Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials in London, Delhi, Bushire, Bahrain, Sharjah, and Tehran over the status of several islands in the Gulf: Tanb [Greater Tumb], Little Tanb [Lesser Tumb], Abu Musa and Sirri [Jazīreh-ye Sīrrī]. The main correspondents are the Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf; the Political Resident Persian Gulf; Shaikh Sultan bin Salim, ruler of Ras al-Khaimah; H.M. Minister, Teheran; H.M. Secretary of State for India; H.M. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.The correspondence discusses how the Persian Government claimed these islands and the British maintained they were defending the rights of the sheikhs of Trucial Oman. Also discussed is the building of a light house on Tanb Island and the presence of red oxide on the island. The majority of the correspondence is in English but the file also includes letters in Arabic. These carry the stamp 'British Agency Trucial Oman'. Most of the correspondence is in the date range 1933-1934. One letter describes how in 1933 a Persian man-of-war
Palangvisited the island without prior notification and correspondence discusses correct protocol to be followed; correspondence also discusses how the behaviour of the Persian Government was not compatible with their position as signatories of the Covenant of the League of Nations and the Kellog Pact; also includes a statement of a 'Nakhuda' on the seizing of a boat by Persian ship
Palang. The file concerns the British defence of the rights of the sheikhs of Trucial Oman and rights to mining of red oxide. One letter reminds the ruler of Ras al-Khaimah that he is not to lease any part of his territory without permission of the British government.Physical description: 1 volume (207 folios)
Abstract: Correspondence concerning Persian claims to sovereignty over the islands of Sirri, Abu Musa and Tunb [Greater and Lower Tumb] and the competing claim of the Shaikh of Sharjah. Correspondence discusses the erecting of flagstaffs by the Persians and also the Belgians. Correspondents include the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department; Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf; Shaikh Suggar, Sharjah; Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifah, Chief of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Maktoom, Chief of Dubai.Physical description: Foliation: Starts on first page of writing, which is the index on the inside cover and concludes on the back cover. Consists of circled pencil numbers, located in the top right hand corner of the recto of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence concerning Abu Musa island. Correspondence discusses British memorandum of 1908; the German case relating to their mining operations; the Persian claim to Abu Musa, Sirri and Tunb [Tumb]; the role of Hassan bin Samaiyah and the contract with the German company Wonckhaus. Corrrespondents include the Political Resident Persian Gulf; Frank C. Strick and Co.; German Consulate, Bandar Abbas; H.M. Consulate Bandar Abbas; Deputy Secretary to the Government of India; Khan Bakadur Abdur Latif [Khan Bahadur Abd al-Latif], Residency Agent Sharjah; Khalid bin Ahmad, Sheikh of Sharjah.Physical description: This volume has three foliation sequences. The first begins with the first letter and runs from number 1 through to number 55. There follows a gap of one folio, and then a second foliation sequence starts on the verso side of what would have been number 56 in the first foliation sequence. This sequence is inconsistent in that it is paginated from number 56 up to number 109, where it then lapses back into foliation and runs through to number 332, the last typescript folio. The third and most recent foliation sequence begins on the first typescript folio, which is loose. It runs from number 1 through to number 281, which is the inside of the back cover. It should be noted that folio 60 in this sequence is followed by folio 60 A, which is then followed by number 61. The first foliation sequence is written in blue and red crayon, in the top right corner of each folio. The second foliation sequence (which contains some pagination) is written in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio (and in the top left corner of the verso side of those folios that are paginated). The third foliation sequence, which should be used for cataloguing, is written and circled in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence mostly concerning the island of Sirri [Sirrī], as well as other Persian Gulf islands, including Tanb [Ṭanb] and Lesser Tanb, Farur [Farūr] and Lesser Farur, Dalmah [Dalmā], Halul island [Ḥālūl], Sir Abu Nu'ayr [Ṣīr Abū Nu‘ayr], and Sir Bani Yas [Ṣīr Banī Yās]. These papers contain details concerning the status of these islands, as well as geographical and topographical