Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 29 August 1854. A copy of this letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2586/154786, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the third in a series of nine items on events in the Persian Gulf 1853-54.The item concerns complaints by Persian [Iranian] merchants residing in Bombay [Mumbai], including Aga Mahomed Ali ben Hajee Bakur [Āqā Muḥammad ‘Alī bin Ḥājjī Bāqir], and by Prince Moaymdud dowla Tahmasup Mirza [Mu‘tamid al-Dawlah Ṭahmāsb Mīrzā], Governor of Fars. Their complaints are communicated to the Government of Bombay through Mirza Mahomed Houssein Khan [Mīrzā Muḥammad Ḥusayn Khān], Persian Consul at Bombay, and Meerza Saduck [Mīrzā Ṣādiq], Acting Persian Consul at Bombay, between March and April 1854. The complaints allege that:Persian cargo on ships bearing the British flag has been forcibly seized at Kishm [Qeshm] by Sheikh Abdul Rahman ben Suggur [Shaikh ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Ṣaqr], Sheikh of the islandSheikh Abdul has also imprisoned Persian merchants on Kishm and Hoormuz [Hormoz]Persian merchants have been prevented from trading at Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbas] by the Imaum [Imām] of Muscat's Agent there, Syed Mahomed ben Salim [Sayyid Muḥammad bin Sālim].The Government of Bombay forward copies of the above to Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf. His replies are also included in the item, reporting:His belief that the complaints are inaccurate and that the merchants have ulterior motives in appealing for British interventionHis communications (copies included) with Sheikh Abdul Rahman ben Suggur and with Meerza Hassan Ally Khan, Dureya Beggee of Bushire [Mīrzā Ḥasan ‘Alī Khān, Daryā Begī, or Governor, of Bushehr] on the subjectHis communications (copies included) with Commodore George Robinson, Commanding the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf, and by extension, Lieutenant Robert Austice Stradling, Commanding Company schooner
Constance, regarding enquiries made at KishmHis reasoning that the blockade of Bunder Abbas by Syed Mahomed ben Salim is justified and moderate, given the ongoing hostilities between the Imaum of Muscat and the Persian Government.The Government of Bombay's subsequent replies to Meerza Saduck and Aga Mahomed Ali ben Hajee Bakur are also included.The item contains multiple spellings for multiple personal and place names.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', Draft Number '20 1855', 'Collection No. 5 of No. 58 of 1854', 'Vol: 2' and 'Examiner's Office'. Originally, the Collection number was given as '2' but this has been crossed out and replaced with '5'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 819, and terminates at f 847, 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.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The first edition of
Who's Who in Persia (Volume IV) Persian Baluchistan, Kerman, Bandar Abbas, Fars, Yezd and Laristan, compiled by the General Staff, India, comprises a biographical dictionary of individuals, families, and tribes connected with those regions in 1923.It also includes genealogical trees for certain entries.The volume was published by the Superintendent, Government Central Press, Simla.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 89; 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 mainly letters addressed to Lieutenant William Bruce, Resident at Bushire at the time. Bruce was Acting Resident until 1812, but in this volume he is still often referred to as Acting Resident. A few letters are written to James Orton, Assistant Surgeon at Bushire, who took temporary charge of the Residency while Bruce was away from Bushire. The letters are mainly from the Secretaries of the Government of Bombay. Subjects relating directly to the Residency include: accounts; military and marine expenses. Broader themes within the letters include the diplomatic relations with Persia and the Wahabee [Wahhabis], the procurement of sulphur for its use in gunpowder, the silk and horse trades, and the threat of Āl Qāsimī pirates to British trade in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: Foliation: there is an original pagination, written in ink in the top right of each recto and the top left of each verso. It starts on the first letter with 1 and continues until page 213.The volume has been foliated in pencil, circled, in the top right corner of each folio. The numbering begins with the first letter with 1; then 2-94; 95-95a; and then runs through to 138, which is the last number given on the first blank page at the end of the volume. There are seven blank pages at the beginning and three at the end of the volume.Condition: the item has suffered from insect damage and the paper is very fragile in some parts. Some folios are glued and cannot be read.
