Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, resolutions, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. These political letters appear in IOR/F/4/2388/127592. The main correspondents are: the Government of India; the Government of Bombay; Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq]; Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, British Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran; and Agha Khan Mehlatee [Āqā Khān I]. It is the second in a series of four items on Agha Khan Mehlatee.The item concerns:The initial demands of the Persian [Iranian] Government that Agha Khan be expelled from British India, and later demands that he be confined to the Bengal PresidencyAgha Khan’s move from Scinde [Sindh] to Bombay [Mumbai] and then to Calcutta [Kolkata]Accusations from the Persian Government that Agha Khan, with the help of his brother, is fomenting unrest in Beloochistan [Balochistan]Payment of a stipend to Agha Khan from the Government of India, and payments for him to move to CalcuttaAn offer of the Persian Government to allow Agha Khan to return, provided that he returns via Bushire [Bushehr] and Shiraz, or Bagdad [Baghdad] and Kermanshah, rather than through Beloochistan and KermanAgha Khan’s rejection of the terms under which he might return to Persia.The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following reference: ‘Draft no 22 of 1851’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 451, and terminates at f 663 as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly, f 456a.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The document outlines the development of negotiations from 1875-1889 regarding the demarcation of the frontier between Persia and Khelat. The narrative is primarily illustrated through extracts of correspondence sent between British and Persian officials about whether Kohuk should be awarded to either Persia or Khelat, and draws on the opinions of Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Lord Salisbury and the Government of India. One of the topics affecting the decision is the activity of Azad Khan of Kharan, who has been raiding in Kohuk.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 12, and terminates at f 13, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:The album contains landscape and architectural views of locations in India, the Persian Gulf, Burma, Florence, China (Yarkand in the latter-day Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), Zanzibar, the Andaman Islands, Balochistan, Scotland as well as group and individual portraits of indigenous groups, colonial administrators and families of colonial administrators. A number of non-photographic elements are also to be found in the album, including four ink and watercolour drawings, and several printed images. The prints are lightly mounted on the page, the majority captioned. They date from the 1860s‒1890s.The album forms part of the collection of Sir James Robert Dunlop Smith (1858‒1921), a British official in the Indian Army, but there are strong indications that it was compiled by Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison (1832‒96), Chief Commissioner of the British Crown Colony of Burma (1878‒80) and, later Lieutenant Governor of Punjab (1882‒87), whose daughter Beatrice Clementina married Dunlop Smith.Elements:1) High Court Calcutta2) The Strand Calcutta3) Lall Dighi & Post Office, Calcutta4) Eden Gardens Calcutta5) The Maidan & Government House, Calcutta6) United Service Club, Calcutta7) The Outram Statue, Calcutta8) The Cathedral Calcutta9) The Post Office, Calcutta10) Lall Dighi & Post Office, Calcutta11) Looshais ‒ Captn Lewin12) Looshais13) Raja of Sikkim and suite ‒ Lt: Govr. of Bengal and suite [Darjeeling] Sir George Campbell14) Lt: Govr. of Bengal and suite with Raja of Sikkim and followers [Darjeeling] Sir George Campbell15) Lord Mayor's Tomb16) The Mall, Simla, in Winter. Below Gorton Castle.17) Kennedy Lodge, Simla18) Military Department Office, Simla19) Simla from Jakko20) Road round Jakko, Simla21) Government House, Simla22) Government House, Murree23) Foreign Office, Simla, 1870.24) Tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti,] Futtehpore Seekree25) [Panch Mahal,] Futtehpore Seekree26) The Taj, Agra27) Itmad-ud-Dowla's Tomb, Agra28) The Baillie Guard, Lucknow29) Hosseinabad, Lucknow30) Installation of Maharana of Oodeypoor with Star of India With Political Agent J P Nixon, 187131) [Installation of Maharana of Oodeypoor with Star of India.]32) Entrance to Jeypor33) Entrance to Jeypor34) Entrance to Bushire Residency35) Bushire Resident's Country House36) Bushire, sea-side view37) Governor's House, Bushire38) Bahrein39) Old Portuguese Fort, Bahrein40) Ruffar Fort, Bahrein41) Telegraph Station, Jask42) Sultan's Palace, Muscat43) Muscat Consulate & Agency44) Town of Muscat from inland plain45) Fort Capitano, Muscat46) Fort Jellalee, Muscat47) Muscat Cove48) Minaret in Ormuz49) Bassidore Station50) [Viceroy and Council, (?) Simla.] Mr. E. Clive Bayley, Secretary, Home Department; Colonel C. H. Dickens, Secretary, War Department; Colonel W. H. Norman, Secretary, Military Department; Sir W. H. Muir, Secretary, Foreign Department; Mr. Whitley Stokes, Secretary, Legislative Department; Mr. E. H. Lushington, Secretary, Finance Department; Hon'ble Mr. W. N. Massey, Hon. Mem., Finance Dept.; Hon'ble Mr. G. Noble Taylor, Hon. Mem., Public Works Dept.; Hon'ble Sir W. Mansfield, Commander-in Chief; H. E. Sir J. L. M. Lawrence, Viceroy; Hon'ble Sir H. S. Maine, Hon. Mem., Legislative Dept.; Hon'ble Sir W. Grey, Hon. Mem., Home Dept.; Hon'ble Colonel H. M. Durand, Hon. Mem., Military Dept.51) Lord