Abstract: This volume relates to the arbitration concerning Buraimi [Al Buraymī] and the common frontier between Abu Dhabi and Sa'ūdi Arabia. The main body of text is a publication, which is introduced as being a '[M]emorial submitted by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. The memorial, which was submitted to the arbitration tribunal, begins with an introduction and a copy of the Arbitration Agreement, concluded at Jedda [Jeddah] on 30 July 1954 and titled as follows: 'Arbitration Agreement Between the Government of the United Kingdom (Acting on Behalf of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and His Highness Sultan Said bin Taimur) and the Government of Saudi Arabia' (ff 8-10). The memorial itself is divided into two halves: vol I and vol II. Vol I (ff 10-83) provides an overview of the dispute, which is structured as follows:'Part I: The Nature of the Dispute Submitted to the Tribunal' (ff 10-14)'Part II: Topographical Description of the Two Areas in Dispute' (ff 14-17)'Part III: Historical Bases of the Claims of the Rulers of Abu Dhabi and the Sultan of Muscat to the Areas in Dispute' (ff 18-30)'Part IV: The Economy of the Disputed Areas' (ff 30-32)'Part V: The Tribes' (ff 33-39)'Part VI: The Exercise of Jurisdiction' (ff 40-44)'Part VII: Sa'ūdi Pretensions to an Ancestral Claim to Territories in Eastern Arabia' (ff 44-46)'Part VIII: Revival of the Sa'ūdi Dynasty After 1900, and the Subsequent Development of the Dispute' (ff 47-62)'Part IX: The Contentions of the Government of the United Kingdom in Regard to the Burden of Proof…' (ff 62-64)'Part X: The Contentions of the Government of the United Kingdom in Regard to the Factors Mentioned in Article IV of the Arbitration Agreement' (ff 65-83)'Part XI: Final Submissions of the Government of the United Kingdom Acting on Behalf of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and His Highness the Sultān Sa‘īd bin Taymūr' (f 83v).Vol II of the memorial (ff 84-254) is formed of thirteen annexes, which include the following: copies of texts of relevant treaties and engagements; copies of British documents relating to the history of Abu Dhabi and of the Buraimi Zone; copies of correspondence and documents relating to the development of the dispute; information about Līwa and the Buraimi Oasis; evidence concerning the exercise of jurisdiction by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi over the coast of the disputed area and the adjacent islands; notes on various tribes based in the disputed area; genealogical tables of the Rulers of Abu Dhabi, Muscat and 'Omān, and Najd.The volume concludes with a series of maps (some of which are photocopies and are reduced in size), relating to the disputed area (ff 256-264). It should be noted that Map B is not present. However, included with the other maps is a gazetteer of place names (ff 265-268), in which each place name is given map co-ordinates, presumably referring to positions on the missing Map B. Written in pencil on the first page is the following note: 'Evaluates Map B'.In addition, a small sketch map of Arabia appears at the beginning of the volume (f 4).The Arabic material consists of some text in a couple of the maps found at the rear of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio, which is contained within a pouch attached to the inside back cover, with 268; 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 volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume contains a mix of inward and outward letters, received and sent from the Residency. Most of the letters are outward letters, sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ephraim Gerrish Stannus, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to various representatives of the Government of Bombay.The letters in the volume fall into three main categories:Reports on events in the Gulf, primarily concerning the hostilities being waged and peace deals brokered between the various tribes. Intelligence on the activities of Rahma bin Jaber [Raḥmah bin Jābir] appear extensively throughout the volume;The financial administration of the Residency, including such matters as disbursements and bills of exchange, which are sent onwards to the Accountant General in Bombay;Letters confirming the receipt of despatches, or covering notes forwarded with onward despatches, often sent between Basra or Tehran and Bombay.Physical description: 1 volume in one slipcaseFoliation: The foliation system starts on the first page of content and runs to the last page of content, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. The front cover, front fly-leaf, rear fly-leaf and inside back cover are unfoliated.There is an earlier, possibly original pagination system that runs inconsistently throughout the volume, located in either the top-right or top-left of recto and some verso pages. The inconsistency of this pagination sequence is likely a result of the volume being comprised of three original volumes (each with their own pagination sequences) being merged into one volume.
