered with stones, and craggy rocks. 'Its s;ummer is very hot and long, starting from the beginning of' April till the end of September. Its winter is short and warm; the temperature decreases to a mild level, while rain is 2 scarce. Wells are scattered in many places throughout the country. Agriculture is very sparse. Since certain Qa1ïarI townS and villages are :frequently \ mentioned in the present narrative, i t seems best to give a brief' annotation of such names, like 1 al-Bid t, Dôl}a (al-DawlJ,ah), \ al-Wakrah, al-Fuwayri"t;, al-Ruways, Abu ~ulüf, Khawr ijassan \ (al-Khuwayr), al-Zubarah, and al-Jjuwaylah. Befora the found­ l ation of Dol}a, al-Bid t was a prosperous town built by members '. ,- . of the Südan tribe which had migrated from Abü ~abI. This town (~ " \ « 2 F was desCfibed by travellers who visited Qatar in the second ;' half of the 19th century as a flourishing town with a pop- ulation of 6,000 people.) DoQa was founded later by the Al Bü 'Aynayn-tribe who migrated to al-Wakrah from BaQrain. .'" Its population in the beginning of the 20th century was 12,000, although an Ottoman source put it at 10,000.4 DoQa, divided into 9 quarters, was inhabited by the tribes of Al ~a'a~Id, Al SÜdan, Al Bu Kuwarah, Al bin 'AlI, Al 'Amamirali. Al Dawasir, Al Baqaqilah: Al Silitah, and Al Bü 'Aynayn. There were also groups of Al BaQarinah, âl Hawalah and Al Najjadah tribes as weIl as 400 Turks.