Northbrook & suite with Maharaja of Puttiala ‒ 187552) [Newspaper cutting with caricature of Sir Richard Temple]53) Burra Dick on The Great Tribulation! See Vanity Fair ‒ Jany. 188154) Chief of Western Karennee & his Wife [Burma]. Ink and watercolour on paper55) Red Karen, Mounted [Burma]. Ink and watercolour on paper56) Red Karen Woman [Burma]. Ink and watercolour on paper57) Bald-headed Karens [Burma]. Ink and watercolour on paper58) Sambhur Lake. Extraction of Salt from Bed of Lake59) Measuring Labourers' Work and Storing Salt [Sambhar Lake]60) Filling Salt into Bags and Weighing the Salt [Sambhar Lake]61) A Katar or String of Camels taking away the Salt.62) [Courtyard of Museum in Florence, with statuary arranged in colonnade.]63) [View of Florence, looking across the Arno towards the Duomo.]64) Investiture of Maharana of Oudeypour as a G.C.S.I.65) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.66) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.67) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.68) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.69) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.70) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.71) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.72) Camperdown Pressing Coy. ‒ Calcutta.73) The Hooghly above Calcutta74) The Hooghly above Calcutta75) [Apollo Bunder Pier, Bombay. Incorrectly captioned:] Railway Jetty, Howrah, Calcutta.76) Interior of the Union Church, Simla.77) Thakoor Mawjee Bathee ‒ Oudeypoor.78) [Portrait of an unidentified European woman.]79) Haileybury civilians at Simla in 188080) The Chumba Durbar Accession of Raja Sham Singh 187381) Yarkund Mission, 1873 ‒ After rain. Dhul Canal, Cashmere82) Yarkund Mission, 1873 ‒ Camp. Srinuggur.83) Yarkund Mission, 1873 ‒ Camp. Tara Sing, Monshee, etc. [Srinagar].84) Yarkund Mission, 1873 ‒ View at Srinuggur85) Yarkund Mission, 1873 ‒ Camp View86) Yarkund Mission, 1873. Fair ones of Ladak!87) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Indus Valley, Leh.88) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Palace and Monastery, Leh.89) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ View in Bazar, Leh.90) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ View in Bazar, Leh.91) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Group at Leh.92) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Raja of Ladak and Ranees [Leh].93) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Nubra Valley from Panamik. Boodhist Chortuns in the foreground.94) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ The gods of the Boodhists [Panamik].95) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Hot breakfast in Sasser Pass! Elevation 17,000 ft.96) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Kirgiz Akoe. Our smoking Divan [Xaidulla].97) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Group at Kurgallik.98) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Yoozbashees. Attendants.99) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Medical influence [Yarkand].100) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Street hawkers, Yarkund.101) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Dastarkhwan [Kargilik].102) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Artillery of the Guard [Yarkand].103) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Verandah of Audience Hall, Yarkund.104) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Akhoe [tent] extraordinary.105) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Letter and presents from the Queen of England to the Ameer of Yarkund.106) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Presents to the Ameer [of Kashgar].107) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Oves Poli [Kashgar].108) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Chinese [sic for Tungani] troops [Kashgar].109) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Chinese [sic for Tungani] troops [Kashgar].110) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Oves Poli [Kashgar]111) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Party leaving [Kashgar] for Cabool [Kabul].112) Yarkund Mission, 1873. ‒ Andijani merchants [Kashgar].113) [Lama Yuru, Ladak. Buddhist Monastery and Chortens.]114) Hon’ble Terence Bourke 1872.115) The Pseudo Nana Sahib as apprehended ‒ 1874116) The Pseudo Nana Sahib shaved & in Mahratta dress.117) Thugs.118) Thugs.119) Foreign Office. Simla 1875.120) Zanzibar 1875121) Clement Park, Lochee [Dundee].122) Foreign Office. Simla123) Sketch of the Gateway at Tank [Tonk] in the Punjab. The scene of the fatal accident to Sir H. M. Durand, K.C.S.I., &c. &c.124) Port Blair, Andaman Islands. The scene of the assassination of the Viceroy of India.125) View of the Jetty at Hope Town, Port Blair, the Scene of the Assassination of the Viceroy of India.126) Port Blair from Ross Island [Andaman Islands]127) Port Blair from Ross Island [Andaman Islands]128) Viceroy of India & Council. Simla, 1874129) Secretaries to Govt. of India. Simla 1874130) Clement Park, Lochee [Dundee]131) Wedding Party. Simla 1875.132) [Major Sandeman & Belooch chiefs.]133) Major Sandeman & Belooch chiefs.134) Belooch chiefs.135) Pressing Mill. Cossipore [Calcutta]136) Cossipore [Calcutta]137) House at Cossipore [Calcutta].138) [House at Cossipore, Calcutta.]139) Group at Cossipore [Calcutta].140) [Group at Cossipore, Calcutta.]141) Cardean [Meigle, Scotland]142) Cardean House, Meigle [Scotland].143) Cardean House, Meigle [Scotland].144) Views at Cardean [Meigle, Scotland]145) Views at Cardean [Meigle, Scotland]146) Views at Cardean [Meigle, Scotland]147) View at Cardean [Meigle, Scotland]148) Views at Cardean [Meigle, Scotland]149) Views at Cardean [Meigle, Scotland]150) Chief Commissioner's House, Rangoon.151) New Government House, Rangoon.152) [Chief Commissioner's House, Rangoon.]153) Chief Commissioner's House, Rangoon.154) 'Irrawaddy', Chief Comr's River Steamer [Burma].155) [Views of the Town Church, Rangoon.]156) Views of the Town Church, Rangoon.157) St. John's College, Rangoon.158) District Courts & Public Offices, Rangoon.159) [View of Merchant Street, Rangoon.]160) View of Merchant Street, Rangoon.161) Recorder's Court, Rangoon.162) [Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon]163) Pagodas at Rangoon [Shwe Dagon Pagoda].164) Public Gardens, Rangoon.165) Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon.166) Royal Lakes, Rangoon.167) Public Gardens, Rangoon.168) Approach to the Great Pagoda, Rangoon.169) Fancy Costumes. Rangoon, 1879.170) [Rangoon Groups]171) Rangoon Groups.172) Pilcher's House. Thayetmyo.173) Prome.174) The Great Pagoda, Prome.175) Entrance to Great Pagoda, Prome.176) [Group of Charles Umpherston Aitchison, Chief Commissioner of Burma, with Photographic Department of St Peter's Institute, (?Rangoon.]177) Bassein River with Chief Comr's steamer 'Irrawaddy'.178) Entrance to the Pagoda at Bassein.179) Entrance to the Pagoda at Bassein.180) [Elephant Battery, Tonghoo.]181) [Elephant Battery, Tonghoo.]182) Elephant Battery, Tonghoo.183) [Views at Tonghoo.]184) [Views at Tonghoo.]185) Views at Tonghoo.186) Ancient image of Gaudama, Zaing-ga-naing.187) Interior of caves at Paghat [Kawgun Cave].188) Alguada Reef Lighthouse.189) Kyaik-than-lan or Than-lan Pagoda, Moulmein.190) View on the Salween. Duke of York's Nose.191) Group at Tharrawaddy, British Burma192) Court House at Tharrawaddy.193) Boodhist Monastery at Rangoon.194) Boodhist Monastery [Burma]195) [Burmese pagoda]196) Pagodas and Monastery [Burma]197) Pagodas and Monastery [Burma].198) Pagodas and Monastery [Burma].199) Pagodas and Monastery [Burma].200) A Karen Village [Burma]201) Queen of Eastern Karennee [Burma].202) A group of Shans [Burma].203) A Boodhist Priest [Burma].204) A Boodhist Priest [Burma].205) Burmese women selling fruit206) Burmese women207) Burmese men.208) Karen women209) Burmese woman210) Punjab Officers [at Simla]. 1884.211) The Punjab Government, [Barnes Court, Simla,] 1882.212) [Aitchison family group, Barnes Court, Simla.]213) Barnes Court, Simla. 1882.214) [Burmese Embassy at Simla]215) [Letterpress key to sitters in Photo 355/1/214]216) [Burmese Embassy at Simla]217) Dancing women of the Choráha — Hills between Chamba and Pangi.218) Women of the Choráha219) Men of Pangi Valley220) Men of Chamba-Láhul221) Gaddi Band.222) Gaddis of Barinaur223) Senate Hall. Lahore.224) Government College. Lahore.225) The Mosque of Wazir Khan, Lahore. Fresco decoration, of the Interior XVII century work. From a drawing by Mohamed Din, Allah-ud-din and Amir Baksh, students of the Lahore School of Art.226) Missionary Conference, Amritsar, 1883.227) [Unidentified group, India]228) [Group of Viceroy and Lady Ripon and staff, Simla, 1884]229) [Barnes Court, Simla]230) [Barnes Court, Simla]231 [Unidentified Church, (?)India]232) [Group of Sir Charles Aitchison and staff, Multan, Feb. 1884. Names given at Photo 355/2/19][The following are loose photographs:]233) Group of two natives of Hunza and two from Nagyr in hostile attitude, a native of Agasin being the umpire. They all speak the same language and belong to the same race, but Hunza and Nagyr are hereditary foes, only combining against a foreign enemy. A river divides the countries of Hunza and Nagyr, a Hunza fort being ever confronted with one of Nagyr on the opposite bank.234) Group of Nagyries now at Srinagar. On the right seated in a chair is Raja Habibulla, son of the ruling Tham of Nagyr. On the ground is a Nagyr Sayad of good position and some Education in Arabic & Persian. He is one of the bi-ennial hostages sent from Nagyr to Kashmir.235) Group of Chitrali players who generally precede a procession of the Chief. In the midst is Taighum Shah, a Court singer and player of reputation. The Chitrali melodies are singularly beautiful and the poetry shows much appreciation of nature.236) Christ Church Simla, in snow.Inscriptions:Spine, gold emboss: ‘Album’Throughout the album captions are hand-lettered in black ink. Further notations in pencil have been added later by cataloguers and album owner alike.Physical description: Dimensions:Album: 498 x 325 x 53 mmFormat:Green and broad half leather album containing two hundred and thirty-six photographic and other prints as well as four watercolour drawings, lightly pasted into volume, except for the final four images, which are loose.Materials:Paper, black ink, watercolour, albumen prints, mechanically printed material, newspaper cuttings, marbled endpapers.Condition:While the binding is still sturdy for the most part – aside from extensive scuffing and losses at all edges, particularly upper spine – the individual paper pages are foxed discoloured, torn and crumbling throughout.Foliation:The images have been numbered 1–236 alongside each image in pencil and paginated 1–120 in pencil in the upper right and left corners of each page, though the pagination has later been crossed out. Some additional image sequencing in pencil (e.g. a–d per image on each page) has been crossed out.Process:Albumen printsBinding:The album is bound in green and brown half leather format, which is heavily scuffed along the spine, particularly at the upper spine. The binding also features linen joints and hand-stitching. A now-detached twisted blue string may have served as a page marker.
