Abstract: Distinctive Features:Detailed plan drawn by James Taylor Gray for Design Branch of the Air Ministry showing existing buildings and proposed extensions to RAF base in Shargah. Premises labelled for reference with dimensions given; proposed additions indicated in red.Physical description: Dimensions:460 x 730 mm, on sheet 538 x 742 mm
Abstract: The volume's correspondence and other papers document British officials' attempts to suppress the slave trade in the Gulf, and their procedures for dealing with liberated slaves. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Felix Jones), H. L. Anderson, Secretary to the Government in Bombay, and representatives of the Persian Gulf Squadron of the Indian Navy, primarily Commodore Griffith Jenkins, Commanding Officer of the Persian Gulf Squadron.A number of subjects comprise the volume, as follows:1. British operations against the slave trade in Bahrain, including the retrieval of two slave girls from the Sheikh of Bahrain, and the recovery of one-hundred dollars from the Sheikh of Bahrain, as compensation for the seizure of two slaves from Shargah by the Sheikh of Al Bidda, whose actions are the responsibility of the Sheikh of Bahrain (folios 4a-5);2. The surrender of four slaves by Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar [Saqr] of Sharjah, a result of the efforts of Lieutenant Robinson and the British Agent at Sharjah, Hajee Yacoob (folios 10-29);3. The lack of success in the suppression of the slave trade during the 1857 season, due to there being no British vessels available to intercept boats returning from Zanzibar and the African coast (folios 33-36);4. Attempts to suppress the slave trade during the 1859 season (folios 40-110). This subject contains extensive correspondence back and forth between the Resident (Jones) and the Senior Naval Officer (Jenkins), which becomes heated as disagreements arise, over resources for the patrol of the Arab coast and the suppression of the slave trade. Commodore Jenkins thought it derogatory for his vessel (
Falkland), displaying his pendant, to be involved in the interception of slave-trading boats (folios 48-49). Jones refers the matter to the Governor in Council, who rules that any notion of slave suppression duties being derogatory is 'mistaken.' Jenkins reports the following year on his attempts to suppress the slave trade from Africa, reporting that his two cruizers liberated a single female slave (folio 59). In a letter to Jenkins, Jones calls the operation 'fruitless' (folio 69), prompting Jenkins to draw Jones' attention to the personal sacrifices made by his crews, including Lieutenant Robinson who is 'seriously ill' as a result of the 'sickly climate' (folio 71-72);5. Expenses related to the disposal of liberated slaves at Bassidore. The British Government retained a slave agent at Bassidore, where liberated slaves were retained prior to their despatch to Bushire. Correspondence in this subject relates to the expenses for the maintenance and passage to Bushire of these liberated slaves (folios 115-144);6. Batta [subsistence allowance] given to a British slave searcher, granted on his proceeding to the Residency (folios 152-55);7. Miscellaneous correspondence relating to the slave trade (folios 159-76).Physical description: Foliation: Foliation starts on the front cover of the volume and continues until the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 30a, 30b, 37a, 37b, 41a, 98a, 150a, 150b, 150c, 156a, 156b. Folio 68 is a fold-out.
