The Gulf Collection at Exeter is one of the largest in the world.The Gulf Collection
The Gulf Collection at Exeter is one of the largest in the world. Its holdings include the personal papers of Sir Charles Belgrave and Sir William Luce, copies of historical documents (mainly government reports and correspondence in Portuguese, Dutch, French, English, and Arabic dating from 1560 to the present day), historical maps, gazettes, yearbooks, surveys, videos, journals, dissertations, books, data on oil, media reports, Western press cuttings, and daily Gulf newspapers. Most of the Collection is housed in the Institute building, in the Arab World Documentation Unit (AWDU). The personal papers are housed in the Special Collections section of the Research Commons in the Old Library, a five minute walk from the Institute.
General holdings
The AWDU holds a number of collections. The following collections are relevant to the Gulf.
Personal papers
Sir Charles Belgrave (1894-1969), Advisor to the Rulers of Bahrain, 1926-57.
Sir William Luce (1907-77), British Governor of Aden, 1956-60; Political Resident in the Gulf, 1961-6; British Special Representative for Gulf Affairs (in charge of Britain's withdrawal from the Gulf), 1966-72.
Government of Bombay Diaries on the Gulf, 1778-1820
The Bombay Diaries are photocopies of the daily records of the British Government of Bombay (run by the East India Company) from the Bombay Archives in India. The 4,000 pages of extracts held in AWDU were selected for their relevance to the Gulf.
The Petroleum Collection
The Collection consists of publications from Gulf governments, oil companies, and NGOs (the Arab League, IEA, OPEC, OAPEC, UN, and so on), including annual reports and reviews, guides, statistics, market trends and prices, energy profiles, directories, and oil conference proceedings.
The Gulf Information project
The Gulf Information Project documents humanitarian effects of the Iraq-Kuwait war. It includes press cuttings, reports, and documents.