Abstract: The volume is a fifth edition of a collection of historic treaties, engagements and sanads (charters) signed between representatives of the British Government or East India Company, and foreign rulers, dignitories or government officials, in the regions of Aden, south west Arabia, the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf, including Muscat and Oman, Baluchistan, and the north-west frontier province (present-day Pakistan). This volume, originally compiled by Charles Umpherston Aitchison, Under Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, was revised in 1930 and published in 1933 by the Manager of Publications in Dehli, under the authority of the Government of India.Part 1 contains treaties and engagements relating to Aden and the southwest coast of Arabia:An historical overview of British (and Turkish) involvement in the region, including descriptions of the treaties and engagements signed;The Anglo-Turkish Convention (in French) respecting the boundaries of Aden, dated 9 March 1914;Treaties and conventions, agreed between the years 1802-1917, at Aden and with the Abdali tribe, the Subeihi, Fadhli, Aqrabi, Aulaqi, Irqa, Lower Haura, Beihan, Yafai, Audhali, Haushabi, Alawi, the Amirate of Dhala, the Wahidi, Kathiri, the Sultanate of Mukalla, Soqotra [Suquṭrā] and Qishn, Yemen, and the Idrisi. The treaties cover agreements of commerce, friendship and protection; agreements for the cession or purchase of land, for the abolition of the slave trade, storage of coal, protection of shipwrecked British sailors.Part 2 contains treaties and engagements relating to the Arab principalities of the Persian Gulf, divided into the following areas: 1) The Wahhābī and Nejd [Najd]; 2) Bahrain; 3) The Trucial Arab shaikhs (of Oman); and 4) Kuwait:An historic overview of the agreements made between the British and the region’s rulers, organised by tribes and/or geographical locality;Agreements and treaties signed with the Wahhābī tribe, including: an agreement between the Wahhābī and British Government over aggression towards the Arab tribes, dated 21 April 1866; a series of conventions and treaties agreed in the 1920s, establishing boundaries and relations between the Kingdom of Najd and its neighbours; the Treaty of Jeddah, dated 20 May 1927;Agreements and treaties signed with the ruler of Bahrain, relating to: piracy and slavery (1820), abstention from entering into relations with foreign powers (1880, 1892), arms trafficking, wireless telegraphy (1912), and oil exploitation (1914);Agreements and treaties signed with the shaikhs of the Arab coast, relating to respect for British property (1806), piracy (1820), the slave trade (1838, 1873), the maintenance of maritime peace in perpetuity (1853), the Anglo-Qatar treaty (1916); oil exploitation (1922);Agreement and treaties signed with the ruler of Kuwait, relating to: arms trafficking, exclusive post office rights (1904), pearling and sponge fishing concessions (1911), wireless telegraphy (1912), oil exploitation (1913), boundaries between Kuwait and Najd (1922) and Kuwait and Iraq (1923).Part 3 contains treaties and engagements relating to Oman, chiefly Muscat but also Sohar:An historical overview of the Sultanate of Muscat, and the agreements made between Britain and Muscat;Treaties and conventions, agreed between the years 1798 and 1929, including: the exclusion of the French from the Sultan of Muscat’s territories (1798); suppression of the slave trade (1822, 1873); commerce (1839); cession of the Kuria Muria islands [Jazā'ir Khurīyā Murīyā] (1854); the independence of Zanzibar (1861, 1862); telegraphic communications (1864, 1865); jurisdiction of Indian subjects at Muscat (1873); friendship and commerce (1891); coalfields at Ṣūr (1902); arms traffic (1919); prolongation of the commercial treaty (1891); treaty of peace between the Sultan of Muscat and Chief of Sohar (1839).Part 4 contains treaties and engagements relating to Baluchistan:An historic overview of the region and its districts, including British involvement in Baluchistan, organised by the Kalat [Kelat] Agency, Sibi Agency, and British Baluchistan and its territories;The treaties and conventions listed for Kelat, agreed between the years 1839 and 1925, include: an engagement between the British Government and the Khan of Kelat (1839), the Khan of Kelat’s allegiance and submission to the British Government (1841); various agreements for the protection of the Indo-European telegraph line; cession of lands for the Kandahar Railway (1880), Mushkaf-Bolan Railway (1894) and Nushki Railway (1906); demarcation of the boundary between Persian Baluchistan and Kelat (1896);The treaties and conventions listed for Sibi and British Baluchistan, agreed between the years 1884 and 1897, including: cession to the British Government of rights to petroleum and other mineral oils (1885); agreement