Abstract: The file consists of the Viceroy's Minute by Donald Martin Stewart, member of the Viceroy's Council, pertaining to a letter from the Government of India dated 21 September 1899 (IOR/L/PS/7/116: 927/99) and a Minute by Alfred Comyn Lyall dated 3 November 1899 (IOR/L/PS/18/C99) regarding British policy in Persia.It comments on relations with Russia regarding the integrity of Persia, and the extension of the railway system.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences and terminates at f 110, as it is part of a larger physical volume; this number is written in pencil, and is located in the top right corner of the recto side of the folio.
Abstract: This file reproduces telegrams written between the Secretary of State for India, the Viceroy of India, the First Minister at Teheran (Sir Arthur Hardinge), and the Foreign Secretary (Marquess of Lansdowne), in which the authors assess the merits and logistics of a proposed loan to the Persian Government.The chief considerations concern the British and Indian Governments' desire to neutralize the Russian monopoly on loans to Persia, and to prevent Russia from gaining influence in southern Persia. Proposals include using revenues from customs houses in southern Persia as security against the loan, eliciting political agreement not to allow foreign road or railway construction projects in southern Persia, and a plan for the Indian Government to purchase a large stake in the Imperial Bank of Persia in order to facilitate similar loans in the future.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 150, and terminates at f 160, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file consists of a memorandum and additional note by Lord Mayo, Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council, concerning British policy in Persia.It expresses Lord Mayo's opinion on Anglo-Indian foreign policy such as building relations of friendship, the maintenance of peace, and opposing the interference of any European power in Persia's affairs. Discussed are: boundary disputes, relations with Russia, and the suggested employment of Indo-British officers in the Persian service.The note describes the military force of Persia, and focuses on instances where British officers attached to the Persian army were forced to withdraw, which is used to demonstrate the need for a new system of external policy or internal military administration. It also includes extracts from Sir William Kaye's
Lives of Indian Officers: Illustrative of the History of the Civil and Military Service of India. Vol. 2(London: A. Strahan and Co., 1867), on Major D'Arcy Todd who wrote on the treatment of British officers and the state of army affairs generally in Persia 1833-38.The file has been annotated with markings and comments on key words and points.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 137, and terminates at f 143, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Residency and Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency for 1903-1904, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India (Calcutta), forming part of the Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, and based on reports sent to Government by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Political Agent at Muscat. Folios 165 and 166 are copies of notes, dated 18 April 1904 and 18 May 1904 respectively, sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and Captain William George Grey, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and Political Agent, Muscat, to Louis William Dane, Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, submitting their respective annual administration reports.The Administration Report is organised as follows:1.
General Summarysubmitted by Kemball (folios 167-69), including reports on: the year’s rainfall and harvest; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public health, with details of outbreaks of cholera and plague; settlement of claims; the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon’s visit to the Gulf, including details of the itinerary; the British Minister at the Court of the Shah of Persia’s visit to the Gulf; and the postal service. The
General Summaryalso includes summaries for towns and regions, as follows: Oman and Muscat; Oman and the Pirate Coast, with an assessment of the pearling season, incidents of piracy and tribal relations; Bahrain [referred to as Bahrain], with an assessment of the pearling season; El Hassa [Al-Hasa] and El Katif [Al-Qaṭīf]; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, with an update of the struggle between Abdul Rahman bin Feysul el Saood [Ibn Sa‘ūd] and the Emir of Nejd, Ibn Rashīd; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast, with separate routes from Shiraz, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; Persian Baluchistan; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted; incidents of piracy; movements of British naval vessels; reports on changes in British officials; and visits made by foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 (folios 168-70) comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.2.
Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency, 1903-04, submitted by Grey (folios 170-77), including an account of the tribal politics of Oman; a detailed account of Lord Curzon’s visit to Muscat, including copies of the addresses presented to Lord Curzon by the community of British subjects and other British protected persons in Muscat, and Sultan Seyyd Faisal [Sa‘id Fayṣal], and Curzon’s replies to each. The report also includes details of the Resident’s visit to Muscat; political tours made by the Muscat Agent; administration of customs; Gwadur [Gwadar] customs; arms trafficking; health; law; building work in Muscat; improvements to the coal depot at Makullah cove; marine incidents, principally the wrecking of the French steamship
Amiral Gueydon; naval movements at Muscat; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted at Muscat; and changes to official personnel at Muscat.3.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1903, submitted by Kemball (folios 178-87), including general remarks on trade, and more detailed remarks on customs tariffs; imports and exports; tea; indigo; exchange; freight and shipping. Two appendices to part 3 contain tabular data on the value and quantities of imports and exports into Bushire and other Gulf ports, as well as data on the numbers, tonnage and nationality of visiting vessels.4.
Trade Report for Muscat, 1903-1904, submitted by Grey (folios 187-91), containing details on imports and exports at Muscat, and followed by an appendix with trade statistics.5.
Report on the Trade of Mohammerah[Khorramshahr]
for the Year 1903, submitted by William McDouall, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Mohammerah (folios 190-92) with summaries on: exchange; shipping; caravan routes; and agriculture. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.6.
Trade Report of Bundar Abbas[Bandar-e ʻAbbās]
for the Year 1903, submitted by Arthur Prescott Trevor, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Bandar-e ʻAbbās (folios 193-96), with summaries on: openings for British trade; mistakes made by British traders and their foreign competitors; the progress of rival trade; obstacles to trade; changes to trade tariffs; communications; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.7.
Report on the Trade of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1903, submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant Political Agent, dated 9 January 1904 (folios 196-99), with details on: cotton, rice and coffee imports; lantern manufacture in Bahrain; assessment of the pearling season; the oyster shell export trade; boatbuilding activity; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing tabular data on the principal imports and export at Bahrain.Physical description: The report is arranged into a number of parts and subheadings, with statistic data in tabular format directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (. 164) which lists the report’s contents, referring to the report’s own pagination sequence. Some statistical tables (ff. 197-99) are arranged on the page in landscape format.
Abstract: Gazetteer of the province of Kermanshah, Persia [Iran], compiled by Hyacinth Louis Rabino, Vice-Consul at Resht [Rasht] at the time of the gazetteer’s publication in 1907, and who had been Acting Consul at Kermanshah during 1904 and 1905. The gazetteer, which is marked for official use only, was issued by the Division of the Chief of the Staff of the Government of India, and published at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla [Shimla]. At the front of the volume is an introduction by Lieutenant-Colonel Wilfrid Malleson, Acting Quartermaster General for Intelligence, dated 22 March 1907, and a preface by the author, dated 24 June 1904, with notes on the transliteration system used (folios 4-5).The gazetteer includes five appendices, numbered I to V, as follows:appendix I, a translation from the French original of a description of the road from Kermanshah to Mendali [Mandalī], via Harunabad [Eslāmābād-e Gharb] and Gilan [Sarāb-e Gīlān], as recorded in a journal by Leon Leleux, Inspector General of Customs at Kermanshah;II, a translation from the Persian original of a description of the villages in the immediate vicinity of the caravanserai of Mahidasht, written by the Mirza of Customs at Mahidasht;III, a vocabulary of terms;IV, a list of the principal roads from Baghdad to Teheran via Kermanshah, with distances given in miles and farsakhs;V, a list of the notables of Kermanshah.The gazetteer contains extensive extracts from a range of sources, including: an earlier, unspecified gazetteer, published in 1885; various works on Persia by British Government officials (including Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, the Viceroy of India George Nathaniel Curzon, Captain George Campbell Napier); published works by a number of scholars and explorers of Persia (notably Trevor Chichele Plowden, Jacques De Morgan, Henry James Whigham, and James Baillie Fraser); reports from other sources, including Leleux, and the Mirza of Customs at Mahidasht.Some of the appendices’ pages appear to have been mixed up. Included among them are: a genealogical table of the princes of Kermanshah (f 239); and hierarchical tables listing the chiefs of the principal tribes of the province of Kermanshah (ff 244-245).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 250; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file consists of a Minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council regarding Russian ambitions in Eastern Persia. These include: the absorption of Persia, the connection of Russian territories by railway with the Indian Ocean, and the acquisition of a fortified naval base in the Persian Gulf.Curzon examines how far Russian ambitions would negatively affect British interests, and how far they should either be acquiesced or opposed.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 132, and terminates at f 134, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence — in Arabic and English — between Shaikh ‘Abdullah bin ‘Isa al Khalifah [‘Abdullāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] and Percy Gordon Loch, the Political Agent, Bahrain. The correspondence is concerned with inviting the Political Agent to a reception in honour of the Viceroy of India; the dates of this correspondence range from May to November 1934.The file also contains an official document referred to as a Kharita (see folio 11) dated 20 March 1947 from Archibald Percival Wavell, announcing the end of his term as Viceroy of India, along with an Arabic translation of the Kharita. The translation (see folio 12) was prepared in order that it may be transmitted to the Ruler of Bahrain, Sulman bin Hamad Al Khalifah [Shaikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah], and his reply — in both Arabic and English — dated 1 May 1947 can be found on folio 14.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 17; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-9; these numbers are written in blue crayon, and are not circled.
