1 - 5 of 5
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
1. '[Un-numbered File] Muscat Diary 1905-1907'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains several types of documentation with information on the condition of the country, arrivals and departures of ships, movement of British representatives, missionary enterprises, aviation etc. However, the bulk of the file consists of weekly reports containing the main political news of the day filed by the Political Agent in Muscat to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. The reports are organised as a series of bullet points representing the events of each day of the week. Of note are a series of regular standardised forms titled 'Statement of Arms and Ammunition landed at Muscat'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 271; 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 A previous foliation sequence between ff 14-204 and between ff 236-270, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
2. File 2834/1917 Pt 2 'SOUTH PERSIA RIFLES'
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume contains papers relating to expenditure on the South Persia Rifles and its dissolution in 1921.The principal correspondents are: the India Office; the Foreign Office; the Viceroy (Government of India), Foreign Department (later Foreign and Political Department), and Finance Department; Herman Norman, HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia [Iran], Tehran [also spelled Teheran in this file] (post held by Sir Percy Cox up to May 1920); the Secretary of State for India; Treasury Chambers; and the War Office.The papers notably cover and include the following:The discussion and apportionment of costs between the Government of India and HM (Imperial) Government in 1920 and 1921The position of the Government of India regarding the South Persian Rifles, notably its: view that half the cost of the unit cannot legitimately be charged to its revenue; desire in October 1919 to be entirely relieved of the financial liability for the unit (see ff 416, 409); complaint that the heavy burden of expenditure (taxation) in Persia is unpopular in India especially in the Legislative Council and Assembly and the newspapers; protest at making further payments beyond 31 December 1920; and desire to steer the Persian Government gradually towards taking over financial support of the unit reorganised on a more economically affordable basisBritish concerns regarding the Persian Government’s ability to afford the cost of maintaining the unit should the British withdraw financial supportConsideration of the potential scale of Bolshevik (Soviet Russian) influence in north-west Persia, and the particular consequences of withdrawal of the British troops from that area concurrent to a dismantling of the South Persian Rifles, and the need to continue British financial support of the Cossack Division [Cossack Brigade] in north PersiaTensions between the India Office and the Foreign Office regarding expenditure on the maintenance of the South Persia Rifles, initially up to 31 December 1920 and subsequently up to 31 March 1921, and the India Office and Government of India’s refusal to contribute funds for the unit beyond 31 March 1921 (see ff 332-333)Norman’s repeated claims, with the general concurrence of the Foreign Office, that disbanding the unit without six months’ notice would be logistically fraught and have serious adverse political consequences, including: the conversion of ‘a body of more or less disciplined soldiery into a horde of unpaid and uncontrolled bandits’ (f 280); undermining the security of Shiraz and Kerman; and threats to British banking and commercial interests (see notably ff 366, 353, 303-304, 279-281, 161)A memorandum dated 17 February 1921 by Sydney Armitage Armitage-Smith, Financial Adviser to the Persian Government, regarding the Imperial Bank of Persia’s view on its future position in the country and with regard to the floating debt of the Persian Government (ff 310-312)Discussion of the possibility of unspent money received by the Persian Government from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) being used to support the South Persian RiflesThe offer of the APOC to finance the Persian Government (on account of future royalties payable by them to the Persian Government), on condition of a British Financial Adviser having general control of Persian finances and the maintenance of the South Persian Rifles (ff 292-301)The apparent policy intentions of the new Persian Government (following a coup d’état 21 February 1921) notably with regard to military arrangements, including Norman’s scheme of organisation for a reduced South Persia Rifles following an indication from the British Consul in Shiraz that the new Government wishes to take over the unit (ff 270-272, 258-266)India Office minute paper dated March 1921, entitled ‘S P R. Incidence of expenditure’, detailing the history of the unit from its formation in 1916, and concluding that the department has always supported the Government of India in refusing to contribute to its maintenance after 31 March 1921, ‘a decision which was definitely taken, and communicated to the Foreign Office, on 1st Oct 1920, i.e. with six months’ notice’ (ff 247-253)The Treasury’s agreement to contribute £225,000 for the South Persia Rifles with a view to its ultimate disbandment or incorporation into the Persian Army (f 229), and the non-participation of the Government of India in the expenseArrangements proposed by the Persian Government for absorption of the unit into the Gendarmerie (ff 208-209), June 1921Financial arrangements for the winding up of the South Persian Rifles, notably in connection with the transfer of stores and equipment to the Persian Government, payment of officers and other personnel, and monetary losses to be born regarding stores left behindNorman’s continued opposition, July 1921, to disbandment of the unit, and fears about the loss of British influence, alleging: anti-British activities of Bolshevik representation in northern Persia; possible security threats to oil fields (f 161) and telegraph lines (f 155); and the new Government’s untrustworthiness and Anglophobia (ff 155-157). Norman also expresses support for the APOC loan proposal to the Persian Government for the next three months partly to prevent similar loans being tendered by US corporations such as Standard OilThe winding-up and adjustment of the accounts of the unit, 1922-23, including inter-departmental contention over specific sums of money.The papers comprise a mixture of printed, typescript and manuscript documents and mostly consist of: India Office minute papers with manuscript notes; India Office draft letters and draft telegrams; India Office Secret and Political Department registry covering papers including the subject and notes by department officials; covering letters of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India, with related enclosures; original and copy letters; and copies of telegrams.At the front of the volume is a Political and Secret Department divider which gives the subject number and part number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 437; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Three additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 148-163, ff 309-312, and ff 340-347; these numbers are also written in pencil.