on the Bargha and Largha boundary line (1895), grazing fees for animals and responsibility for good behaviour within the British border at Zhob, signed by the Suliman Khel Ghilzai (1897).Part 5 contains treaties and engagements relating to the northwest frontier province:An historic overview of British involvement and administration of the province;The treaties and conventions agreed in the province, arranged as follows : 1) Hazara District; 2) Dir, Swat and Chitral Agency; 3) Peshawar District; 4) Khyber Agency; 5) Kohat District; 6) Kurram Agency; 7) Bannu District; 8) North Waziristan Agency; South Waziristan Agency. The agreements relate to: relations with the British; maintenance of peace; acceptance of terms; protection of borders and communications; commerce; exclusion or expulsion from certain districts of undesirables, including ‘Hindustani fanatics’.The appendices contain a number of treaties signed between foreign rulers, including treaties agreed between Muscat and the United States, French and Dutch Governments, as well as British Parliament acts and memoranda related to the treaties and engagements in the volume.Physical description: Foliation: The volume’s foliation sequence uses circled pencil numbers, located in the top-right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 405. Total number of folios: 405. Total number of folios including covers and flysheets: 409.Pagination: The volume has a series of printed pagination sequences, expressed in Roman numerals for the contents, appendices and index pages, and in Arabic numerals for the volume’s main content matter. These numbers are located in the top-left corner of versos and the top-right corner of rectos.
Abstract: This file consists of a memorandum by George Percy Badger (scholar and missionary) concerning Persian claims in Beloochistan [Baluchistan] and Mekran [Makran], particularly Gwadel or Gwadur [Gwādar] and Charbar [Chābahār]. It contains the following: a history of Persian encroachments in Beloochistan; a table outlining the political divisions of the maritime provinces of Mekran, and their respective governments; an assessment of Persia's jurisdiction on the Mekran Coast; details of the sovereignty of Gwadur; a discussion of hostilities between Persia and the Sultan of Muscat over Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] and other dependencies; a summary of the 1856 treaty between Persia and Muscat. A map depicting the political geography of Mekran is included on folio 5.The appendices include:a translation of the treaty between His late Highness Seyyed Saeed [Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd] and the Persian Government, relating to Bunder Abbas, etc., dated 1856;a report by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederic John Goldsmid on the claims of Persia, Khelat [Kalat], and Muscat, to sovereign rights on the Mekran Coast;extracts from Lieutenant-Colonel Goldsmid's diaries on defining boundaries and districts;a memorandum on Western Mekran by Lieutenant-Colonel Goldsmid.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 10; 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 volume contains manuscript copies of secret letters, memoranda, translations of letters, intelligence reports, financial and statistical statements and translations of local 'newsletters', relating to diplomatic, military and logistical aspects of the British-led invasion of Afghanistan by the so-called Army of the Indus.Packets (individual or groups of documents) are numbered 2-388 (No.1 does not appear to be bound at the front of the volume), and all annotated ‘No: 34 of 15th November’ (the volume is labelled 'Nov to Nov 1839'). Each document records the date received at the Presidency, Fort William, Simla [Shimla], Secret Department, Secret and Separate Department, or Political Department, 1839, as well as the date of the original document, the correspondent and a summary of the content. Original documents mostly date from March to August 1839 but the volume includes some from November 1838 to February 1839. Copy letters end on folio 786. Folios 787-794 contain: ‘List of Packets to the Hon’ble [Honourable] the Secret Committee of the Hon’ble the Court of Directors. Per [blank]’. The list includes dates and correspondents only.The principal correspondents are: Thomas Herbert Maddock, Officiating Secretary to the Government in India with the Governor-General; William Hay Macnaghten, Envoy and Minister with the Court of Shah Shooja ool-Moolk [Shah Shuja ul-Mulk]; Henry Torrens, Deputy Secretary to the Government in India with the Governor-General; Lieutenant William Joseph Eastwick, Officiating Political Agent, Khyrpore [Khairpur] Agency; (Andrew) Ross Bell, Collector of Delhi, also referred to as Officiating Political Agent, Shikapore, and Political Agent Upper Sinde [Sindh]; Elliott D’Arcy Todd, in temporary charge of the British Mission, Cabool [Kabul]; Alexander Burnes, Envoy to Kelat [Kalat]; Henry Pottinger, Resident in Sinde; George Clerk, Political Agent, Loodhiana [Ludhiana] (sending translations of his 'newsletter'
