Abstract: Richmond Thackeray Willoughby Ritchie,
British Interests on the Coast of Arabia, Koweit, Bahrein, and El Katr(Government of India, 1905).This document consists of an analysis of British interests on the coast of Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. It was written by Richmond Thackeray Willoughby Ritchie and published in 1905. It is composed of four sections dealing with the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.Arabian coast. This cites a letter, 5th January 1903, from the Government of India to the Naval Commander-in-Chief, noting it gives a concise overview of 'the political geography of the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf': the claims to rule by the Ottomans, Trucial Chiefs and the Sultan of Muscat. It then reviews key treaties with the Sheikhs of Kuwait (23rd January, 1899) , Bahrain, Trucial Chiefs, the 1891 treaty with Muscat, and the agreements with Shaikhs down the coast to Aden.Kuwait. This section discusses two issues with the Turks at Kuwait. Firstly, the status of the British Political Agent, Major Stuart George Knox and his instructions concerning the conflicts and dynamics between Ibn Saud, Ibn Rashid and the Turks. The second issue concerns rights over Bubian Island.Bahrain. This section discusses British non-recognition of Turkish authority in Bahrain and measures to assert British authority there, referring to reports by Sir Nicholas Roderick O'Conor.Qatar. This section discusses Turkish influence in Qatar and the reasons why the conclusions of a treaty with the the ruling Al Thani shaikh by the Government of India would be desirable.Physical description: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio, on number 1, and ends on the last folio, on number 2.
Abstract: This file contains a letter from Louis Mallet, British Ambassador at Constantinople, to Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel, Secretary for the Political Department of the India Office, dated 15 April 1919. It also contains a memorandum by Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Talbot Wilson, the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, dated 16 April 1919. Both items relate to potential changes to the customs tariff in former Turkish territories, and discuss the potential benefits or problems with proposals such as creating a custom union between Arab states, and with involving the League of Nations in decisions relating to any increases in tariffs.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 38, and terminates at f 38, 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The memorandum concerns the border between Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and Turkey, and was prepared by Alwyn Parker of the Foreign Office. There are a number of labels at the top of the first page: ‘Persia’, ‘Confidential’ and ‘Section 10’. The memorandum sections are as follows:Part I. A preface (folios 1-5), introducing the points at issue, with two maps, the first being a sketch map of the Mohammerah district, with the proposed Turkish, Persian and mediating commissioner’s lines indicated (folio 2), and a map compiled from plane table surveys by Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson in 1909, with the frontier as defined by the mediating commissioners in 1850 (folio 4);Part II. An historical summary (folios 6-19) of British Government correspondence relating to the border dispute, with the chief focus being on correspondence exchanged during the period 1843-52, around the time of the Treaty of Erzeroum (c.1848). This part contains two copies of a map, a facsimile of a diagram of the disputed area, the original of which was enclosed by Colonel Williams in his despatch of 4 February 1850, indicating Turkish and Persian claims and the mediating commissioner’s proposal (folios 15, 19);Part III. Conclusion (folios 20-28), with a further map (folio 23), an exact copy of that found on folio 4.The appendices that follow are:A: British assurances given to the Shaikh of Mohammerah, 1899 and 1902-10;B. Protocol of December 1911 (in French) for the proposal settlement of the Turco-Persian frontier question;C. An extract from Sir Austen Henry Layard’s
Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana, and Babylonia, published in 1887. The extract is from volume 2, pp 431-439;D. Rough notes made by General William Monteith when in Persia, on the frontier of Turkey and Persia, as communicated to the Foreign Office in 1843;E. Observations by Sir Henry Rawlinson on a Persian memorandum relative to the situation of the cities of Mohammerah and Fellahiah [Fallāḥīyah], 1844;F. Text of the Treaty of Erzeroum, 31 May 1847, in English and French translation;G. Copy of a despatch from Sir Stratford Canning, the British Ambassador to Istanbul, to Lord Palmerston, Foreign Secretary, dated 30 May 1850;H. Copy of a despatch from Lord Palmerston to Lord Broomfield, dated 12 July 1850.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio 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.Pagination: The booklet contains an original typed pagination sequence.
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Sir Robert Adair, British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, to Earl Bathurst, President of the Board of Trade, sent from Pera [Beyoğlu] and dated 10 January 1810. The letter commends Sir Harford Jones, British Envoy Extraordinary to Persia [Iran], for his efforts in preventing the formation of a Franco-Persian alliance, and describes the effects of this on Britain’s relations with Turkey [Ottoman Empire] and position in the region in relation to France.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)