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61. Aden Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 10 dated 16 January 1857. The enclosures are dated 29 December 1856-13 January 1857.The papers comprise:A letter from Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident, Aden, to the Secretary to Government, Bombay, relating to his plan for the reoccupation of the island of Perim [also known as Mayyun], enclosing: a copy of his instructions to Lieutenant J M Greig (Bombay Engineers), Assistant Executive Engineer, Aden; and a memorandum detailing the objectives of the re-occupation, the construction works to be undertaken, the garrison to be installed there, and other defensive arrangementsA resolution of the Board affirming the arrangements and authorising certain apparatus to be supplied for the undertaking.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
62. Aden Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 21 dated 2 February 1857. The enclosures are dated 13-29 January 1857.The enclosures comprise despatches from: Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident, Aden; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; and Major-General Charles Waddington, Chief Engineer of Public Works, Bombay.The papers relate to arrangements for the re-occupation of the island of Perim [also known as Mayyun], the building of a lighthouse there, and the permanent stationing of a military force on the island and a vessel of war at Perim Harbour. The papers notably include:Coghlan’s instructions to, and correspondence with, Lieutenant C B Templer, Commanding the HC [Honourable Company] Schooner Mahiand Senior Naval Officer at Aden, concerning the latter’s conveyance to Perim of Lieutenant J M Greig, Bombay Engineers, and a party of sappers, artificers and biggaries [a type of unskilled labourer]Coghlan’s request to the Government of Bombay for a steamer [steam ship] to ensure effective communications and supplies, especially of water, to Perim, and a letter from the Secretary to the Government to the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy, enquiring whether the steamer Goolanarcan be made available for this purposeThe decision of Lieutenant Henry St Clair Wilkins, Executive Engineer, Aden, to provide rations free of charge to the artificers and biggaries who went in buggalows to Perim, including its sanction by a Resolution of the Board.Physical description: 1 item (13 folios)
63. Kelat, Candahar and Herat Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 54 of 1856, dated 28 July 1856. The enclosures are dated 19 June-7 July 1856.The enclosures chiefly comprise letters from Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind [Sindh] to the Secretary to the Government of India, copied to the Government of Bombay. Jacob forwards intelligence he has received regarding the state of affairs in Herat, Candahar [Kandahar, also spelled this way in this item] and Kelat [Kalat, also spelled Khelat in this item], notably:Intelligence obtained by the Acting Political Superintendent North West Frontier, written by Moolla Ahmed [Mullā Aḥmad], the Wukkeel [vakil, representative] of the Khan of Kelat and the Wukkeel’s son, stating that an approaching Persian [Iranian] force threatens the territories of the Khan of Kelat. Included are copies of the letters in Persian with English translations (ff 442-443 and ff 445-446)Four original translations of letters (ff 452-460) forwarded to Jacob with the original Persian letters (not present in this item) by Captain William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind, which allege that: the Persian Army has captured Herat; a detachment of the Persian Army, in support of the ex-Sirdars [sirdārs, leaders] of Candahar, is approaching Candahar with the aim of ousting Ameer Dost Mahomed [Amīr Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] and replacing him with Rehimdil Khan [Raḥam Dil Khān]; and the ‘uncivil people of the red face [English]’ who did not help the Candahar sirdars will ‘suffer a similar fate’ in ‘Hindoostan’ [India] at the hands of Persia (f 455). Also included is Merewether’s admission that information relating to the taking of Ghorian [Ghurian or Ghoryan] and investment of Herat was obtained orally from his conversations with Moolla Ahmed but was accidentally added to the translation of the first letterAn extract of a letter from the Khan of Kelat to Moolla Ahmed, residing in Jacobabad, forwarded to Jacob by Merewether, in which the Khan of Kelat reports that the Wuzzeer [vizier, minister] of Herat has thrown into confinement the Ruler of Herat and his household, plundered all his property, caused coinage to be minted in the name of the Persian King [Shāh], and hopes to be Governor of the city. The Khan also reports that ex-Sirdars of Candahar, Khooshdil Khan [Luynab, ʿAbd al-Hamid, Khushdil Khan] and Mahomed Omer Khan [Muḥammad Omar Khān Muḥammadzāy] and others have been captured by Dost Mahomed Khan’s soldiers, but that Rehimdil Khan is still at large in Ghilzee [Ghilji] country.Also included in this item is a letter from Jacob apologising for the tone of his previous letter and insisting that no disrespect was intended.Physical description: 1 item (25 folios)