Punjab Akhbar[also spelt
Akbarin the volume]).Other correspondents include: [T J] Nuthall, Deputy Assistant Commissary General; J D D Bean, In charge of Political Affairs, Shawl [Sahiwal]; Captain H Johnson, Paymaster and Commissariat Officer, Shah Shoojah’s Force; Lieutenant General John Keane, Commander of the Army of the Indus; Lieutenant Colonel I Stuart, Officiating Secretary to the Government in India, Military Department, with the Governor-General; Lieutenant General Sir Willoughby Cotton, Commanding Bengal Column of the Army of the Indus; Major-General E H Simpson, Commanding Shah Shoojah’s Force; John McNeill, British Envoy in Persia; and various British diplomatic and military personnel.Matters covered notably include:Progress of the Army of the Indus towards and into Afghanistan including: landing at Vikkur of the Bombay Column under Lieutenant-General John Keane, progress to Tatta [Thatta], across the Indus, on to Shikapore [Shikarpur] and Dadar (also spelt Daddur and Dadur in the volume) [Dadhar/Dhadar]; march northwards through the Bolan Pass; arrival at Quetta; unopposed occupation of Candahar [Kandahar] by the united Bengal and Bombay Columns and Shah Shoojah’s Force on 25 April 1839 (official accounts on folios 160-64 and folios 355-67); capture of the Fortress of Ghuznee [Ghazni] 23 July 1839 (official account on folios 606-612); capture of Cabool [Kabul] on 6 August 1839 and departure of Ruler Dost Mohammed Khan with his remaining supporters (official account on folio 742-48)Supplying the Army of the Indus, particularly: logistics of transport routes, food stores, ordnance depots and supply apportionments; problems encountered by British political agents in procuring sufficient camels, livestock, forage and grain and Henry Pottinger’s suspicions of obstructionism by the Hyderabad ameers [amirs]; British attempts to induce local populations to contribute assistanceFinancing the Army of the Indus, particularly: authorised and disputed expenses submitted by political agents and army officers; payments to local rulers, loyal ‘native’ employees and informers; problems repaying loans from local bankers and wealthy inhabitants; salaries of military and non-combatant staff; auditing of the accounts of Shah Shoojah’s Force; gold coin supplyBritish policy of conciliation with a view to securing the route and maintaining lines of communication and supply into Afghanistan, particularly: efforts to reduce the number of attacks, by Belochee (also spelt Belochee) [Balochi] marauders, on British forces in the Bolan Pass and other vulnerable areas; exhorting the troops to act humanely, avoid confrontations with locals and miscreants and only use force as a last recourse; engagement of Belochee tribesmen on the side of the British forces; soliciting support from local rulers and influential tribal chiefs (with monetary inducements) concurrent with exhortations of submission to Shah ShoojahCommunications, particularly: arrangements for the campaign Dâks (or Dawks) [postal service]; retaining clear crossing over the River Indus; and improvement of the roadsIntelligence, notably: reports by political agents Alexander Burnes, R Leech and George Clerk, on the political situation in Candahar, activities of Afghan Ruler Dost Mohammed and other suspected anti-British intrigues; interception of native letters; surveillance and disposal of questionable characters such as a ‘Prince of Persia’ apprehended at Shikapore; (false) rumours of Colonel Charles Stoddart’s murder in Bokkara [Bukhara] (folios 188-189); reports on the court of Maharajah Ranjeet [Ranjit] Singh, including his illness, death on 27 June 1839 and funeral rites (accounts in
Punjab Akhbar, folios 705-21)Relations between the Hyderabad ameers (Meer Noor Mahomed, Nusseer Mahomed and Meer Mahomed Khan and Sobdah Khan), and Henry Pottinger, the Resident in Sinde, whilst the latter is
en routeto Bombay (on sick leave) via Kurachee [Karachi] in early April 1839, notably regarding the incident of the gun fired from the Moonarah [Manora] Fort, (near Kurachee), and hostile fire returned by HMS
Wellesley; attempts by the ameers to negotiate amendments to the 14-point ‘dictat’ Treaty issued to each of them by the Governor-General of India (over-riding Pottinger’s earlier more liberal 23-point draft treaty), regarding currency, payments to the British and control of Kurachee (the Treaty of 14 points, was ratified by the ameers in July 1839); relations between Sobdah Khan and the other three ameersPhysical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 795; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading flyleaves.