3. Letters and Papers from Various People on a Number of Matters Mostly Relating to Persia
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence from a number of diplomats, army officers, political officers, explorers, orientalists, journalists, businessmen, and Persian notables, many of which are personal friends of Lord Curzon.Correspondents include: Lieutenant Herbert John Coningham, army officer and explorer; Major Percy Zachariah Cox, British Consul General, Bushire; Cecil Spring Rice, British Minister to Persia; Massoud Mirza zil Sultan (also written Zelle Sultan/Soltan), Persian prince and Governor of Fars; J H Dill, British Consul, Shiraz; John Richard Preece, former British Consul, Isfahan; Sir Charles Hardinge, Foreign Office; Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Campbell Yate, army officer; Sven Hedin, Swedish explorer; Major William Frederick Travers O'Connor, British Consul, Sistan; J W Stratford Andrews; Ignatius Valentine Chirol, journalist, author, and historian; Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, former Governor of Bombay; Sir Walter Charleton Hughes, civil engineer and consultant; Albert Houtum-Schindler, former employee of the Persian Government; Tahir Bey; and Edward Granville Browne, orientalist.As well as accounts of people's experiences in and around Persia [Iran], the correspondence covers a number of other matters relating to the region. Subjects include: the Anglo-Russian convention, 1907; German and Turkish activities in the region; the Persian Civil War of 1908-1909; Russian activities in Persia; the diary kept by Captain Arthur Conolly while he was captive in Bokhara; trade routes; the proposed trans-Persian Railway; the Baghdad Railway; the chaotic situation in southern Persia, including the region's gun traffic; and British relations with the Bakhtiari and Qashqai tribes.Additionally, the papers include forwarded reports, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, etc., all relating to Persia, often with requests for Curzon's reviews and opinions. There are also several invitations to dinners and meetings. The file also touches upon more personal matters such as the death of his wife, Mary, in July 1906, a motorcar accident in 1908, and his appointment as Chancellor of Oxford University in 1907.The French language material consists of letters from Massoud Mirza zil Sultan.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 125; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
4. File 2834/1917 Pt 4, 'South Persia Rifles: - General correspondence regarding disbandment. Disposal of arms, ammunition, stores etc.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This item relates to the disbandment of the South Persia Rifles, including attempts (in the opinion of the India Office) of the Foreign Office and HM Minister in Tehran to prolong its existence, and the disposal of arms, ammunition, equipment and medical stores.The principal correspondents are: Herman Norman, HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia [Iran], Tehran (up to September 1921); the Foreign Office; the India Office; the Viceroy (Government of India), Foreign and Political Department; and Reginald Francis Orlando Bridgeman, diplomat, British Legation in Tehran (from October 1921).The papers notably cover and include the following:Admiralty memorandum arguing that disbandment may lead to a breakdown in law and order in the southern provinces creating a threat to naval fuel supplies from south Persia oil fields (f 152)A suggestion by the High Commissioner of Mesopotamia [Iraq] that the Anglo-Persian Oil Company be approached to advance funds to the British Financial Advisor to the Persian Government, in order to maintain the unit and so prevent ‘disorder and riot’ ensuing in south Persia’ (f 154)Norman’s negotiations with the Persian Prime Minister regarding the latter’s possible takeover of the South Persia Rifles, including the refusal of the Medjliss [Majlis, Iranian Parliament] to accept six-month contracts with British officers; Norman’s and the Foreign Office’s outright rejection of a new proposal by the Persian Prime Minister which is considered ‘impudent’ (ff 168-169); and decision to accelerate the disbandment considering the lack of funds for the unitThe Foreign Office’s rejection of a suggestion that the Governor-General of Isfahan [also spelled Ispahan in this item] (or Bakhtiyārī Khān) be allowed to acquire arms and ammunition of the South Persia Rifles (f 178)Copies of communications between Norman and the Persian Prime Minister, June-July 1921, in which the latter requests that the British Government: continue to finance the unit for another three to four months until other European (Swedish) officers can take over from British ones; and give Persia the stores and arms gratis (ff 113-115, 122-129)A revised offer of the Persian Government, conveyed by Norman September 1921, to take over the remaining South Persia Rifles, without British and Indian officers and officials, pay its expenses out of its own revenues and buy its arms and stores from the British Government on concessionary terms (ff 107-109), and Norman’s intimation that refusal could turn Persian public opinion against Britain and lead to disorder in southern Persia (the proposal is rejected by the British Government)Norman’s insistence that the order for the destruction of the Isfahan detachment’s arms is suspended and they are conveyed through ‘Bakhtiari country’ to Ahwaz [Ahvaz] for ‘future eventualities’, and the British Government’s refusal to sanction the ‘sale of arms or munitions to any tribesmen including Bakhtiaris’ (ff 