Abstract: The item consists of a minute, dated 7 July 1819, by Governor-General of India, Warren Hastings. The minute discusses the conduct of General Sir Thomas Hislop, Commander-in-Chief at Fort St George, Madras [Chennai], who authorised the execution of the Killedar [Killidar] of Talneir [Thalner] following the British capture of the fort.Physical description: 1 item (3 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 123 of 1846, dated 15 October 1846. The enclosures are numbered 3-20.Enclosure Nos. 3-16 and 18 are dated 21 September to 10 October 1846, and consist of correspondence, and minutes and resolutions of the Government of Bombay, relating to affairs at Aden and within its vicinity, mostly in relation to a recent attempted attack on Aden by a body of ‘Arabs’ under ‘the fanatic’ Syed Ismael [Sayyid Ismā‘īl, also spelled Sayud Ismail in this item].The enclosures cover matters including:The Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, reporting on when the roads into Aden have been ‘unmolested’ and supplies have entered Aden market, and when this has been prevented, such as: on 19 September 1846, when he states a party of the Foutheli [al-Faḍlī] tribe, under the direction of their ‘Chief’, Ahmed [Sulṭān Aḥmad bin ‘Abdullāh al-Faḍlī], and Sayud Ismail, attacked and plundered the kafila [caravan] from Lahidge [Lahij or Lahej] and the adjacent villages, with the roads being closed from 19 to 24 September, and on 28 September when there was another attack on a kafila by fifteen mounted men of the Foutheli tribeHaines reporting that Sayud Ismail still remains a guest of the Foutheli Chief; Haines’s prediction that the ‘almost daily murders’ on the roads will cause ‘ill feeling and a blood feud between tribes’; and his stated doubts that Sayud Ismail will receive reinforcements from northwardsAn increase in scurvy among the soldiers of the 47th Madras [Chennai] Native Infantry at Aden, as well as among the labourers and convicts, reported by HainesThe Government of Bombay instructing Haines to report on whether he can suggest any means by which the Foutheli Chief could ‘without any inordinate risk, be made to feel the power of the British Government’ (folio 340r), as in their view it is mainly due to his influence that that the peace of Aden continues to be disturbedThe Adjutant General of the Army, Lieutenant-Colonel C Hagart, forwarding a letter from the officer commanding the troops at Aden, Lieutenant-Colonel H R Milner, reporting: that on 28 September a force of ‘Arabs’ numbering from 200 to 250 were in front of the Turkish Wall advancing, it was assumed, for the purpose of attacking Aden, however when they came within 400 yards of the Right Field Work the guns of the Fort opened fire, resulting in several of the Arabs being killed and wounded; that he was subsequently informed by the Political Agent at Aden that the force had no intention of attacking Aden; Milner’s opinion that the force which had originally gathered for attacking Aden has almost entirely disappeared from the neighbourhood and there is no fear of Aden being attacked; and that supplies from the interior continue to come into Aden very irregularly and high prices are demanded for themThe Superintendent of the Indian Navy, Sir Robert Oliver, stating in response to the Government of Bombay’s enquiry about whether a small iron steam vessel could be appropriated for service at Aden, that the only vessel available for this purpose is the Medusa, but that vessel is undergoing serious repairs and he does not expect it to be ready for two months or longer, and that there would also be great difficulty in this vessel returning from Aden, due to its limited capacity for storing coal, its ‘imperfect’ sailing qualities, and it being unsafe for the weather conditions of South West MonsoonThe Government of India forwarding to the Government of Bombay a copy of a memorandum by the Governor-General, Viscount Hardinge, containing his remarks and instructions regarding the state of affairs at Aden and within its vicinityThe Government of Bombay sending the Political Agent at Aden extracts of the Governor-General’s memorandum containing remarks on the caution which should be observed whenever the state of affairs