64. Turkish Arabia Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 22 dated 31 March 1856. The enclosures are dated 16 Janurary-5 February 1856.The item comprises letters from Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] to the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, for the attention of the President and Governor in Council, Bombay, and the Government of India.The papers cover matters including the following:Events in the Montefik [Muntafiq] District, including the contested ‘chiefship’ of the Montefik tribe, and the decline of the area caused by excessive taxation imposed by the Governor of Bussorah [Basra] and the ‘most revolting means’ (f 397) used by Zeyd en Nasser [Zayd bin Nāṣir], the brother of Bunder en Nasser [Bandar bin Nāṣir] (who was invested with the ‘sheikhship of the Montefik’), for their collection for the Turkish authoritiesThe capture of Kars by Russian forces [Crimean War, 1853-1856] under General Mouravieff [Nikolay Muravyov] and the military situation in that area of the Ottoman EmpireTensions along the Persian [Iranian]-Turkish [Ottoman] frontier notably at Kermanshah and Mohamrah [Khorramshahr], including: concerns of the Governor-General of Bagdad [Baghdad] regarding potential Persian plans to mount a campaign in spring 1856 with Russian allies; British concerns that Turkish troops may march into the disputed territory of Zohab, then in possession of Persia; and Persian fears of an invasion at Mohamrah by the English via the Turkish dominions.Physical description: 1 item (18 folios)
65. Coll 6/7(1) 'The Yemen: Relations between H.M.G. and the Imam.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume concerns relations between the British Government and Imam Yehia bin Muhammad Hamid Uddin [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn, Imam of Yemen]. It largely consists of correspondence between the Political Resident at Aden (Sir George Stewart Symes, succeeded by Bernard Rawdon Reilly) and officials of the India Office, the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office. Also included are copies of correspondence between the Political Resident and the Imam.The correspondence includes the following subject matter:The Imam's wish to conclude a treaty between Yemen and Britain, and British objections to some of the Imam's terms for a proposed treaty, such as the Imam's demand for the recognition of his sovereignty over the tribes of the Aden Protectorate.The Imam's refusal to accept the boundaries of the Aden Protectorate, as laid down between Britain and the Ottoman Empire before the First World War.The possibility of sending a British official representative to visit the Imam, with the objective of establishing a 'clearer understanding of each other's policy and aims'.Discussion as to how the British should respond to reports that the Imam's troops have occupied Al 'Ain [Am ‘Ayn] (a group of villages in the Wadi Beihan [Wādī Bayḩān] region, deemed by the British to be part of the Aden Protectorate), with a threat of aerial bombardment being among the considered options.Discussion of matters that the British may wish to raise in treaty negotiations with the Imam, including the evacuation of the Imam's troops from the districts of Audhali and Sanah [Sanāh, near Qa‘ţabah], and the Sultan of Upper Yafa's claim to Rube'aten.Also included in the volume are the following:Copies of the Aden Residency's Political Intelligence Summaries.Minutes from meetings of the Imperial Defence Committee's Standing Official Sub-Committee for questions concerning the Middle East, which discuss British relations with Yemen.A copy of a report by Lieutenant-Colonel Morice Challoner Lake recounting his visit to the Wadi Beihan in March 1931.A copy of a translation of the Imam of Yemen's proposed terms for a treaty between Britain and Yemen, and several copies of a corresponding British counter draft treaty.Copies of memoranda from Air Ministry and War Office representatives.Five maps showing disputed territory.The French material in the volume consists of one letter. Most of the material in this volume covers the period 1931-1932; however, the volume also includes several maps dating from an earlier period, of which the earliest is dated 1906.The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this volume commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 383; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 253-382 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
66. Minutes of the Mesopotamia Administration Committee
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises the Minutes of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth meetings of the Mesopotamian Administration Committee held between May and July 1917.The minutes consider the administrative structure in post-war Mesopotamia and staffing of the High Commission. It also considers British and French positions and interests as well as the position of other allies such as Italy and Russia. The correspondence discuss the proposals for an Arab state and how it could be aligned with British interests. The formation of an Arab Legion military force features in a note by Sir Mark Sykes with commentary by the Foreign Office and Sir Ronald Wingate (ff 22-31).Correspondents include Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs, Sir Mark Sykes, and Sir Percy Zachariah Cox.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 39; 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 typed mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present between ff 3-38.