Abstract: Confidential printed abstracts of letters received by the India Office from the Government of India, and from senior officials in certain areas outside India, during the year 1867. The letters are dated November 1866-December 1867. The abstracts each have one of the following titles:Abstracts of Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Military Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Secret Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Secret Letters receivedAbstracts of Secret Letters received from the Resident at AdenAbstracts of Letters received from Colonel Merewether, Commanding Abyssinian Reconnoitering Force.Each abstract contains summaries of one or more letters from the specified source, each with a title giving the subject of the letter. Letters from India are divided within each abstract by the branch or department of the Government of India they originated from. The correspondence covers issues including:Famine in Madras and Bengal Provinces, in particular Orissa [Odisha], and a subsequent enquiry into the handling of the Orissa famine by British officialsPublic works, including railways, irrigation, roads, docks, lighthouses, navigational locks, and land reclamationPay, pensions, recruitment, and other personnel issues in the Indian Civil and Military establishments, including the employment of ‘Natives’ in the Civil administrationIssues concerning Princely States, including: issues of succession; pensions; local administration; land claims; extradition treaties; debts; subsidies for railway passage; an attempt to overthrow the Rajah of Munnipore [Manipur] [Raja Chandrakirti Singh] by exiled Munnipooree [Manipuri] revolutionaries; the disarming of the Maharaja Scindia’s forces; and the proposed deposition of the Nawab of Tonk [Nawāb Muḥammad ‘Alī Khān]Issues concerning the Indo-European Telegraph, including negotiations with the Governments of Persia [Iran] and Bagdad [Baghdad] for overland telegraph routesLand issues, including: plantations of cash crops such as cotton, cinchona, and tea; the sale of ‘waste lands’; forestry; land revenue settlements; and tenant rightsRevenue and expenditure, with tables for the financial years 1865-66 and 1866-67 and estimates for the financial year 1867-68Judicial affairsEducationFinanceIssues concerning emigration from India to French coloniesMilitary affairs, including: the supply, transport, and accommodation of troops; sanitation; proposed deployments of Indian troops in the Straits Settlements and China; the deployment of a local counterinsurgency force in Kattywar [Kathiawar]; and claims of military units on ‘prize money’ [property looted by British forces] consequent to service in the ‘Mutiny’ [Indian Uprising of 1857]The murder of British ships’ crews on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and proposed retaliatory expeditionsFrontier affairs, including: a campaign against the Hussun Kheyl Afreedies [Ḥassan Khel clan of the Afrīdī tribe] on the Northwest Frontier; raids and fortifications on the frontiers of Punjab and Sind [Sindh]; and frontier policy in Beloochistan [Baluchistan]Civil conflict in Affghanistan [Afghanistan] between the Ameer Shere Ali [Amīr Shīr ‘Alī Khān] and Mahomed Ufzal Khan [Amīr Muḥammad Afẓal Khān], and suspected Persian designs on the countryAffairs in the Persian Gulf, including the seizure of a ship from Bahrein [Bahrain] by Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and subsequent protest from Persia; the presence of Turkish [Ottoman] warships in the Gulf; proposed deployments of ships to combat the slave trade; the relations of the Chief [Shaikh] of Bahrein with the Wahabee [Wahhābī movement]; and complaints from the British India Steam Navigation Company concerning trade embargoes on some products by Persian authoritiesAffairs in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, in particular attempts by Syud Toorkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa’īd Āl Bū Sa’īd] to capture MuscatAffairs in and around Aden Settlement, including conflict with the Foodlee [Faḍlī Sultanate] and Turkish [Ottoman] attempts to make Mukalla and Shehur [Ash Shihr] tributaryAffairs in Zanzibar, including slavery, the construction of a new capital in Dhar Salaam [Dar es Salam] by the Sultan, and reports of the death of the missionary Dr David LivingstoneThe imprisonment of British and other nationals by Emperor Theodorus [Tewodros II] of Abyssinia [Ethiopia] in the context of civil conflict in the country, and preparations for a British expedition to Abyssinia. Includes reports from an advance mission by Colonel William Mereweather, Commanding Officer of the Abyssinia Reconnoitering Force, to identify an invasion route for the expeditionAffairs in Burmah [Myanmar/Burma], including trade relations and customs duties, civil unrest in and around Mandalay and the flight of Burmese princes to India; proposed roads or railways to China; and a Burmese mission to France to conclude commercial agreements and acquire weaponsThe annexation of three districts of Cochin China [Vietnam] by FranceAffairs in Central Asia, in particular the Russian advance; a request from the Ameer [Amir] of Bokhara [Bukhara] for British support against Russia; and insecurity in Eastern Toorkistan [Xinjiang] following the capture of Khotan [Hotan] by Kokandee [Kokandi] raidersThe primary correspondents are:The Government of IndiaThe Government of BengalThe Government of MadrasThe Government of BombayThe Viceroy and Governor-General of IndiaThe Resident in AdenThe Political Agent in ZanzibarColonel William Mereweather, Commanding Officer of the Abyssinia Reconnoitering Force.The abstracts were printed and bound in London, and each one includes the following colophon: ‘LONDON: Printed by GEORGE E. EYRE and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, Printers to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty. For Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.’Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 338; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: A copy of an abstract describing the overland routes to Persia [Iran] taken by Lieutenants Charles Christie and Henry Pottinger from the port of Sonmeany [Sonmiani], for the purpose of exploring Siestan [Sistan] and Baloochistan [Balochistan], on the instructions of Brigadier-General John Malcolm.The copy indicates that it was originally signed by Pottinger and dated Kermanshah, 8 September 1810, and the copy is signed by Malcolm. The verso of the last folio (folio 14) states that it was received via the ship