Abstract: The volume contains secret correspondence (original correspondence received and copies of correspondence sent) within the following three separate categories: Bahrein [Bahrain]; Muscat and Bunder Abbass [Bandar Abbas] (and local); and miscellaneous and local. The Resident in the Persian Gulf during the period covered by the volumes was Commander (James) Felix Jones (acting until July 1856).The correspondence is principally with Henry Lacon Anderson, Secretary to Government, Bombay and other East India Company officials, including Commodore Richard Ethersey, Indian Navy, commanding the Persian Gulf Squadron; Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent, Turkish Arabia; and the commanders of vessels of the Indian Navy. There is also correspondence with other British officials, including Charles Augustus Murray, Envoy and Minister-Plenipotentiary to the Court of Persia, and correspondence (some of it in Arabic) with local rulers and Persian officials.General topics include:the slave trade;political intelligence;the Wahabees [Wahhabis];the operations of the Indian Navy in the Persian Gulf;Russian involvement in Persia;relations with Persia;administrative matters;appointments;the transmission of dispatches around the region;pearl fishing;the Anglo-Persian War (1856-57).Specific topics include:correspondence concerning the effect of the British suppression of the slave trade, January - May 1856 (folios 12-19);correspondence concerning the migration of the Al Ali tribe to Demaum [Dammām], March 1856 - January 1857 (folios 20-90);correspondence concerning relations between Muscat and Persia in the light of the claim of the Imam of Muscat to Bunder Abbas [Bandar Abbas], February - August 1856 (folios 92-110);letter from Jones to Henry Frederick Disbrowe, Assistant Resident, Persian Gulf, dated 3 May 1856, briefing him on his duties at Bushire during Jones's temporary absence (folio 144);papers concerning Civil Surgeons' fees for attendance on the families of public officers of the East India Company in the light of the unhealthy nature of the climate at Bushire, June - September 1856 (folios 148-152);correspondence between Jones and the Government of Bombay and between Jones and the staff officers of the Bombay Army, concerning military operations in the Persian Gulf, September 1856 - February 1857 (folios 172-297).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence runs across the two volumes into which this record has been bound (Part 1 ff 1-141B; Part 2 ff 142-299). The foliation sequence commences at 1 on the (modern) title page of volume one and terminates at 299, the last folio before the back cover of volume two. The numbers are written in pencil and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Foliation anomalies: ff 141, 141A, 141B. This is the system in use.Pagination: three original pagination sequences, which generally number only those pages bearing text, numbered 1-124 (ff 12-90); 1-30 (ff 92-111); and 1-305 (ff 113-297) are also present. The numbers are written in ink and appear in various positions at the top of each page.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. It is the fourth in a series of eleven items about the Persian Gulf (the others are IOR/F/4/2050/93533, 93534, 93535, 93537, 93538, 93539, 93540, 93541, 93542, and 93543). The principal correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Officiating Resident in the Persian Gulf.The item concerns:The strength and intentions of Ameer Fysul [Amīr Fayṣal bin Turki bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Sa‘ūd]The intentions of Sheikh Jabir [Shaikh Jābir I bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Ṣabāḥ] to mediate between Abdulla bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], former Shaikh of Bahrein [Bahrain] and Mahomed bin Khuleefa [Shaikh Muḥammed bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah], Shaikh of BahreinThe wreck of the
Mary Mullaby[
Mary Mallaby] off Bunder Abbass [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] by Captain Charles FisherThe conduct of Meerza Mahomed Ali [Mīrza Muḥammed ‘Alī], British Agent at Bahrein, in surrendering the dependents of Humood Oomere [Ḥamūd ‘Umayr], who were under his protection, to Abdullah bin AhmedMovements of ships in the GulfThe Government’s reimbursement of the costs incurred in raising the Honourable Company’s Schooner
Emilyin April 1842, after sinking it to destroy the vermin on board.The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Coll No [Collection Number] 1, Draft 558, P.C. [Previous Communication] 4291, [Season 18]44’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 500 and terminates at f 581, 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.Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. It is the sixth in a series of eleven items about the Persian Gulf (the others are IOR/F/4/2050/93533, 93534, 93535, 93536, 93537, 93539, 93540, 93541, 93542, and 93543). The principal correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Officiating Resident in the Persian Gulf; Captain Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf.The item concerns:Attempts at mediation between Abdullah bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], former Shaik of Bahrein [Shaikh of Bahrain], and Mahomed bin Kalipha [Shaikh Muḥammed bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah], Shaik of Bahrein, by Jabbir [Shaikh Jābir I bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Ṣabāḥ], Shaik of Koweit [Kuwait]The strength and ambitions of Ameer bin Physal [Amīr Fayṣal bin Turki bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Sa‘ūd], including his demand for tribute from Mahomed bin KaliphaA discussion of the history of Mohumrah [Khorramshahr] and whether it has ever been subject to Persia [Iran]An investigation into the wreck of the
Mary Mullaby[
Mary Mallaby] off Bunder Abbass [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] by Captain Charles Fisher, and alleged plunder from the ship.The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Coll No [Collection Number] 1, Draft 558, P.C. [Previous Communication] 4291, [Season 18]44’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 658 and terminates at f 735, 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.Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. It is the eighth in a series of eleven items about the Persian Gulf (the others are IOR/F/4/2050/93533, 93534, 93535, 93536, 93537, 93538, 93539, 93541, 93542, and 93543). The principal correspondents are the Government of Bombay and P W LeGeyt, Senior Magistrate of Police in Bombay.The item concerns the wreck of the Brig