67. A Memorandum on the Possible Occupation by France of Sheikh Said
- Description:
- Abstract: A memorandum written by Edmund Neel, Political and Secret Department, India Office, and an addendum, in which is discussed the possibility of a French occupation of Turkish-held Sheikh Said [Ra’s Shaykh Sa‘īd], on the south-western tip of the Arabian Peninsula. A sketch map (f 7) accompanies a report reproduced in the memorandum.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) for this description commences at folio 6 and terminates at folio 11, as it is part of a larger volume; 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 sequences is present; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
68. Enclosure in Letter from Harford Jones to Henry Dundas of 31 Oct 1798
- Description:
- Abstract: A copy of the proclamation written by General Napoleon Bonaparte after capturing Alexandria, dated 13 Messidor of Year VI of the French Revolution/Muharram 1213 (1 July 1798).The proclamation declares the end of the rule of the Mamelukes in Egypt and criticises the Mameluke rulers. It denies that Bonaparte came to Egypt to destroy Islam and claims that he came to ‘free’ Egyptians from ‘tyrants’, proclaiming respect for God, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Qur’an and describing the French as ‘pure Mahomedans’. It also exhorts Egyptians to support the French forces and not to support the Mamelukes against them.The proclamation is followed by six articles making demands on the Egyptian population:That a representative from each town within three leagues of the French camp come to make submission, stating that any town that refuses to make submission will be destroyedThat any town making submission must fly the French tricolour and the flag of the Great Lord [Sulṭān of the Ottoman Empire]That Egyptians are to go about their business as ordinary, pray for the continued greatness of the Sultan and the French army, and curse the MamelukesThat local chiefs are to put a seal on the houses and property of the Mamelukes.This copy was enclosed in the letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Baghdad, to Henry Dundas, Secretary of State for War, dated 31 October 1798 (IOR/L/PS/9/76/43 and 44).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
69. Treaty with the Ameers of Sind; and Persian Gulf Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee: Bombay Secret Letter 25 May 1821. The enclosures are dated 20 December 1820-12 May 1821. (Attached to folio 5 is a note, f 5a, stating that the ‘Enclosure in Bombay Secret Letter of 18th October 1820 is missing’).The initial enclosure (numbered 1) is a letter dated 10 February 1820 from George Swinton, Secretary to the Government at Fort William, to Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay, conveying the Governor-General’s pleasure that the threatened rupture of relations between the British Government and the Ameers of Sind [Amirs of Sindh] has been averted and a treaty negotiated, and approbation of Captain Sadler who was sent as an envoy to Hyderabad to restore good relations.The remaining enclosures, with their relevant enclosures, are: despatches from Henry Willock, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Tahran [Tehran] to the Marquis of Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal; despatches from H R Deschamps, Acting Political Agent and Captain Commanding at Kishma [Qeshm, also spelled Kishm and Kishmee in this item], to Francis Warden; and instructions issued by Warden to Dr Andrew Jukes with relevant enclosures. They relate to the complaint by Persia [Iran] about the British occupation of the island of Kishm, and comprise the following groups of papers:(1) Willock’s correspondence with the Persian Prime Minister and with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in which Willock disputes the Persian contentions on the following points:Whether the occupation of Kishm is a violation of Article 11 of the Treaty between Persia and Britain (prohibiting British ships of war going to Persian ports without express permission)Whether the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat, had the right to authorize the relocation of the British detachment at Rosul-Khyma [Ra's al-Khaymah, also spelled Ras-sol-Khyma in this item] to Kishm and Hengaum [Hengam] and if Muscat is a dependency of Bunder Abassi [Bandar Abbas] and hence of PersiaWhether it is the prerogative of the Prince of Fars