The Visit of Najd Delegation to London, (October - November 1919): A Documentary Study

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to analyze the Saudi and British documents to understand the historical context that led to Prince Faisal’s visit to London in 1919, and the reasons and aims that prompted Britain to invite Ibn Saud to this visit and was this related to Britain’s global perspective after WWI or was this related to its strategic interests and the internal situation in Arabia at the time. Methods: The study is mainly based on the analysis of Saudi and British documents, especially those of the British Foreign Office, the Indian Office Records, the information available in British newspapers, and primary and secondary sources. Results: The turbulent political and military situation in Arabia prompted Britain to invite Ibn Saud for a settlement with Sharif Hussein. The apparent British bias reflected in the difficulties faced by the delegation, which were not compatible with the usual diplomatic norms, and ultimately led to the failure of the visit to achieve tangible results for either party. Conclusions: Both the British and Saudi sides had their goals from the visit, but because the British negotiator - despite his pretense of neutrality - linked reaching a settlement of the border dispute through a direct meeting between Sharif Hussein and Ibn Saud with the fulfillment of the delegation's demands, namely the renewal of the British Treaty, the increase of British financial aid, and the issue of the Najdi pilgrims, the Najdis refrained from making any binding or conclusive promises regarding the approval of the British request.