Abstract: The volume relates to construction, by the British Government, of electric telegraph communication between India and England, specifically the line through Sind [Sindh], along the Beloochistan [Balochistan] and Mekran [Makran] coasts and dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, December 1860-October 1867. It comprises a mixture of manuscript original and copy letters and reports; printed letters, reports and surveys; manuscript transcribed and translated Persian letters; and some telegraphic messages.The contents notably cover and include:Copy of original proposals submitted to the Government in Bombay, on the options for land and sea lines between Kurrachee [Karachi] and Bussorah [Basra, in modern-day Iraq], via Persia, by George Perry Badger, Chaplain (later in charge) of the Muscat-Zanzibar Commission, December 1860 (folios 10-15); views on Badger’s scheme by the Political Agents in Khelat [Kalat, also spelled Kelat in the volume] and in Turkish Arabia, March-May 1861 (folios 18-20, 28-30); Badger’s detailed geographical report on the coast from Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] to Kurrachee (folios 31-33)Surveys undertaken for the Bombay and Sind authorities, analysing the geographical, historical, political and socio-cultural character of territories the telegraph is proposed to run through, including: printed reports by the Political Agent in Khelat and J P Darke, Commanding HM Steamer
Hugh Lindsay, on the ports of Gwadur [Gwadar], Ormara and the Mekran coast (folios 34-38), June 1861; manuscript copy of detailed report by Major Frederic John Goldsmid, Acting Commissioner in Sind, on Official Duty in Mekran, February 1862 (folios 75-140), documenting the Mekran Coast Route with reference to the telegraph’s purposes, agriculture, water and supply sources, inhabitants, political history of the Mission, ancient geography and history (printed version on folios 298-324), supplemented with ‘rough notes’ by the mission’s Assistant Surgeon, Lalor, 2nd Sind Horse, adding analysis of the climate, water, general health of the people, security and fertility of the land (folios 154-180)Negotiation of terms and conditions with the Shah of Persia regarding territories acknowledged to be within his realm but over which we was not exercising direct control, materials costs, protection expenses, and future ownership of the telegraph (folios 64-74)British negotiations with local chiefs and rulers ‒ in the context of political instability and diplomatic sensitivities ‒ concerning permission to construct the line through their territories and arrangements for its protection, with particular regard to disputed lands and ports along the Beloochi [Balochi] and Mekran coast (e.g. Gwadur); agreements with the Khan of Khelat and the Jam of Beyla [Jam, or Cham, of Las Bela, Balochistan]; British payment of subsidies to local rulers (and their rivals) for protection services. Includes printed report by Goldsmid ‘On Special Duty’, to the Government in Bombay, December 1863, on the respective claims of Persia, Khelat and Muscat to sovereign rights in Mekran and on what they are founded (folios 243-246)Engineering logistics, labour, security, costs and materials, including formation of the Mekran Telegraphic Department on 20 January 1863 in the territory of the Khan of Kelat, with construction commencing 7 February 1863 (folios 187-188)Temporary recall of the telegraph work party on the Pusnee [Pasni] to Gwadar line due to unstable situation created by ‘ravaging’ activities of a 'Beloochi Sirdar named Oughan’, late 1863 (folios 202-211)British convention with the Sultan of Muscat, Sultan Soweenee [Sayyid Thuwaini bin Said Āl Bū Sa‘īd] for extension of the telegraph line through his dominions of Gwadar (sovereignty historically disputed with the Khan of Khelat) and Chabhar [Chahabar], including challenge to the Sultan’s rights in Chahbar by the Governor of Bunpoor [Bampur], ‘Ibrahim, a Persian Sirhang’) in March 1863 (folios 192-194, 218-226).Folios 339-417 chiefly comprises correspondence and papers of the Commissioner in Sind, Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper Sind, and the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, 1864 and 1866. They are covered by two manuscript lists of numbered contents. (Folios stated below include the title page to the item number).Folio 339: ‘1866. Political Kelat’, comprising a list of items numbered 1-8. Items (No. 4 ‘Disturbance at Muscat’ and No. 8 ‘Raids on the Punjab Frontier’ are not present)Folios 340-346 (item No. 1): ‘Murree affray at Soee, death of Naib Rassuldar Shaik Hassan Ali [Nā’ib Rasūldār Shaikh Ḥasan ‘Ali], 3rd Regiment Sind Horse’, regarding attack made by 'the Native Officer Commanding the Outpost at Soorie' [probably Suri, also spelt Sooee in this volume] upon a group of Murrees [inhabitants of Mari] who had assembled 'for the purpose of plundering in British territory'Folios 347-349 (item No. 2): ‘Khureetas