to take steps to prevent ‘piracy’ (of the Joasemees [al-Qawāsim]) and ensure security in the Persian Gulph [Gulf] or if a permanent British naval presence was and is more effectiveWhether Captain William Bruce, Political Resident in the Persian Gulph [Gulf], should be removed from his post (and pay reparation for damaged and lost property) for interfering at Bahrein [Bahrain] in efforts to suppress ‘piracy’ which were the business of the Prince of Sheraz [Shiraz] and the Imaum of Muscat; and for being responsible for the ‘unwarranted’ seizing of the arms of 300 men of Lingua [Bandar-e-Lengeh] and fourteen of their boats which were all destroyed following a storm, and for the burning of ships at the port of Charack [Bandar-e Chārak, also spelled Charak in this item], in alleged retaliation for attacks on British subjects.The correspondence also covers Willock’s attempts to: dissuade or delay the sending of Persian representatives to Kishm and Bombay, respectively, to ask the British to leave Kishm and to remonstrate over the occupation to the Government of India; and to exonerate Captain Bruce from responsibility for the events at Lingua and Charack.(2) Letters from the Acting Political Agent and Captain Commanding at Kishma, to the Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay, reporting that he has placated the vakeel sent with a letter (ff 29-30) by the Hussin Ally, Prince of Shiraz [Husayn 'Ali Mīrzā Farmānfarmā, Prince-Governor of Fārs] and that he has received intelligence that the Prince is amassing a force of 12,000 near Bunderabbas [Bandar Abbas], which could not be repulsed by the small British military establishment on the island (detailed on f 30).(3) Detailed background and instructions (ff 34-43) to Dr Jukes issued by the Government of Bombay for his mission to the Persian Gulph in which he is to allay the claims and suspicions of Persia and conduct himself as the situation, however it develops, may warrant. In particular Jukes is instructed: to investigate the claims of the Imaum of Muscat and Persia to the island of Kishma; verify whether the Prince of Shiraz has amassed a force near Bunder Abbas; direct the detachment to withdraw to Muscat if hostilities look inevitable; how to act with regard to Captain Bruce; to be the Political Agent at Kishme on the recall of Captain Thompson. The instructions are accompanied by copies of letters of authority, introduction and information (ff 44-65), including: letters from the Government of Bombay addressed to Willock, the King [Shah] of Persia, the Prince of Sheeraz [Shiraz] and the Imaum of Muscat; detailed report by Major-General Lionel Smith, dated 23 April 1821, on the advantages of Kishme and how to best use it to check ‘piracy’ and in general how to police the Gulph (ff 48-57); and letters to the Officer Commanding the Troops and Acting Political Agent, and the Officer Commanding HC [Honourable Company] Cruisers at Kishm.The last enclosure ends with a list of the four enclosures comprising Bombay Secret Letter 25 May 1821.Physical description: The despatch comprises enclosures numbered 1-4. The enclosure number is written for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
70. Extracts of Communications relating to the Permanent British Occupation of Basra
- Description:
- Abstract: The item contains extracts from a letter, telegrams and a note, covering the period November 1914 to December 1916, and all relating to the permanent British Occupation of Basra:Extract from a letter from Sir Percy Zachariah Cox to Persian Gulf and other Chiefs, including the Sheikh of Mohamerrah [Khorramshahr] and the Amir of Nejd [Najd], November 1914 - informing the Chiefs that Britain would never allow Basra to be subject to Turkish Authority again;Extract from Viceroy's Telegram, dated 7 December 1914 - regarding a request from Sir Percy Cox to make a public announcement of the permanent occupation of Basra by the British;Telegram to Viceroy, from Secretary of State (for India), dated 9 December 1914 - advising against a public announcement regarding the permanent occupation of Basra as it would be a breach of the undertaking agreed with Britain's allies;Telegram to Viceroy, from Secretary of State (for India), dated 19 December 1914 - requesting that Cox be permitted to intimate in conversation that Basra would not be returned to the Turks, in order to provide reassurance;Telegram to Viceroy, from Secretary of State (for India), dated 25 December 1914 - informing that there would be no objection to Cox intimating in conversation with those already under British control circumstances regarding future protection against the Turks;Summary, written by Sir Arthur Hirtzel and dated 14 December 1916, of a statement made by His Excellency Lord Hardinge, during a visit to Mesopotamia, in response to a deputation from the British community of Basra, 3 February 1915 - regarding the British not being able to make statements on the future owing to their commitments to allies, but that there was no intention of them withdrawing from Basra.