Abstract: This file contains translations of letters sent to David Wilson, the Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire.The letters contained in the file are from Britain's native agents (based at Bahrain, Muscat, Sharqah [Sharjah] and Lingah) and from several local rulers including the Chief of Bushire, the Imam of Muscat, Shaik Sooltan Bin Suggur [Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, the Ruler of Sharjah], Shaik Abdoolla of Kishm [Shaikh Abdullah of Qeshm] and the Chief of Lingah.The letter discuss a number of topics related to political and trade developments in the region and to Britain's relations with local rulers.Physical description: Condition: A bound letter book, the covers of which have come loose.Pagination: The file has a pagination sequence, which is written in the top right corner of each recto and the top left corner of each verso. It begins on the front cover, on number 1A, and ends on the last page of writing, on number 183.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the oil concession in the Sharjah territories. The correspondence is between: the Political Agent at Bahrain; representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited and Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited, in London, Bahrain, and the Trucial Coast [United Arab Emirates]; the Residency Agent at Sharjah; the Political Residency at Bushire (later Bahrain) [Persian Gulf Political Residency]; the India Office; Sultan bin Saqr [Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī], the Ruler of Sharjah; and the Government of India.The majority of the file covers an amendment to the 1937 concession agreement between the oil company, Petroleum Concessions Ltd, and Shaikh Sultan that was made in February 1946. This amendment was made in order to extend the permitted drilling period following the Second World War, during which no drilling was carried out. Permission to open negotiations over the matter was sought from the British Government by the company. There is a copy of the agreed amendment on folio 72.Other matters covered by the file include:the desire of Shaikh Sultan to open a bank branch in Sharjah in order to receive royalty payments;confirmation of the initial 1937 concession agreement;the presentation by Petroleum Concessions Limited of a gift of motor vehicles to Shaikh Sultan;payment of the annual concession payment by the company to Shaikh Sultan;the arrival of a geological party in the Trucial Coast in early 1946;the correct channels of communication with the British Government to be used by the company.Folios 19-28 is Memo B 467 of the India Office and includes a copy of the commercial agreement between the company and Shaikh Sultan, a copy of the 'political agreement' between the company and the British Government, and copies of correspondence relating to both.Folios 76-80 are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 present in parallel between ff 2-75; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Department, the Colonial Office and the Secretary of State at the India Office in London, the Political Resident at Bushire, the Political Agents at Kuwait and Sharjah, local rulers, and Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) representatives on the negotiations for oil concessions in Kuwait, Bahrain, Nejd [Najd, Jubail, Saudi Arabia], Qatar, Muscat, Oman and Trucial Coast against the competitor Eastern and General Syndicate Limited, represented by Major Frank Holmes.The volume includes the agreement on the oil exploration license in Muscat and Oman, in Arabic and English, signed on 18 May 1925, between Saiyid Taimur bin Faisal, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and D'Arcy Exploration Company limited (folios 281-296).Physical description: The main foliation is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering begins with the first item of correspondence, on number 1, and ends with the last folio of writing, on number 314.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Department and the Under Secretary of State at the India Office in London, Sir Winston Churchill (Secretary of State for the Colonies at the time), the Political Resident at Bushire, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Vice-Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr, Iran] and Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) representatives regarding contacts with local rulers about oil concessions in Bahrain and Kuwait.The file also contains:copy of a letter from the Political Resident to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, dated 8 September 1921, on oil explorations in the various Persian Gulf states, and on APOC's desire to exclusive prospective rights in Oman (folios 11-13);draft agreement between the rulers of Bahrain and Kuwait and D'Arcy Exploration Company Limited for oil explorations (1921 ca.) (folios 22-27, 102-107 and 257-260);notes concerning meetings of Major Frank Holmes with Ibn Saud re oil exploration in Arabia [Saudi Arabia] (folio 80)letter from the Political Agent at Muscat to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf regarding oil in Muscat (folios 96-97).The file is incomplete. Some letters, mainly containing pledges signed by Trucial Coast rulers not to grant any oil concession to anyone except with the permission of the British Government, were removed from the original file and forwarded to the Foreign Office in 1953. In these instances the former numbering sequence presents gaps, and these letters are replaced by folios indicating page numbers, sender, receiver, date and subject of the letter removed. These letters are now in FO 371/7723 and FO 371/104408.Physical description: The main foliation is in pencil in encircled numbers in top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering starts on the front cover with 1 and carries on until 153, which is the last number given on the back cover of the file. A former sequence runs from the first to the last folio of writing, pencil numbers (not circled) in top right recto of each folio, not crossed through - the numbering runs 1-260 missing numerous numbers out. The reason is that some letters were removed from the original file to be forwarded to the Foreign Office in 1953, whereas the former numbering sequence presents gaps.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence which discusses two matters.Firstly, issues around the granting of exclusive rights to the British India Steam Navigation company to use Sharjah as a Port of call and how to deal with any requests from Soviet and Japanese shipping. Correspondents include Lieutenant Colonel Trenchard Craven Fowle, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Political Agent, Bahrain; the Mesopotamia Persia Corporation.Secondly, reports (ff 9-15) of a fight aboard SS