information, including details of mineral deposits.The correspondence in this file is between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; ‘Abd al-Laṭīf, Residency Agent at Sharjah; ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Laṭīf, acting Residency Agent at Sharjah; Āghā Muḥammad Amīn Badr, Residency Agent at Lingah; Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Sharjah; T J Malcolm, Bushire; and various British officials in the Foreign Department of the Government of India.There is a file index on folio 2. Subjects include: Muin's [Moin-ut-Tujjar] claims to Sirri (folios 103, 121); connection of Sirri question with that of fisheries (folio 15); Hajji Ali Akbar [Ḥājjī ‘Alī Akbār]'s attitude oxide at Sirri (folios 39-47, 79, 84, 124); Strick's enquiries on oxide at Sirri (folios 90-91); Abdullah bin Hassan Galadari [‘Abdullāh bin Ḥassan Jaladārī] (folio 55-56); German visits to Sirri (folio 73); status of Nabiyu Tanb island (folios 92, 100); status Farur and Nabiya Farur islands (folios 88, 100, 121); oxide on Dalmah island (folio 100); oxide on Sir Abu Nu'air island (folios 100, 130-131); oxide on Halul islands (folios 100, 115); manganese on Halul island (folios 130-131); Sir Bani Yas island (folios 130-131); note on Sirri island (folios 25-27); situation at Sirri Island in 1904 (folios 8-15); the Jowasimis [Āl Qawāsim] occupation of Sirri (folio 62).Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the cover and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second incomplete mixed foliation/pagination sequence runs in parallel between ff. 4-143; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio, along with the corresponding top left (sometimes) of the verso side. The file contains the following foliation amendments: 109, and 109A; 114, and 114A; 116, and 116A.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence concerning the Persian claim to the island of Sirrī, as well as their claim to and occupation of that place. In addition there is information concerning rival claims by Trucial Coast rulers, details concerning Dubai pearl divers on the island and details concerning other Persian Gulf islands, including Abu Musa [Abū Mūsá] and Tanb [Ṭanb].The correspondence in this file is between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; ‘Abd al-Qasim and ‘Abd al-Laṭīf, Residency Agents at Sharjah; Āghā Muḥammad Amīn Badr, Residency Agent at Lingah [Bandar-e-Lengeh]; Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Sharjah; Maktūm bin Ḥashr Āl Maktūm, ruler of Dubai; and various British officials in the Foreign Department of the Government of India. There are also copies of correspondence between India Office and Foreign Office officials.Folio 2 is an index, and folios 4-9 are a precis of documents within the file for folios 10-115. Subjects covered include: Persian flag hoisted on Sirri [Sirrī] (folios 18, 48); Persian refusal to remove the flag (folios 127-131); Memorandum by the Resident on Persian refusal (folios 141-144); Hajji Ahmad Khan [Hājjī Aḥmad Khān]'s Report (folios 80-93); Legation correspondence with the Persian Foreign Office (folios 70-77); Documents tendered in support of the Persian claim (folio 52-59); Shaikh of Shargah [Sharjah]'s claims to Sirri (folios 27-28); Persian claim to Abu Musa island (folio 80); Shaikh of Debai [Dubai] complains of pearl divers absconding to Sirri and the Persian Coast (folios 116-118, 154-160, 167-190); Chief of Ras El Khaimah [Ras al-Khaymah]'s claim to Tanb island (folios 22, 209).Notable documents within the file include: a precis of correspondence about occupation of the island of Sirri (folios 109-113); a report entitled
Question of the status of the Island of Sirri(ff. 165-166); a report by the Residency Agent at Lingah on the island of Sirri in Persian and English translation (ff. 200-202); correspondence with Sir Mortimer Durand regarding the island of Sirri (folios 211-215); and a statement by the Shaikh of Sharjah (f. 65).Physical description: Foliation: The foliation number is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the third folio after the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last folio of writing, on number 227. The file contains the following foliation amendments: folio 1 is followed by folios 1A and 1B; no folio 3; folio 92 is followed by folio 92A; folio 156 is followed by folio 156A; folio 171 is followed by folio 171A.