1938: Arabia

The peninsula of Arabia is mostly desert and largely inhabited by nomadic tribes. Most of its area is ruled over by King Ibn Saud whose kingdom, Saudi Arabia, comprises all the land except the southwest corner of Arabia, where the Kingdom of Yemen under Imam Yehya includes some of the most fertile parts of the peninsula, and the southern and southeastern shore regions where a number of native princes hold sway under a British protectorate.

Modernization.

During 1938 the process of gradual modernization which Ibn Saud had introduced in his kingdom continued systematically. With the help of an Egyptian air transportation company a regular air service was instituted between Egypt and the holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. Pilgrim travel was helped by the installation in Saudi Arabia of modern water supply systems and modern hospitalization facilities. The educational system of the country was enlarged with the help of teachers from Egypt, Syria and Iraq. A number of native students were also sent to Egypt and other Arabic-speaking lands, and to Europe for the purpose of higher education. Oil borings were carried on in different parts of the peninsula. The concessions granted to American and British concerns were expected to yield the necessary funds to allow a more rapid modernization of the country. A similar process, although in a more conservative spirit, also went on in Yemen.

Neighboring Principalities.

The frontier between Yemen and the British protectorates around Aden, which had been in dispute for many years, was finally demarcated. The British Government increased its hold on the small Arabic principalities on the southern shore of the peninsula, the Hadramaut region. The principalities on the southeastern shore, which for many years have been in treaty relations with Great Britain, gained in importance because the British air route to India passes across them. Modern airports were erected. Oil concessions granted during the last years, especially in Kuweit and on the Bahrein Islands in the Persian Gulf, began to be worked.

Effect of Anglo-Italian Pact.

The pact concluded between Great Britain and Italy in April, 1938, which went into effect in November, also regulated the influence of the two countries in Arabia. Long before the World War Great Britain had tried to secure a preponderant influence in the peninsula which it regarded as an important link on the road to India. The development of automobile and air traffic and the discovery of oil, increased the strategic value of the otherwise economically barren land. The outcome of the World War seemed to make secure British control of the peninsula and of the seas surrounding it, especially of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. In the late twenties Italy tried to get a foothold on the Arabian peninsula by extending her influence with the Imam of Yemen and by entering into a number of agreements with him. The territory of the Imam surrounds Aden, the important British stronghold guarding the exit from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. In her war against Ethiopia Italy tried to strengthen her grip on the African shore of the southern part of the Red Sea, opposite Yemen. Against Italian efforts to control Yemen, Great Britain tried to establish closer relations with King Ibn Sand and to strengthen her influence in Aden and Hadramaut. In the Anglo-Italian Pact the interests of the two Powers in the Red Sea were recognized. Both parties agreed not to conclude any treaty and not to undertake any action which could in any way compromise the independence or the integrity of Saudi Arabia or of Yemen. They promised not to try to obtain a privileged position of a political nature in those two territories. They promised to cooperate in excluding any other Power from gaining political influence or a foothold in the territories of Ibn Saud or of the Imam, or in any of the islands of the Red Sea. In general it may be said that by this treaty Great Britain acknowledged the equal rights of Italy in the Red Sea and in the Arabian peninsula, a momentous departure from previous British policy which had regarded the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf as spheres of exclusively British concern.

Interest in Palestine Controversy.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continued in close treaty relations with Iraq and with Yemen. These treaties were intended as a nucleus of an Arab federation including all Arab lands. In pursuance of this Pan Arab policy the governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen continued their active interest in the Palestinian question. Both were invited by the British Government to participate in the round-table conference of British, Jews and Arabs, which was to convene at the beginning of 1939 in London to discuss the future of Palestine. The representatives of King Ibn Saud had intervened previously in London on behalf of the Arabs in Palestine. In view of the strictly religious character of his country, which not only includes the holy cities of Islam but also is ruled by the Wahhabis, the most rigorous sect of Islam, Ibn Saud stressed not only the Arabic national, but also the Mohammedan religious interest in Palestine. A similar attitude was taken by Imam Yehya of Yemen.

Internally, the year 1938 continued the reign of peace and order in the peninsula. Ibn Saud has succeeded in eradicating the age-old habit of permanent feud and warfare which formerly characterized life in Arabia. Thus the year 1938 brought to Arabia a further consolidation of its international and internal position. See also PALESTINE.