Wosangat Sharjah on 3 April, 1945. Correspondents include Commodore I W Whitehorn, Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf; Captain J Hull; V G Bhandare, Surgeon, SS
Wosang.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 present in parallel between ff 2-8; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: Government of India Foreign and Political Department documents: three identical copies, one (volume three) enclosed in a red cover. Volume two is inscribed 'Received under Foreign and Political Department endorsement 147EA of 22.6.16'. The documents contain transcripts of fifteen treaties and undertakings between the British Government and the Rulers of Bahrain in English and (at the rear of the volumes) in Arabic. In addition to agreements dated by year only, the agreements relate to piracy, the slave trade, arms traffic, observance of treaties, jurisdiction over foreigners, pearl fisheries, post office, wireless telegraphy, and oil. A note at the start of the agreements states that in the event of doubt about the precise interpretation of any portion of the English and Arabic text, the English text was to be considered decisive.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the front cover of volume one and terminates at 70 on the back cover of volume three. The foliation runs through all three volumes as a single continuous sequence, split between volume one (ff. 1-23); volume two (ff. 24-46); and volume three (ff. 47-70). These numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Each volume also has its own separate printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This file opens with a letter from Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited to Sultan bin Saqr al Qassim [Shaikh Sultān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī], Ruler of Sharjah, dated 12 February 1946, requesting an amendment to the previous oil concession agreement which was drawn up between the two parties in September 1937. The request is for an extension of the previously agreed period of nine years which had been allocated for the company to undertake a geological examination of the agreed area prior to drilling. The next letter in the file is a reply from the Sultan who agrees to the extension owing to the disruption caused by the Second World War. The documents following this include copies of the original oil concession agreements (both the commercial agreement between the Sultan and the petroleum company and the political agreement between the company and the British Government), and copies of related correspondence between the Political Agent in Bahrain, the Shaikh of Sharjah, the India Office and Petroleum Concessions Limited, relating to the original agreements.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 13; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume contains a ‘memoir’ written by Lieutenant Michael Houghton, draughtsman on board the Honorable Company’s ship
Discovery, which consists of a description of places encountered during the East India Company’s survey of the Persian Gulf during the 1820s. The memoir covers the survey’s journey in a southwesterly direction along the Arab coast of the Gulf, between Moosendem [Musandam] and Debay [Dubai], and taking in the principal settlements of Shaum [Ash Sha‘m or Sha’am], Ul Umrah [Jazīrah al Ḩamrā’], Raumps [Ar Rams], Rasel Khyma [Ra’s al-Khaymah], Ul Umrah [Al Jazīrah al Ḩamrā’], Amulgawein [Umm al-Qaywayn], Aymaun [‘Ajmān] and Sharja [Sharjah]. At the front of the volume is a note written by Lieutenant John Michael Guy, Lieutenant Commanding the Honorable Company’s ship
Discovery, and Officer in Charge of the Persian Gulf trigonometric survey (f 3), and a preface written by Houghton (f 4).The main body of the account provides observations of:landscape topography, including capes, mountains, inlets, bays, flora and fauna;landscape geology, including unusual rock formations, mineral deposits, ‘trap’ (igneous rock), and soil, leading at times to conjectures by the author on the historic formation of the geological landscape and its changing sea levels, with reference to the theories of contemporary scientists including Erhard Georg Friedrich Wrede and Christian Leopold von Buch;hydrography, including depths in fathoms, water currents, backwaters, and accessibility of waterways and their danger to vessels;human settlements, the names of which are transliterated into English, with descriptions of their condition (i.e. ‘deserted’), estimates of population size, tribal affiliation, details of the settlement’s chief economic activities (primarily fishing and date cultivation, with estimates of revenue), agriculture (crops and animal husbandry), descriptions of its notable built structures (forts, mosques, houses, tombs) and burial mounds;the various rulers of the region, with reference to the towns and populations they preside over, and in the case of the most prominent rulers (for example the ruler of Sharjah, Sultan ben Suggar [Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī]) descriptions of their character, demeanour and attitude to their English visitors;climate, with details of winds, temperature and atmospheric conditions, with summaries of journal entries recorded between the months of October and May (no year stated, ff 22-24).Throughout the text Houghton makes frequent reference to ‘the expedition’, referring to the punitive expedition undertaken by the Honorable Company’s Marine to Ra’s al-Khaymah and the surrounding area (widely referred to as the ‘pirate coast’) in 1819.The volume should be read in conjunction with ‘Coast Views taken while employed on the Survey of the Arabian Side of the Gulf of Persia by Lieutenant M. Houghton, Draughtsman H.C. Marine’ (IOR/X/10310) and various maps and charts (drawn by Houghton) relating to the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf, between Musandam and Dubai (IOR/X/3680-3690).Physical description: Pagination: the volume has an original pagination system beginning at 3 and ending at 41. Numbers are located centre and top of each page of text.
