Abstract: Copy of a letter from Major-General Sir William Grant Keir, aboard HMS
Liverpool, at anchor off the Island of Kenn [Kish], to HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, of 10 February 1820. The letter concerns Keir’s communications with the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat and the Prince of Sheeraz [Shiraz], originally enclosing:The translation of a letter from the Imaum of Muscat to Keir, dated 10 Rabī‘ II 1235 [27 January 1820] (not included in this item, see IOR/L/PS/9/68/258)The substance of a letter from Keir, to the Imaum of Muscat, of 10 February 1820 (not included in this item, see IOR/L/PS/9/68/259)The translation of a firmaum [firman, order] from the Prince of Sheeraz to Keir, dated 9 Rabī‘ I 1235 [26 December 1819] (not included in this item, see IOR/L/PS/9/68/260).The letter discusses these communications, and the situation in the Persian Gulf, including:The extension of the General Treaty [General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf] to Bharein [Bahrain]The reciprocal agreement for the opening up of ports for trade between the Imaum of Muscat and the Joasemees [al-Qawasim]British efforts to discourage attacks on Bharein by the Imaum of Muscat and the Prince of SheerazThe suspension of Keir’s plans for operations against ports on the Persian coastThe conditions on Kenn.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 18 March 1820 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/256), which was received on 13 July 1820.Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: Copy of a letter from Major-General Sir William Grant Keir, aboard HMS
Liverpooloff Sharga [Sharjah], to HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, of 2 February 1820. The letter originally enclosed:Copy of Captain Francis Augustus Collier’s instructions to Captain Lock (Captain Francis Erskine Loch) of 3 January 1820 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/246)Copy of Captain Lock’s dispatch to Captain Collier of 26 January 1820 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/248)Copy of a paper by the Shaik of Bahrein [Shaikh of Bahrain], Abdulla bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah] (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/247)Copy of Keir’s letter to Captain Collier of 1 February 1820 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/249).The letter also details the ongoing British expedition against the Joasmees [al-Qawāsim] and their allies, including:Keir’s orders to Captain Lock to attack the vessels of Rahma Bin Jauber [Shaikh Raḥmah bin Jābir al-Jalhamī] in retaliation for an attack on a Persian vesselThe Shaik of Bahrein’s agreement not to harbour vessels from the ‘Piratical Ports’Keir’s having advised the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat against his proposed attack on Bahrein.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company, of 13 March 1820 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/244), which was received on 13 July 1820.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Henry Willock, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Persia [Iran], to Joseph Dart, Secretary to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, sent from Tabriz and dated 6 August 1820.The letter forwards Willock’s communications with the Supreme Government of India (IOR/L/PS/9/69/43), discusses a British offer of mediation to make Bahrein [Bahrain] tributary to Persia, and reports the occupation of Anjar [Hengām] island by British troops.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of Dispatch No. 12 from HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, in Tehran, to the Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William, the Marquess of Hastings, of 24 May 1819. The letter details the decision of the Shah of Persia to renounce his pretensions to the sovereignty of Bahrein [Bahrain] as detailed in Willock’s Dispatch No. 8 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/199). The letter also details the belief of the Resident at Bushire [Bushehr], William Bruce, that the Persians suspect that the British wish to possess Bahrein for themselves.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 25 May 1819 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/198), which was received on 28 August 1819.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of Dispatch No. 8 from HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, in Tehran, to the Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William, the Marquess of Hastings, of 19 April 1819. The letter concerns the communications of the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat to the Persian court, particularly his solicitations to the Shah to attempt to capture Bahrein [Bahrain]. The letter details the Imam’s report to the Shah that Bahrein has been occupied by the soldiers of Ibrahim Pacha [Ibrāhīm Pāshā] of Egypt, and the subsequent intention of the Shah to send an envoy to the ruler of Egypt, Mahomed Ali Pacha [Muḥammad ‘Alī Pāshā], to remonstrate against the occupation.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 25 May 1819 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/198), which was received on 28 August 1819.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: The item is in the form of a diary (ff 294-348), which contains records of consultations at the Gombroon [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] Factory. The Chief Agent, William Cockell, and the Factory council members, including John Geekie, Thomas Waters, James Verelst, and Walter Ray headed the consultations. They recorded the daily activities, the administrative decisions made, letters received and sent, as well as visits to and from the Factory. The margin sections in the diary include headlines noting the main events recorded in the consultations.Among the main details and issues recorded in the diary are the following:Threatening letters received from Mirza Togghy [Mirza Taqi, also written in the diary as Tockey] via his vizier Auga Taffeir [Aga Jafar, also written as Jaffeir] at Shyrash [Shiraz] concerning the Factory’s ships assisting the Turks [Ottomans] at Busarah [Basra, also written as Bussarah]An exchange of letters between Mirza Taqi and the Sultan of Bunder Abassy Meer Meer Alley [Mir Mehr ‘Ali, Governor of Bandar ‘Abbas] related to trade with the FactoryReports of a dispute at MuscatNews of Shaikh Rachid [Rashid] and Shaikh Jubbarah [Jubarah] of Bunder Tarry [Bandar Tahiri] moving to Bahreen [Bahrain]Rumors of Thomas Caun [Tahmasb Khan] having been killed by the son of the deceased ambassador Mahmud Ally Caun [Turkmen, Muhammad ‘Ali Khan]Reports of the war between Thomas Caun and the Turks [Ottomans]The arrival of the wool caphila [caravans] from Carmenia [Kerman]The arrival of Captain John Harris from Sindy [Sind]The Factory's request for Thomas Caun to renew its rogoms [raqams or ruqums, also written in the diary as rogomms: royal grants confirming specific trading privileges]The appointment of Ishmael Pasha [Gürcü, Ismail Pasha, previous Governor of Baghdad], as a Grand Vizier of the Ottoman EmpireThe Factory members visiting Persian officials and congratulating them on the occasion of the Nowroose [Nowruz] festivalThe accession of Shaw Nadar [Nadir Shah] to the Persian throne in March 1735 [8 March 1736 New Style date]Letters exchanged between the Factory and the supercargoes of the ship
NorthumberlandThe Persian King preparing a campaign to take Bahreen [Bahrain]The dispute between Persian officials and the wife of the deceased Shaikh Russhett [Rashid], who is supported by the Arabs of Julfar [Julfar in what is now Ra's al Khaymah, also written in the correspondence as Gulfar] and Muscatt [Muscat].The diary includes records of letters exchanged mainly between the Factories at Gombroon and Spahaun [Isfahan], and the Council at Bombay, as well as letters and gifts exchanged with certain Persian officials. It also includes records of the exchange of visits between the Agent and some Persian officials and merchants in the region.The diary includes records of the arrival and departure of ships, including the
Britannia, the
Queen Carolina, the
Robert Galley, the
Kissing Peggy, the
Northumberland, the
Rose Galley, the
Jenny, the
Sarah, and the
Prince of Wales Galley. It also includes records of French ships such as the
Unionand the
Four Sisters. From Gombroon the ships sailed mainly to Surat, Madrass [Madras], Mallabar Coast [Malabar], Bengall [Bengal], Sindy, Muscat, Busarah, Bassidore [Basidu, also written as Bassidors], Bushire, and Bombay. The diary also includes records of imported commodities such as rice, sugar, sugar candy, pepper, rose water, copper and other goods.The diary includes abstracts of the standard account disbursements for each month. These cover the following: house expenses, garrison charges, the Afseen garden, hospital charges, medicines, marine charges, merchandised charges, house furniture, extraordinary charges, stable charges and servants' wages.Physical description: The diary includes a title page (f 294) and it has been numbered 1-107 which corresponds to folios 295-348. The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the diary.
Abstract: The volume contains a collection of biographies of 'noteworthy persons' within the political jurisdiction of the Residency in the Persian Gulf. There is some limited correspondence related to the collection of this information, which includes applications made by Edward Charles Ross, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the following:Samuel Barrett Miles, Political Agent and Consul at Muscat.L Gabler, Deputy Director of the Persian Gulf Telegraphs/in Political Charge of the Gwadur [Gwādar] Agency.The Residency Agent, Bahrain.The majority of the biographies have been submitted via standardised forms with entries for the following; name, father, wife, tribe, residence, and children. Each entry has a biographical history for each subject, while some have both an entry in Arabic, and an entry in English (i.e. a translation). At the back of the volume is a single entry in Persian. The returns for Oman — supplied by the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat — do not follow this format, and are instead supplied as manuscript biographical histories.The entries are arranged into sections. The first section is not labelled, but may represent the returns from Gwadur. The remaining biographies fall under the following sections:Unlabelled section.Office Copies - Busrah [Basra].Office Copies - Bahrein [Bahrain].Office Copies - Coast of Fars.Office Copies sent to the Foreign Office.For Office Record.It is noted that the biographical information from the Deputy Director of Persian Gulf Telegraphs (i.e. Gwadur) was compiled by Mr McDonall.Physical description: Condition: A large number of folios have suffered from minor pest and water damage. As a result, some of the folios are very fragile, and some of the text has also been obscured, which can result in difficulties interpreting affected text.Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The volume contains the following foliation corrections; f 69, and f 69A; f 71, and f 71A.
Abstract: The file contains - in the following order - correspondence between the Residency in Bushire and the Agency in Bahrain regarding a debt owed by Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa of Bahrain to a Mr. Francis; discussions concerning the dispatch of a gun ship to Katif (Qatif) and a proposed survey of the area; discussion (and dismissal) of rumours that the Russian and German Consuls in Bushire had acquired plots of land in Bahrain; matters related to the arms trade and arms seizures in the region; a proposal to establish a small agricultural garden in Bahrain; discussion related to an article in an Arabic newspaper published in London that contained quotes from a book (by Samuel Zwemer) that were critical of British rule in Bahrain; notes on an interview between Viceroy Curzon and Shaikh Isa of Bahrain; reports of a supposed Naptha spring near Halul Island and a technical study of asphalt deposits in Bahrain.Physical description: A bound correspondence file of which some sheets have come unbound and are now loose. The volume is foliated from the first page of text to last page of text, with small circled numbers in the top-right corner of each front-facing page.