In February 1937, a peace between the Hadramawtsultanates, the Qu[ain]aytī and Kathīrī and theirtribes, totally unprecedented in the history of thatregion, was brought about essentially by the effortsof two men: Sayyid Sir Abū Bakr al-Kāf and HaroldIngrams, the first political officer in Hadramawt.This peace was known universally thereafter as“Ingrams Peace”, although the word “truce” is muchin evidence in the contemporary documents studiedbelow.

The prime object of this article is to examine in somedetail some of the contemporary British documentsdirectly or indirectly relevant to the phenomenon(for such it undoubtedly was!) of the late1930s–early 1940s called “Ingrams Peace”. It isquite unashamedly a view of events through Britisheyes, through the eyes of the key players in thedrama. They are allowed as far as is possible tospeak for themselves. Let us first introduce thecharacters involved and set the scene.