Exeteron 8 August 1811.Physical description: 1 item (14 folios)
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and memoranda containing guidance relating to the perceived threat of enemy troops parachuting into British-Indian territory. Though the threat is most strongly perceived in the north-western provinces of India and Baluchistan, the guidance was distributed to Britain’s political agencies in the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain.The file includes: a copy of a Government of India letter, dated 5 July 1940, discussing the vulnerability of stations on the northwest frontier of India, with suggestions for passive air defence measures, and precautions to be taken against parachutists (paratroopers) (ff 3-4); a note from the General Staff, dated 1 June 1940, outlining the nature of parachute attacks (f 5); a note outlining active defence measures to be taken against paratroopers, including permanent guards and the placement of obstructions on landing grounds (f 6); a copy of a secret memorandum from the Government of India, dated 30 July 1940, stating that no landing grounds should be obstructed without prior reference to the Government of India External Affairs Department (f 8); copies of telegrams relating to difficulties encountered in ascertaining the identities of air crews at some landing grounds (f10), with proposals for photograph identity cards to be carried by aircrews, a specimen of which is included (f 11); a copy of a letter from the Under Secretary to the Government of India, dated 18 December 1942, drawing attention to the success of ‘fifth column’ exercises in Northern Command, and requesting that ‘provincial governments’ assess their arrangements for weaknesses that may leave them prone to fifth column activities (ff 18-19).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 20; 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 2-19; 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 contains correspondence between various British Government officials in the Persian Gulf, who were responding to a perceived increase in the trade of slaves across the Gulf of Oman, from the Baluchistan coast to the Batinah and Trucial coasts on the Arabian Peninsula. A significant proportion of the volume is intelligence on maritime slave trading activities on the Baluchistan coast. This intelligence was collected by local Baluchis reporting to the Assistant Superintendent of the telegraph office at Jask (Mr Navarra), who telegraphed reports of the activity of dhows suspected of carrying slaves to the Arab coast to the Political Residency, then under the charge of Major Arthur Trevor. In the case of those boats suspected to be headed to the Trucial Coast, the Political Resident requested the Residency Agent at Sharjah [‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif] to use the intelligence to retrieve the slaves once they have arrived on the Trucial Coast. When there was evidence of either direct or indirect involvement on the part of one of the Trucial Coast shaikhs in slave trading, the Political Resident wrote directly to the shaikh concerned, warning him of the consequences of his actions (for example, folio 86). Conversely, when a shaikh had taken action in the rescue of a slave, he received praise from the Political Resident (folio 137).A report from Captain Brandon, Commanding Officer of HMS
Cyclamen, which was patrolling the Baluchistan coast in order to deter slave traders, wrote that a well-known slave trader on the Makran coast was in receipt of a small annual subsidy from the British Government to protect the telegraph line in the area (folios 176-77). This suggestion was contested by Mr Navarra (folios 206-08), though he conceded that others involved in the slave trade on the Makran coast, who have seen their slaves intercepted by British authorities, had threatened to cut British telegraph cables in retaliation. Mr Navarra also suggested that the trade in slaves from Baluchistan to the Arabian Coast, besides being a result of the continued drought and famine in the Baluchistan region, had been recently encouraged by an increase in the trade of rifles from Arabia to Baluchistan, one being used to pay for the other.Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover with circled numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. There is an earlier foliation system using uncircled numbers that runs through the volume. The earlier foliation system is referenced by annotations in the correspondence that refer to earlier correspondence existing in the volume.
Abstract: Correspondence in the first part of the volume relates to specific cases of the kidnapping of boys from Baluchistan/India to the Trucial Coast, and the efforts of the Political Resident and Political Agents to locate, retrieve and repatriate them. Reference is made to a court case in Karachi, in which witness testimonies reveal the extent of the slave trade across the Gulf of Oman (folios 107-108), and the numbers of slaves on the Trucial Coast, with up to 1,500 claimed to be in Dubai.The volume broadens in scope, reflecting the British Government’s concerns about the extent of the slave trade from Persia/Baluchistan. There are detailed reports made in 1929 on the extent and nature of slavery in the Gulf region, specifically in Kuwait (folios 198-204, 215-216), Qatar (folios 220-223), the Trucial States (folios 208-209), and Muscat (folios 242-260). The last of these reports is compiled by Bertram Thomas, then Wazir [Finance Minister] for the State of Muscat, and focuses on the slave trade in the Al-Batinah region of Oman. The report includes a detailed account of slavery and the pearl diving industry, maps of slave trade routes across the Gulf of Oman and on the Al-Batinah coast, and the names of known slave dealers in the region.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 307; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.The volume contains three foliation anomalies, ff 2a, 2b and 233a.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials concerning a complaint made by the Government of Iran of that Britain was 'intriguing' with Persian subjects in Baluchistan, the arrest of a British Indian subject by the Iranian Police and rumours of arms smuggling into Persian Baluchistan.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 12; 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.