of Aden may induce the Government of Bombay to authorise an advance into the interior in order to dislodge an ‘enemy’ who may have cut off supplies to Aden, and requesting him to state whether he has adopted any measures to make sure that every head of a family in the town has a store of provisions, and if not, to state what measures he proposes to ensure thisThe Government of Bombay informing the Government of India, in response to the Governor-General’s memorandum, that: as the force which gathered before Aden under Syud Ismail had dispersed, and the relief of the troops at Aden has already been ordered as a matter of routine, the Governor-in-Council has resolved not to act on the portions of the Governor-General’s memorandum which sanction measures contingent on different circumstances, but that the Government of Bombay may possibly be induced to act on the discretionary authority granted by the Governor-General, dependent on the information received in the next mail from Aden; and that the Government of Bombay has requested full information from the Home authorities on arrangements made at Gibraltar which may be applicable to the situation at AdenThe Government of Bombay resolving that instructions should be issued for carrying into effect the Governor-General’s orders for the periodical issue of salted meat to the European troops at Aden.The main correspondents are the following: the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet; the Political Agent at Aden; the Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General, Frederick Currie; the Adjutant General of the Army; the officer commanding the troops at Aden; and the Superintendent of the Indian Navy.Enclosure No. 17, stated in the abstract to contents to be a supplement to the
Bombay Government Gazetteof 6 October 1846, publishing for general information extracts of a letter from the officer commanding the troops at Aden, is not included in this item.Enclosure Nos. 19 and 20, listed in the abstract of contents respectively as copies of the
Bombay Timessummary of intelligence and the
Bombay Overland Courierof 15 October 1846, are recorded as missing in a note dated 29 October 1906.Physical description: 1 item (28 folios)
Abstract: Enclosures in Letter No. 8 from Sir Harford Jones, British Envoy Extraordinary to Persia [Iran], to Sir Robert Dundas, President of the Board of Control, dated 1809, consisting of:A copy of a letter from Brigadier-General John Malcolm to Sir Harford Jones, sent from Bombay [Mumbai] and dated 14 February 1809. The letter concerns Malcolm’s decision to delay his expedition to the Persian Gulf until further instructions are received from the Governor-General of Bengal.A copy of a letter from Lord Minto, Governor-General of Bengal, to Malcolm, sent from Fort William [Kolkata] and dated 17 January 1809, enclosed in the above letter. Minto reports French setbacks in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and the effect of this on British strategic interest in Persia, orders the suspension of Malcolm’s planned expedition to the Gulf and occupation of the island of Karrack [Khārg], and repeats that Jones should withdraw from Persia.Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Lord Minto, Governor-General of Bengal, to Sir Harford Jones, Envoy Extraordinary to Persia [Iran]. The letter discusses Brigadier-General John Malcolm's mission as the Supreme Government of India's Envoy to Persia in relation to Jones's mission, and the reasons behind Malcolm's mission.The letter was enclosed in Jones's letter to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company dated 24 June 1808, and was received on 13 December 1808.Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Lord Minto, Governor-General of Bengal, to Sir Harford Jones, Envoy Extraordinary to Persia [Iran], expressing his approval at the course of action which Jones proposed to take in relation to his own mission to Persia and the mission of John Malcolm as the Supreme Government of India's Envoy to Persia.The letter was enclosed in Jones's letter to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company dated 10 July 1808, and was received on 13 December 1808.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)