for HH the Khan of Kelat’ [Kalat] (two letters, not kharitas)Folios 350-359 (item No. 3): ‘Pension for Abdool Russed Khan’. Includes correspondence with Pension Pay Office, Poona [Pune]Folios 360-363 (item No. 5): ‘HH the Khan of Kelat’s subsidy for 1866/67’Folios 364-367 (item No. 6): ‘Trade and revenues of Gwadur’. Printed ‘Report on the nature of the Trade at Gwadur and the probable amount of its Revenues’ by Lieutenant Edward Charles Ross, Assistant Political Agent at Muscat and KelatFolios 368-373 (item No. 7): ‘Abdoolla Jageer [Abdullah Jagir, a trader] claims British Consular protection from the Jam of Beyla’Folio 374: ‘1864. Political Miscellaneous’ comprising a list of items numbered 1-8. (Items No. 1 ‘Report on the political state of the Frontier Districts for 1863’ and No. 8 ‘Naturalised B…’ [this is crossed through] are not present)Folios 375-379 (item No. 2): ‘Proposition for including in travelling allowances to Political officers allowances for tentage also’Folios 380-384 (item No. 3): ‘Sanction for Political Superintendent’s Toshakhana’ [treasury of objects]Folios 385-390 (item No. 4): ‘Bhawalpoore [Bahawalpur] rebels’Folios 391-394 (item No. 5): ‘Transfer of the Ionian Isles to the Greek Government’. Official notices to the Indian authorities that the British Government has left the Ionian Islands in June 1864 and the protectorate will be handed over the ‘King of the Hellenes’ [King of Greece] next yearFolios 395-401 (item No. 6): ‘Sulphur imported from Bagh in Cuchee [Kacchi, in Kalat, Balochistan] by the Engineer Department’Folios 402-403 (item No. 7): ‘Rates for Telegraph in Persia and Russia’The end of the volume consists of :Folio 404: ‘Sketch of Oka Mandel’ [Okhamandal, Gujurat, India]. Map, signed Lieutenant-Colonel R Phayre, Quartermaster-General, 27 September 1859Folio 405: ‘Route surveys in Abyssinia [Ethiopia] from Antalo to Magdala’ surveyed by the Quartermaster-General’s Department, Abyssinia Field Force. Map, signed Captain T J Holland and Lieutenant-General R Napier, 25 May 1868, with notesFolios 406-413: Manuscript, badly water damaged (past repairs visible), possibly relating to SindFolios 414-416: Printed ‘List of Dehs in the Frontier District of Upper Sind, with their population, etc., etc.’ by Colonel Francis Loch, Political Superintendent, Frontier District of Upper Sind (undated)Folio 417: Printed memorandum, dated 25 Sep 1875, issued by Bombay Government Financial Department on tentage allowances.The principal correspondents over the period 1860-67 are: H L Anderson, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay; A Kinloch Forbes, Acting Secretary to the Government, Bombay; M J Shaw Stewart, Acting Secretary to the Government, Bombay; Jonathan Duncan Inverarity, Commissioner in Sind; Samuel Mansfield, Commissioner in Sind; A D Robertson, Acting Commissioner in Sind; Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Henry W R Green, Political Agent in Khelat, later (sometime Acting) Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper Sind; Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Malcolm S Green, variously Political Agent in Baluchistan, Political Agent in Khelat and Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper SindOther correspondents include: Captain William Dickinson, Acting Political Agent in Kelat; James McAdam Hyslop, Officiating Political Agent in Turkish Arabia; Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia; Major William Lockyer Merewether, Political Superintendent and Commandant in Chief, Frontier of Upper Sind; Charles Umpherston Aitchison, Secretary to Government of India; Colonel Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to Government of India (Foreign Department); Sir George Russell Clerk, Governor and Resident in Council, Bombay; Charles Gonne, Secretary to Government, Bombay; William Henry Havelock (Officiating Secretary), Bombay; Charles Alison, British Minister at Teheran; Earl (John) Russell, British Foreign Secretary; Hormuzd Rassam, Acting British Resident at Muscat; Captain Herbert Disbrowe, Acting Political Agent, Muscat; Lieutenant Edward Charles Ross, variously Assistant Political Agent Gwadur, Assistant to the Political Agent in Beloochistan [Balochistan], and Assistant to the Political Agents at Kelat and Muscat; Major P Stewart, HM Bengal Engineers, on Special Duty at Kurrachee; Lieutenant Arthur William Stiffe, Acting Director, Mekran Coast and Submarine Telegraph; H Izaak Walton, Superintendent, Mekran Coast and Submarine Telegraph; P W Hewett, 1st Class Inspector of Telegraphs.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 420; 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 original pagination sequence dating from the 1920s is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. This sequence correlates to the description found in Samuel Charles Hill's
Catalogue of the Home Miscellaneous Series of the India Office Records(London: HMSO, for the India Office, 1927).
