IOR/R/15/2/143

The volume contains correspondence concerning Qatar affairs, particularly the issues of smuggling, and rationing.

The principal correspondents are the Political Agent, Bahrain (Tom Hickinbotham); the Head Munshi of the Political Agency, Bahrain (Jassim bin Mohamed [Jasim ibn Muhammad Kadmari]); the Residency Agent, Sharjah (Abdur Razzaq [Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd al-Razzaq]); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and Shaikh Abdullah bin Qasim al Thani, the Ruler of Qatar [‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī].

The papers cover: correspondence and reports by British officials concerning the issues of slave trading, arms traffic, and the smuggling of goods at Qatar; the involvement of individual Qataris; the British decision to impose rationing on quota goods (including a discussion paper entitled 'Rationing in Qatar', folio 56); the question of the appointment of a food controller; correspondence on these subjects from Shaikh Abdullah; information on members of the Ruling family (e.g. descriptive chart entitled 'Qatar Ruling Family' on folios 130-131); and some information on general conditions in Qatar.

The Arabic language content of the papers consists of approximately thirty folios of correspondence, mainly between British officials and the Ruler of Qatar.