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. These political letters appear in IOR/F/4/2416/130506. It is the nineteenth in a series of twenty-eight items on the Persian Gulf.The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf; and Moollah Houssein [Mullā Ḥusayn], Agent at Shargah [Sharjah].The item concerns the activities of the ‘pirate’ Soheil ben Ateish [Suhayl bin ‘Uṭaysh], who has carried out attacks on the islands of Sirdee [Jazireh-ye Sirri, also rendered as Surdy in the item] and Seir Aboneed [Sir Bu Nu‘ayr]. Soheil ben Ateish is reported to be obtaining supplies from the coast of Guttur [Qatar], and has attached himself to the Muzareah [Āl Mazrūʿī] tribe. Hennell suggests measures that might be adopted in order to apprehend Soheil ben Ateish.The item contains a table of contents (f 618), and the title page (f 617) contains the following references: ‘Dft. No. 424 of 1851’, Collection No. 1, Vol. 19’, and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 617 and terminates at f 626, 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: Correspondence relating to the mining of red oxide on Abu Musa island. Correspondence topics include:The Second British Memorandum, December 1911 (printed copy).The migration of the Sudanese community from Sirri to Abu Musa.The activities of the German company Wonckhaus which was not permited to ship oxide from the pit-head but permitted to remove all oxide already mined.Letters discuss the view of the Political Resident Persian Gulf that no further concessions be given to Wonckhaus.Correspondents include the Political Resident Persian Gulf; the Foreign Office, London; India Office, London; H. Listermann, German Consulate, Bushire; Shaikh Sagar bin Khalid, Chief of Sharjah; Residency Agent, Sharjah; H.M. Vice-Consul and Assistant Resident, Lingah.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation system in use is the sequence of numbers appearing in a circle in the top right hand corner of each page.
Abstract: The file begins with correspondence in 1935 reporting the seizure of a dhow belonging to nakuda Salim bin Abdullah, a subject of Ras al Khaimah, by a large group of Arab inhabitants of Sirri Island, led by Ubaid bin Khalfan al Aqrubi. As a result of their enquiries, the British authorities in the Persian Gulf conclude that the seizure of the Ras al Khaimah dhow at Sirri Island in November 1935 was an act of retaliation by the islanders against the intervention of Shaikh Sultan bin Salim [Al Qasimi, Shaikh Sultan bin Salim] the Ruler of Ras al Khaimah some years earlier, in a dispute over inheritance involving one of his subjects, who was a relative and beneficiary of the estate of the deceased wife of Ubaid bin Khalfan al Aqrubi. The main correspondents investigating the incident are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, both the Political Agent and the Assistant Political Agent at Bahrain, and the Residency Agent at Sharjah whose reports are in Arabic as well as in English. Their correspondence includes both Arabic and English copies of letters and a statement made by Shaikh Sultan bin Salim the Ruler of Ras al Khaimah, and also of a witness statement made by the nakuda Salim bin Abdullah. The file ends with correspondence in 1936 relating to the settlement of the disputed inheritance and the return of the seized dhow to its owner, with the assistance of the Iranian authorities. Included in the latter correspondence are letters exchanged between officials at the British Legation in Tehran and both the Foreign Office and India Office in London, as well as a letter (in English translation) from the Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs at Tehran, regarding the attitude of the British Government towards the Iranian Government’s claim to sovereignty over Sirri Island.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 79; 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 3-69; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Document outlining the status of the Islands of Tamb, Little Tamb, Abu Musa, and Sirri. It includes the following: an introduction to the status of the islands; a history of the islands prior to 1887; the occupation of Sirri by Persia, 1887; the temporary Persian occupation of Abu Musa and Tamb, 1904; the status of Sirri in 1909; the erection of a lighthouse on Tamb Island, and communications to the Persian Government and the Sheikh of Shargah [Shaikh of Sharjah], 1912-13; statements made by His Majesty's Government to the German Government as to the ownership of Abu Musa, 1907-14; reassertion of the Persian claim to Tamb and Abu Musa, 1923; Persian customs interference at Abu Musa, 1925-26; reassertion of the Persian claim to Tamb, 1928; and a final summary.Written by John Gilbert Laithwaite of the India Office.