Abstract: A collection of letters outward by John MacLeod, Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, between 12 December 1822 and 1 September 1823. The majority of letters are sent to British officials at Basrah, Tehran and Tabriz, including Captain Robert Taylor and Major Henry Willock, and to British naval and military officers operating in the Persian Gulf, including Captain Frederick Faithfull and his successor, Captain Hardy. These letters cover a number of topics, including MacLeod's 1823 trip to the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf; procedures for enforcing the General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf of 1820 following the withdrawal from Qishm; relations between Britain, Persia, the sheikhs of the Arabian littoral of the Gulf, Raḥmah bin Jābir al-Jalāhimah and the Imam of Muscat; construction works undertaken by the Arab shaikhs; and procedures for pilotage at the port of Bushire.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover with pencil numbers enclosed in circle in the front top right corner of each folio. An original pagination sequence 1-43 starts on folio 2 and consists of larger pencil numbers on top right of recto and top left of verso of each folio.Condition: There is some insect damage to the bottom right hand corner of the volume causing some of the text to be missing on the bottom right hand corner of the recto and the bottom left hand corner of the verso of the folios 1-7.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters sent outwards from the office of the Resident in the Persian Gulf. The subject matter focuses on British relations with various powers in and around the Persian Gulf during 1823; more specifically, on enforcing the provisions of the General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf (1820), and talk of an intended Persian invasion of Bahrain. It also outlines the outcome of a tour of the Arabian coast by John Macleod in January 1823.Other matters covered include the state of the Residency house at Bushire, and an investigation into William Bruce's involvement in the case of Muḥammad Nabī Khān, along with some limited reporting on the possibility of Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān being removed from the position of Governor of Bushire by Prince Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences on the first page of text and continues through to the 3rd folio from the back of the volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: A pagination sequence also runs through the volume between ff 2-191; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the top outermost corners of each page.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters sent out by Ephraim Gerrish Stannus, the Resident in the Persian Gulf, and James Pringle Riach, the officer placed in charge of the Bushire Residency during his absences; the Resident is required to make a number of trips to the Arabian Coast during the period covered by this volume.The subject matter covered includes political activity in Persia principally relating to Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān, the Shaikh of Bushire, and Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā, the Prince at Shiraz; this includes some discussion concerning a possible Persian expedition to retake Bahrain, and the insecure position of Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān at Bushire. The impact and consequences of an earthquake, which occurred at Shiraz are also reported.A great deal of correspondence is related to the Resident's role in enforcing the General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf 1820, which aims to curb piracy in the Gulf. There is therefore a great deal of material relating to mediating a dispute between the dependants of Sa‘īd bin Sultān Āl Sa‘īd, the Imam of Muscat (principally Shaikh Ṭaḥnūn bin Shakhbūṭ Āl Nahyān), and Sulṭān bin Saqr. There is also some material concerning the arrangement of transportation for the Resident's trips to the Arabian coast.Captain William Owen's efforts to suppress the slave trade in East Africa are covered to a degree by the correspondence; the Captain's authorised declaration of a British Protectorate over Mombasa is reported, along with his threats against other dependencies of the Government of Oman (for example, Zanzibar). There is also a limited amount of material concerning the Imam of Muscat's threats to blockade the port of Basra.Physical description: Condition: The front cover of the volume is detached from the binding, which is itself in poor condition, and many sections are loose. Much of the body of the volume is in good condition, but care must be taken as some of the folios are very fragile.Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The volume contains the following amendments to the foliation; 1, and 1A; 20, and 20A; 90, and 90A.Pagination: The volume contains an original pagination sequence written in ink between ff 2-140; these numbers are located in the top centre of each page.
Abstract: This item consists of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 9 October 1873, forwarding, under cover of a letter from the Acting Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, a copy of an agreement (English translation) obtained from His Highness the Sultan of Muscat recognizing the jurisdiction of the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat over subjects of the Native States of India residing in the Muscat Dominions. The despatch is in reference to paragraph 14 of Secret No. 58 of 16 June 1873.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 239, and terminates at f 241, 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. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly: f 239a.
Abstract: Copy of a letter in French from Jean Robbio, a French courier captured in Bushire, to Monsieur Dallons, a French envoy to Mascat [Muscat], of 11 April 1810. This letter was part of the papers seized from Robbio at Bushire by Stephen Babington, in charge of the Residency at Bushire (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/60). The letter describes Robbio’s audience with the Sultan of Mascat [Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd Sayyid] and the latter’s refusal to provide Robbio with subsistence; complains of his situation in Mascat; and requests assistance from Dallons.The letter was enclosed in HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia [Iran], Sir Harford Jones’s secret letter of 14 September 1810, which was received on 6 February 1811.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: This item consists of a copy of enclosures to a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 22 May 1874 and received 15 June 1874, relating to a letter received by Syud Toorkee [Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Sultan of Muscat], from Mohsin bin Abdoolla bin Ali [Muḥsin bin ʿAbd Alláh bin ʿAlī], an Arab Jemadar in the service of the Nizam of Hyderabad in the Deccan, requesting assistance and co-operation in the war between the Kayattees [Qu'aitis] and Katheerees [Kathiris] at Shuhur [Shihr].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 67 and terminates at f 67a, 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. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly: f 67a.