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 98 and terminates at folio 101, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right hand corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between folios 6-153; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
71. 'Abstract of Correspondence and Memorandum respecting the Yemen'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains an account given on the control and occupation of Yemen from June 1832 onwards. It covers the rebellion of Toorche Bilmer; the acquisition of Mocha by Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt; the intentions of Mehemet Ali towards Aden, Muscat, and Baghdad; relations with the British Government and the Government of India; the proposed transfer of Aden to the British Government; communications between Colonel Patrick Campbell, British Consul General to Egypt with Boghos Bey, Egyptian Foreign Minister, and Mehemet Ali regarding troops in Yemen; and the actions of Captain Haines of the Indian navy in arranging the transfer of Aden with the Sultan of Aden.The memorandum discusses the right of sovereignty claimed by the Porte over Yemen, and the consequences this has for: the claim of duty under the Commercial Treaty of 1838; the question of reparations for 'insults and injuries' against British interests by Sheriff Mocha; and the right by which the British Government holds Aden.It is broken down into three sections:1. Turkish Claim of Sovereignty in Yemen;2. Sovereignty over Mocha;3. Sovereignty over Aden.Each section outlines the history of the area in terms of changes in sovereignty, and gives the British view on Turkish sovereignty.Includes three short letter quotes in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 60, and terminates at f 71, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 60-71; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
72. File 2249/1915 Pt 2 ‘Oil: Mesopotamia and Persia: oil; Sir J Cowan's deputation & Standard Oil Co.’
- Description:
- Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to oil exploration and the acquisition of oil concessions in Mesopotamia [Iraq] (and to a lesser degree, Persia [Iran]) by oil companies. The companies involved are: the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC); the Shell Transport Company (STC, also referred to as the Anglo-Saxon Oil Company), led by chief negotiator John Steven Cowans; the Standard Oil Company of New York (SOC). The correspondence covers: Cowans’s trip to Mesopotamia on behalf of STC; reports of SOC geologists to Mesopotamia; the British Government’s decision that all oil exploration and efforts at obtaining concessions in Mesopotamia should be stopped while the country remains under military administration; the retention of STC experts for oil exploration for military purposes; APOC exploration in the Pasht-i-Kuh region of Persia, and the company’s negotiations with the local Vali (or Wali), rather than the Persian Government; the refusal by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to authorise visas to British SOC representatives wishing to travel to Mesopotamia; suspicions amongst British Government officials that SOC were supporting and financing anti-British sentiment in Mesopotamia; the withdrawal of oil representatives and geologists in Mesopotamia from August 1920, in response to the social unrest and anti-British sentiment spreading across the country (the 1920 Iraqi revolt).The volume’s principal correspondents are: the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, Arnold Talbot Wilson; Foreign Office officials; India Office officials.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 first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 292; 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 165-292, 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 and ending flyleaves.