Mary Mullaby[
Mary Mallaby] and the recovery of two boxes alleged to have contained treasure which were found to contain either copper dross or black pebbles.The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Coll No [Collection Number] 1, Draft 558, P.C. [Previous Communication] 4291, [Season 18]44’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 793 and terminates at f 825, 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.Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. It is the ninth in a series of eleven items about the Persian Gulf (the others are IOR/F/4/2050/93533, 93534, 93535, 93536, 93537, 93538, 93539, 93540, 93542, and 93543). The principal correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Rubil bin Uslan [Rubik bin Aslan], Native Agent at Muscat.The item concerns the wreck of the Brig
Mary Mullaby[
Mary Mallaby] and the recovery of two boxes alleged to have contained treasure which were found to contain copper dross. It also concerns an alleged case of fraud connected to the gooncha [ghanja]
Narrayen Pursad[
Nārayaṇa Parsād].The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Coll No [Collection Number] 1, Draft 558, P.C. [Previous Communication] 4291, [Season 18]44’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 826 and terminates at f 847, 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.Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; the Government of India; Major Atkins Hamerton, British Consul and Agent in the Dominions of the Imam of Muscat; and Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. It is the second in a series of five items.The item concerns money owed to British subjects on account of the actions of the Customs Master at Bunder Abbass [Bander-e ‘Abbas], and the settlement of this affair by the Imam of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd].The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft No 969-1852’ and ‘Collection No 5 of No 62’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 1044, and terminates at f 1056, 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.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This volume is a report by Samuel Butcher, a superintendent and clerk in the Indo-European Telegraph Department, documenting the route from Rishir, a village near Bushire, to Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]. The report describes the different cities that Butcher went through on his way to Bunder Abbas. Each description contains information on supplies, water, fuel, cultivation, grazing and camping grounds.Folio 2 of the volume contains a dedication from the author, Samuel Butcher, to George Curzon. The report was the property of Curzon.The volume contains five lithographic prints of drawings (folios 13, 16, 19, 21, and 25) and one map in a pocket at the end of the book (f 33).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates on a map with 33, 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: Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Residency and Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency for 1901-02, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, Calcutta [Kolkata], 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 and other Agents in the Persian Gulf.The Administration Report is organised as follows:1.
General Summary, submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 21 April 1902 (folios 4-6), with overviews of: the year’s rainfall and harvest, and the impact of drought; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public peace; public health; currency; customs administration in the Gulf, under Belgian control; settlement of claims for compensation. The General Summary also includes summaries for key towns and regions, chiefly comprising accounts of local politics: Oman and Muscat; the Oman Coast; Bahrain; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, including details of the loss of a decisive battle by Shaikh Mubarak al-Sabah at the hands of the Amir of Nejd, and the capture of Riadh [Riyadh] by Abdul Aziz [Ibn Sa‘ūd]; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast; Persian Baluchistan. Further reports are included on: the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted by British officials in the region; incidents of piracy; naval movements, chiefly British but also Russian and French vessels; changes in British official personnel; and movements and changes in foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.2.
Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency, 1901-02, submitted by Major Percy Zachariah Cox, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and Political Agent at Muscat, dated 2 April 1902 (folios 7-9) including: an account of recent tribal politics of Oman, most notably disturbances at Wadi Maawal; events in Sohar; ill-treatment of British Indian subjects in Muscat and Oman; customs; arms trafficking; pearl disputes; the death of the Sultan’s Vazir [Wazir], Sayyid Saeed bin Mahomed bin Salimin, and a brief account of his life; opening of the Muscat to Jask telegraph cable; epidemics and preventative measures; the slave trade; and naval movements.3.
Trade Report of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1901, submitted by Kemball, in his capacity at His Britannic Majesty’s Acting Consul-General for Fars, Khuzistan, etc., dated 31 March 1902 (folios 9-39), with summaries on: imports and exports; the harvest; exchange; currency and specie; mule hire; freight and shipping activity; Russian commerce; customs administration; administration of justice; further details of imports and exports, with reference to particular commodities including cotton, medicines, kerosene, opium and shells. An appendix follows with tabulated trade data of the principal imports and exports, and number, tonnage and nationality of vessels.4.