Abstract: The file comprises of a letter from Ernerst Vincent Packer, Manager for Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior) enclosing a copy of an amendment to the Sharjah Oil Concession agreement agreed with Sheikh Shaikh Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī. The amendment is in Arabic and English.Also enclosed is a letter from the Political Officer, Trucial Coast (Raymond Clive Murphy) to which includes details of an agreement reached between the Shaikh of Sharjah and the Chiefs of the Beni Qitab, which would grant Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited permission to operate in Beni Qitab territory in return for a share of the income derived from the oil concession agreement.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 7; 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 present in parallel between ff 2-6; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The volume discusses the intention of Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) to negotiate extensions on the options that the D’Arcy Exploration Company had acquired with the rulers of Abu Dhabi (Shaikh Shakhbūt bin Sulṭān bin Zāyid Āl Nahyān), Ajman (Rāshid Bin Ḥumaid Al-Nu`aimī), Dibai [Dubai] (Shaikh Saʻīd bin Maktūm), Ras al Khaimah [Ra's al Khaymah] (Shaikh Sulṭān bin Sālim Āl Qasimī) and Sharjah (Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī) and to open negotiations for concession agreements with them too.Included in the file is correspondence with the various rulers from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle) informing them of Her Majesty’s Government’s approval of the option negotiated with the D’Arcy Exploration Compan; and correspondence regarding the British Government’s knowledge and approval of the decision by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) for PCL to enter into negotiations with them through the PCL negotiator Frank Holmes. Also enclosed are copies of the proposed draft concessions for Abu Dhabi (ff 6-22), Dibai (ff 22-37), Ras al Khaimah and Sharjah.Further correspondence regarding the question of negotiations and concessions is included between Shaikh Sa’id bin Maktum, Ruler of Dubai and the Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch) regarding the Shaikh’s request that Hajji ‘Abdullah Williamson accompany any surveying parties visit his territory; and his concern over the inactivity of the D’Arcy Exploration Company with regards to their two year option and subsequent reluctance to discuss any extension to the option until surveying had commenced.The volume also contains correspondence between representatives of the India Office (John Walton, Maurice Clauson), the Director of Petroleum Concessions Limited (John Skliros) and representatives of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (Langlois Massy Lefroy, Edward Henry Ommaney Elkington) discussing potential boundary issues with regard to the Trucial Coast Shaikh’s territories; the need for a special risks clause should any Company employees wish to visit or survey the interior of some of the Trucial Shaikhdoms; the procedure to be followed for Major Holmes to be permitted to commence his negotiations; and discussions around the draft concession agreements presented to the India Office and possible requirements to be included in a political agreement between the British Government and PCL.Also included in the volume are:correspondence between Sir Andrew Ryan, HM Minister at Jedda, and George Rendel of the Foreign Office explaining the Red Line Agreement, which was concluded in 1928, including the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and Iraq Petroleum Company’s expectations under it and that the Kuwait Neutral Zone was not considered to be part of Kuwait proper and was therefore included within the agreement; reports submitted by the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Abdur Razzaq) to the Political Agent at Bahrain on the movements of Frank Holmes and his agents (Muhammad Yateem, Ashrif Halim) on the Trucial Coast including details of their visits to the various Shaikhs, and the topics discussed with them where known; the agreement that Petroleum Concessions Limited could open negotiations with the Shaikh of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah) for a concession in the unalloted portion of Bahrain, and guarantees made by Major Frank Holmes to the Shaikh of Bahrain that PCL had no intention of transferring any potential concession to a third party but would exploit it through a subsidiary company which would most likely be named Petroleum Concessions (Bahrain) Limited; the proposal by Petroleum Concessions Limited to appoint Ernest Vincent Packer as Local Manager for PCL at Bahrain, and follow up of Packer’s references by the India Office; correspondence around the potential need for a separate Local representative to be appointed for Muscat should any concession be granted there, as the geographic area and expected workload would be too much if the local representative at Bahrain was expected to be responsible for both the Trucial Coast and Muscat.The draft concession agreements and correspondence to and from the Trucial Coast Shaikhs is in Arabic and English; the letter-head for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company is in Persian and English.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 237-243.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 between ff 70-236; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.