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 23, and terminates at f 26, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file concerns the territorial status of a number of islands in the Persian Gulf. The issue arose in response to a request from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Limited to the Foreign Office in 1938 concerning the extent of Iranian (generally referred to as Persian) territory, in order that the company could choose the precise location of the 100,000 square mile oil concession granted to them by the Iranian Government.The islands principally concerned are Tamb (also referred to as Tumb and Tunb), Little Tamb (also referred to as Nabiya Tunb), Abu Musa, Farur, Little Farur (also referred to as Nabiya Farur), Sirri, Arabi, and Farsi.The papers include correspondence from the Foreign Office describing the position of the British Government with regard to the status of each island; the question of whether to offer an ex gratia payment to the Shaikh of Sharjah in respect of any oil found at Sirri, September-October 1938; papers concerning the extent of Iranian territorial waters and the issue of offshore oil fields, including comments by the Petroleum Department, 1938; and the flying of the flag of the Shaikh of Ras al Khaima over Tamb Island, 1942.The file also includes India Office confidential prints dated 1928 relating to the status of some of the islands concerned.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 77; 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 2-33; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file concerns the claim by the Government of Iran to the island of Sirri [Jazīreh-ye Sīrrī], which was occupied by the Iranian customs authorities.The issue arose following the seizure by inhabitants of the island of a dhow from Ras al Khaimah. The incident produced a protest by the British Legation, Tehran to the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which the British Government, while acknowledging Iran's de facto occupation of the island, denied any acceptance of Iran's de jure sovereignty there. In response, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted both Iran's de facto and de jure sovereignty. The correspondence shows that following this, the Foreign Office decided against reiterating the British position in regard to sovereignty over the island. The issue of the boat that had been seized was amicably settled (folio 6).The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence dated November-December 1931.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 31; 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.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence and papers concerning the granting of a concession to British companies to mine red oxide on the Island of Sirri (also referred to as Siri and Sirra) in the Persian Gulf.The main correspondents are HM Minister, Tehran (Sir George Head Barclay); the British Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran (Charles Murray Marling); senior officials of the Foreign Office, the Government of India, the India Office, and the Board of Trade; and representatives of the companies involved: Hadji Ali Akbar and Sons Limited (Manchester), Frank C. Strick and Company Limited (London), and Ellinger and Company (Manchester).The papers cover: the initial application to mine red oxide on Sirri from Hadji Ali Akbar and Sons Limited, Manchester, April -June 1908 (folios 194-220); papers concerning the question of whether the company could provide a guarantee that it would act in British interests, April-August 1908 (folios 168-193); papers concerning the standing of the company, including correspondence from the Board of Trade, August-September 1908 (folios 153-167); the question of sovereignty over the island, and whether the British Government, by upholding the rights of the company, would be admitting Persian sovereignty against the claims of the Shaikh of Sharga [Sharjah], June-September 1908 (e.g. folios 193, 145-152); the right to mine red oxide disputed by Frank C. Strick and Company Limited, London, and Ellinger and Company, Manchester, who claimed that the concession granted to the Muin-ut-Tujjar [Haji Agha Muhammad, Mu‘in ul-Tujjār] on the island of Hormuz entitled them to mine on Sirri also, October-December 1908 (folios 108-144); investigations by the British Government showing that the Muin-ut-Tujjar had not established his claim to be the holder of a concession on Sirri, December 1908 - January 1909 (folios 73-107); further correspondence, August 1908 - February 1909 (folios 34-72); reports that deposits of red oxide on Sirri were actually very scanty, February 1909 (folios 28-33); and papers concerning further investigations into the presence of red oxide on Sirri and adjacent islands, February-May 1909 (folios 4-27).The volume includes a divider which gives the subject, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.The date range gives the covering dates of all the documents in the volume; the covering dates of the Secret Department minute papers, which enclose those documents, as given on folio 3, are 1908-09.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 222; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.