Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence and other papers relating to the erection (and subsequent abandonment) of flagstaffs at the head of the Persian Gulf, on the Maklab [Maqlab] Isthmus at Musandam (Musandam spelt with numerous variations throughout the file), Telegraph Island [Jazīrat al Maqlab], and Sheep Island [Jazīrat Umm al Ghanam].The correspondence includes:a report of the Viceroy of India’s tour of the Persian Gulf in 1903, dated 21 January 1904 and signed by several individuals (including George Nathaniel Curzon and Horatio Herbert Kitchener) containing proposals for the erection of naval bases, coaling stations, and telegraph facilities in the Gulf (ff 213-215);proposals and arrangements for the erection of flagstaffs by HMS
Sphinxin November 1904, made by Major William George Grey, Political Agent at Muscat, Lieutenant William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Assistant Resident and Acting British Consul at Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], Captain Thomas Webster Kemp, Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf and Commander of HMS
Sphinx, including reports submitted by Shakespear and Kemp describing the erection of the flagstaffs, including accounts of the discussions held with the inhabitants of the areas around which the flagstaffs were erected, and a map indicating the location of the flagstaffs (ff 112-114, 119-121);questions of whether to fly the Union Jack or Blue Ensign on the flagstaffs;Government concerns that the flagstaffs were situated in territory claimed by the Sultan of Maskat [Muscat];Admiralty objection to the flagstaffs, on the grounds that it would be the Navy’s responsibility to protect them;the decision of the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) to maintain the flagstaff at Telegraph Island, but abandon the flagstaffs at the Maklab Isthmus and Sheep Island;further reconsideration of the proposal to fly a British flag on Telegraph Island, in the wake of investigations by John Gordon Lorimer which assert the Sultan of Muscat’s sovereignty over Musandam;deferral of the decision on the flagstaff at Telegraph Island until the outcome of the Hague Tribunal on vessels at Muscat flying the French flag; the removal, in October 1905, of the flagstaffs on the Maklab Isthmus and Sheep Island;final instruction from the Foreign Office to the Government of India, in May 1908, that the remaining flagstaff on Telegraph Island should be no longer maintained.The file also includes a report of the survey of Khor Kawi [Khawr al Quway‘] by HMS
Sphinx, dated 31 December 1903, with a map showing water depths in Khor Kawi (ff 190-192), and a letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station, Vice Admiral George L Atkinson-Willes, to the Government of India, dated 5 September 1905, recommending that Khor Kawi be used as a new British naval base, rather than Elphinstone Inlet or Telegraph Island (ff 34-35).The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in it arranged by year. This divider is placed at the front of the volume (f 3).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 225; 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 file contains a letter from Cecil Spring Rice, British Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran, to George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, dated 20 October 1900, forwarding a letter in French addressed to Curzon from Fabius Boital, dated 16 October 1900, regarding a concession for railways in Persia, and a manuscript volume written by Boital addressed to Curzon entitled ‘Chemins de fer de la Perse’ (Railways of Persia).The file also contains two letters from Commander H A Phillips of HMS
Sphinx, to Colonel Malcolm John Meade, dated 18 and 22 June 1901, concerning matters including a request from Shaikh Mubārak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ, Ruler of Kuwait, to Charles Arnold Kemball, Acting Chief Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, for British protection. The letter dated 18 June 1901 includes six enclosed photographs of Basidu [Bāsa‘īdū] in Iran [Mss Eur F111/354, f 3; Mss Eur F111/354, f 4; Mss Eur F111/354, f 6; Mss Eur F111/354, f 7; Mss Eur F111/354, f 8; Mss Eur F111/354, f 9] with the comment by Phillips ‘I enclose a few photos of Basidu perhaps if you get a chance of shewing [sic] them to the Viceroy. I believe Hunt sent in a report of the place the other day and these photos might be useful.’In addition, the file includes a card with the reference number ‘EUR.F.111/352.’ and ‘Miss M.R. Jack.’ written on it, with the date 8 June 1964.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 54; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Part 1 of the volume comprises correspondence concerning criminal actions reported to have taken place in ports and around the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf, including arms trafficking and murder, designated by British Government officials under the rubric of piracy. Key correspondents include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Percy Zachariah Cox); Foreign Office officials (Sir Louis Du Pan Mallet; Sir Charles Hardinge); the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty (Sir Charles Inigo Thomas); the Under Secretary of State for India (Sir Arthur Godley); the British Ambassador at Tehran (Charles Murray Marling).Reference is made to incidents taking place in 1906 and 1907 (ff 182-185), committed by individuals previously expelled from Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], and now residing in the Dashtī ports of Dayir [Bandar-e Deyyer] and Kangan [Bandar-e Kangān] in Persia. Much of the subsequent correspondence details British officials’ negotiations with the Persian Government to send vessels to the Dashtī coast, in order to apprehend the suspected individuals and destroy ‘strongholds’ along the coast. Naval reports sent by Captain C S Hickley of HMS
Highflyer(ff 54-66a) and Lieutenant Shirley Litchfield of HMS
Sphinx(ff 66b-75) provide details of the expedition in November 1907 to Dayir, which resulted in the successful apprehension of the suspects. Later correspondence refers to the British Government’s expression of appreciation for the assistance provided by the Khan of Bander Rig [Bandar Rīg] in apprehending the suspects, the handover of the suspects to the Shaikh of Mohammerah, and British officials’ desire that, should it be proved that the suspects committed murder, the death penalty be passed on them.The file also contains correspondence relating to the Shaikh of Kuwait’s activities in dealing with incidents of piracy in the waters around the Shatt al Arab, and the deportation from Muscat to Karachi of a number of Afghans believed to be involved in arms trafficking.Physical description: 163 folios
Abstract: Part 2 consists of correspondence and memoranda relating to disturbances at Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] and the surrounding area. The correspondence is between the Government of India, Foreign Office, Admiralty, and India Office. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, is from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Political Agent at Bahrain, British Consul at Basrah, and British Ambassador at Constantinople.The papers cover the discussion over the British response to an outbreak of violence between some of the Bedouin tribes and the townspeople of Katif following a disagreement over date crops. The disturbance extended to acts of piracy along the Gulf coast. The correspondence addresses the question of what the Turkish response will be, whether they need assistance, and what naval assistance the British can offer. Included are naval reports from the three vessels in the vicinity: HMS
Lapwing,HMS
Sphinx, and HMS
Redbreast.Physical description: 1 item (73 folios)