86-87)A report from the Kerman Consular Officer, conveyed by Norman 24 September 1921, regarding disorders and robberies on a large scale in the province of Fars allegedly resulting from news of the impending disbandment of the unit (f 77)A proposal for the disposal of the medical stores of the South Persia Rifles at Kerman to the Medical Officer of the Church Missionary Society Mission, including the agreement of the Viceroy of India for their transfer as a gift or purchase at concessional rates and the Treasury’s view that the Mission should instead be charged a (higher) ‘fair price’ (ff 119, 67, 23)A South Persia Rifles proposal in October 1921, supported by Bridgeman, British Legation in Tehran, to sell 700 rifles and ammunition, equipment and animals for a small force in Fars to help avert disorder in the region and prevent ill-feeling against the departing British who may otherwise destroy the remaining arms and equipment, including support of the Government of India and India Office, and agreement of the Foreign Office for their use in Fars despite the ‘recent attitude of the Persian Government and Persian public opinion’ towards Britain (ff 58-64, 69-75)A request, October-November 1921, of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company to purchase from the disbanding unit 300 rifles, and Bridgeman’s dismissal of a rumour that the company plans to recruit 300 more guards for its operations in Kashgai (ff 25-33)Report by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf on the arrival in Bushire [Bushehr] of the last convoy of South Persia Rifles from Shiraz, 9 November 1921, in which he details an attack on the garrison at Kazerun and expresses concerns for the future security of the Bushire-Shiraz and Bandar Abbas-Kerman roads, (ff 15-20)Foreign Office response to questions submitted by Sir Charles Yate MP regarding the terms on which the men of the South Persian Rifles have been disbanded, details of the disposal of equipment, guns and stores, the costs of the evacuation, and potential recompense to the Government of India for its expenditure on the force (ff 7-12).The papers comprise a mixture of printed, typescript and manuscript documents and mostly consist of: copy telegrams, copy letters, covering letters of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India, with related enclosures; India Office Political Department registry covering papers including the subject and notes by department officials; India Office minute papers with manuscript notes; India Office draft letters and draft telegrams; original and copy letters.Physical description: 1 item (184 folios)
5. File 443/1924 Pt 1 'Persia: Situation 1924-1925; Attempt to set up a Republic 1924; Abolition of the Kajar dynasty and the accession of Reza Shah Pahlavi 1925'
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence, memoranda, drafts, and minute papers relating to political events in Persia [Iran]. The majority of the papers consist of telegrams and regular reports concerning the evolving political situation in the country, sent to the Foreign Office by the British Minister in Tehran, Sir Percy Lyham Loraine, or the Chargé d'Affaires, Esmond Ovey, when the Minister was absent.The papers notably cover the following:The emergence and eventual failure of a republican movement in Persia in the early part of 1924Resistance within the country to the idea of a republic, leading to the storming of the Majlis [legislative assembly, also written as Mejlis] by anti-republicans in March 1924The resignation of Reza Khan [Reżā Shāh Pahlavī] as Prime Minister in April 1924Reza Khan's return and his ascension to the position of Shah following the legal abolition of the Kajar [Qājār] dynasty on 31 October 1925The British discussion of, and response to, these events, including the question of maintaining a policy of non-interferenceReaction to events from within Persia and from other foreign powers.Less prominent matters covered within the volume include: Arms imports into PersiaRelations between the USA and Persia, including the perceived unpopularity of US advisers in the countryThe potential of republicanism spreading to AfghanistanThe reaction in Turkey to the idea of a Persian republicOil concessions in Persia, in particular the Northern Oil Concession to Sinclair and Company [Sinclair Oil Corporation]The separatist movement in Arabistan [Khuzestan] and its defeat by the Persian Army led by Reza Khan in November 1924Bolshevik influence in PersiaRoutine political events such as the opening of parliamentary sessions and changes to the Cabinet.Other correspondents include: Godfrey Thomas Havard, Oriental Secretary, Tehran [also written Teheran]; Major William Archibald Kenneth Fraser, British Military Attaché, Tehran; Lord Crewe [Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe], British Ambassador to France; Edmund St John Debonnaire John Monson, Embassy Counsellor, Tehran; the Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; Sir Ronald Charles Lindsay, British Ambassador to Turkey; Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Beville, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Lieutenant-Colonel Lionel Haworth, British Consul-General Meshed [Mashhad]; H G Chick, British Consul, Shiraz; Noel Patrick Cowan, British Consul, Kermanshah; and Bernard Gilliat-Smith, British Consul, Tabriz.The volume contains a number of newspaper cuttings and extracts, including those from The Times, Shafagh Sorkh[ Shafaq-e-Surkh] ,and Le Messager de Teheran(in French).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 353; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.