Trade Report for Maskat[Muscat],
1901-02, submitted by Cox (folios 40-41), with brief summaries on the import of arms, cereals, coffee and silk, and the export of dates and dried fish. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade statistics.5.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of Mohammerah[Khorramshahr]
for 1900(folios 42-46), with remarks on: exchange; exports; imports; shipping; caravan routes; agriculture; health; and the river trade. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.6.
Trade Report of Bundar Abbas[Bandar-e ʻAbbās]
for the Year 1901, submitted by Captain C H Boxer, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul at Bandar-e ʻAbbās, dated 12 March 1902 (folios 46-52), with remarks on: the value of imports and exports; harvest; exchange; transport; shipping; and the benefits to British trade that an extension of the telegraph cable to Bandar-e ʻAbbās would bring. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.7.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1901, submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant Political Agent, dated 7 February 1902 (folios 53-60), containing remarks on: total trade in Bahrain; the year’s pearl fishing season; importation of cotton and coffee; exports, including oyster shells; imports from India, Turkey and Persia; weights and measures in Bahrain; shipping; and a schedule of the lighterage rates at the Port of Bahrain. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.Physical description: The report is arranged into a number of parts and sections, with tabulated statistical data directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (folio 3), which refers to the report’s internal pagination sequence.
Abstract: Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Residency and Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency for 1902-1903, 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 and other Agents in the Persian Gulf. Folios 181 and 168 are copies of notes, dated 15 and 21 May 1903 respectively. Both notes were sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to Louis William Dane, Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department. The first note (no.82) enclosed the Residency and Muscat Political Agency reports. The second note (no.87) enclosed statistical tables of trade at Ahwaz and Shuster for 1902, drawn up by His Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] from returns supplied by Messrs Lynch and Brothers.The Administration Report is organised as follows:1.
General Summary, submitted by Kemball (folios 183-87), 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 smallpox; customs administration in the Gulf; settlement of claims against the Persian Government; and the coronation of King Edward VII. The General Summary also includes summaries for towns and regions, chiefly comprising accounts of local politics: Oman and Muscat; Oman and the Pirate Coast, including an assessment of the pearling season; Bahrain, including news from El Katr [Qatar]; El Hassa [Al-Hasa] and El Katif [Al-Qaṭīf]; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, with an update on the fighting taking place 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 reports from Shiraz, Lār, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; Persian Baluchistan. Further reports are included on: the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted by British officials in the region; incidents of piracy; naval movements, chiefly British but also Russian, French and Persian vessels; changes in British official personnel; and movements and changes in foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.2.
Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency, 1902-03, submitted by Major Percy Zachariah Cox, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and Political Agent at Muscat (folios 187-92), including: an account of the tribal politics of Oman; reports from Seeb, Awabi, Nezwa [Nizwa], and Gwadur [Gwadar]; the Political Muscat Agent’s tour, including Fujeyrah [Fujairah], a Persian flag flying on Sirrī Island, and the journey from Abu Thabi [Abu Dhabi] to Muscat; a report of Cox’s attendance of the Delhi coronation durbar; customs; the arms trade; public health; slave trade activity; telegraph rates; Agency buildings; naval movements at Muscat, chiefly British but also Russian, French and U.S. vessels; official changes and the Resident’s visit. A trade report for Muscat is appended to the administration report, summarising imports and exports, itself followed by an appendix of tabulated trade statistics.3.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1902, submitted by Kemball (folios 192-99), including: general remarks on trade; imports and exports; exchange; mule hire rates; freight and shipping rates. An appendix follows with trade data of the principal imports and exports, and number, tonnage and nationality of vessels.4.
Report on the Trade of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1902, submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant Political Agent (folios 200-02), with details of: coffee imports; pearling season; shell exports; exchange; port improvements. An appendix follows the report, containing tabular data on the principal imports and export at Bahrain.5.
Report on the Trade of Mohammerah[Khorramshahr]
for the Year 1902, submitted by William McDouall, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Mohammerah (folios 203-08), with summaries on: exchange; shipping; river trade; 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 1902, submitted by Captain William George Grey, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Bandar-e ʻAbbās (folios 208-11), with summaries on: openings for British trade; mistakes made by British traders; the progress or decline of rival trade; obstacles to trade; communication between traders and the Consular Officer; legislative and tariff regulations; shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.Physical description: The report is arranged into a number of parts and subsections, with statistic data in tabular format directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (folio 180) which lists the report’s contents, and refers to the report’s own pagination sequence.