Abstract: Part one of the volume relates to postal services in the Persian Gulf. The correspondence is between the Foreign Office, India Office and Government of India. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, is from the General Post Office in London, representatives of Gray, Mackenzie, and Company and the British India Steam Navigation Company, and numerous political and diplomatic offices in the Persian Gulf and Turkish Arabia.The papers cover the discussion over who and how Turkish mail is to be carried to Hassa [al-Hasa] from Basra, and an agreement with the Shaikh of Bahrain preventing him from establishing a foreign post office in his country.Physical description: 1 item (91 folios)
Abstract: This volume contains diplomatic correspondence and agreements relating to the completion of sections of the Berlin to Baghdad Railway. In particular, the papers discuss the extension of the railway from Baghdad to Basra, and possibly its extension to the Persian Gulf at Shatt-al-Arab waterway. A significant portion of the papers relate to the financial arrangements governing the incorporation of the Imperial Baghdad Railway Company, which was also responsible for the governance of the railway and any possible extensions.However, the majority of the papers express British concerns on German encroachment towards the Persian Gulf, and by extension, towards British interests in South Asia. The papers reveal the British strategy of containing German influence by dictating the composition of the railway company's board.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 337; 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 259-337; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This volume contains memoranda, correspondence, telegrams, and minutes of letters between British officials regarding a contract between the India Office and the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company for mail service and commercial transports on the River Tigris between Baghdad and Basrah; the India Office's complaints for their unsatisfactory service from 1912, and the renewal of the contract in 1914. The volume also briefly discusses the British Post Offices in Baghdad and Basra, and the abolition of British Post Offices in Turkey.The main correspondents are: Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company, the India Office, and the Foreign Office.There is a letter in French within the file, a copy of a declaration from Hakki Pacha, Ottoman Ambassador.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.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 140; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front cover. A previous foliation sequence between ff 44-138, which is also written in pencil and circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Part 1 of the volume comprises correspondence relating to, as well as draft copies of (ff 325-327, ff 338-341, ff 384-386) an indenture for the renewal of the concession agreed between the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company (ETSNC) and the British Government, for the conveyance of mail between Busreh [Basra] and Baghdad. The part’s principal correspondents are: the Secretary of the ETSNC (Frank Bottomley); the Legal Adviser and Solicitor to the Secretary of State for India (Sir Horatio Hale Shephard); the Assistant Under-Secretary of State to the India Office (Sir Horace George Walpole).The discussion between Government officials focuses on clauses relating to the maintenance of regular weekly communication between Basra and Baghdad by the ETSNC (clause 5), and the resultant penalties (or exemptions from penalties) incurred by delays or cancellations to the mail service (clauses 11 to 13).Physical description: 1 item (72 folios)
Abstract: The main contents of the volume are exchanges of letters about government expenditure on building maintenance and repairs to the British Consulate and Post Office at Basrah [Basra] in what is referred to as Turkish Arabia. The correspondence is mainly between British officials at the Foreign Office, India Office, Treasury and Office of Works in London and Government of India officials at the Foreign Department in Calcutta.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 127; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the Turkish occupation of Zakhnuniyah Island, the Ottoman attitude towards piracy cases, and the appointment of officials in Zubara, Odeid and Wakra.The discussion in the volume relates to the Turkish occupation of a disused fort (built by Shaikh Ali bin Khalifah, Ruler of Bahrain) on Zakhnuniyah Island and the placing of Ottoman officials in Zubara, Odeid and Wakra. Correspondence reflects British concerns over Turkish claims to sovereignty in the coastal area of the Qatar Peninsula and how these could best be resisted, particularly in the strategic context of the construction of the Berlin to Baghdad railway. In discussing Zakhnuniyah, reference is made to typed extract of the relevant page (1937) of Lorimer's
Persian Gulf Gazetteer(Geographical and Statistical Volume) which describes how the Dawasir tribe halted there, during the course of their emigration from Najd (see folio 236).Further discussion surrounds Turkish obstruction of the investigation of cases of piracy in the Persian Gulf and the proposed visit of H M S
Redbreastto Al Bidaa.Included in the volume are copies of the Committee for Imperial Defence papers 'Turkish Agression in the Persian Gulf" and 'Local Action in the Persian Gulf' (ff 12-15).The principal correspondents in the volume include the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); the Viceroy of India; the ruler of Bahrain; the Political Agent, Kuwait (Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear); the British Ambassador to Constantinople; His Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul for Arabistan (Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox); the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 241; these numbers are written in pencil and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves.A flap is pasted to the verso of folio 188.
Abstract: The volume comprises copies of printed correspondence, typewritten correspondence, handwritten notes and other papers. These papers relate to the operation of British and Turkish post offices in Turkish Arabia (Iraq), and British and Persian post offices in Persia and the ports and towns of the wider Persian Gulf. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox); Foreign Office officials (Secretary, Sir Edward Grey; Assistant Under-Secretary, Sir Louis du Pan Mallet); India Office officials (including Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, Thomas William Holderness).The volume covers the following subjects:communications between British and Turkish Government officials over a Turkish Government proposal to abolish foreign (including British) post offices in Ottoman territory, including: British acceptance of the proposal, with caveats, Turkish demands for the closure of foreign post offices on 1 October 1914 (f 5, f 8), arrangements for the closure of British post offices, including those at Basra and Baghdad, discussion between British Government and Government of India officials over proposed future arrangements for the transmission of mail from between India and Turkish Arabia;British Government correspondence relating to the Turkish Government’s plans to introduce its own mail system between Baghdad/Basra and India;the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf’s outline of the history of the British postal system in the Persian Gulf, and his proposals for improvements, which include the opening of new branches at Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām], Charbar [Chābahār] and Ahwaz [Ahvāz], a change of hours to the post office at Bushire, and changes to the service at Fao [Al-Fāw]) as a means of countering the Persian Government expansion of postal operations in the Persian Gulf (ff 187-190, ff 178-179), and the Persian Government’s subsequent protestations at the opening of British post office concessions at Henjam and Charbar;attempts by the Persian Government, under the direction of its Belgian Director-General of Post (Camille Molitor), to open post offices within the concessionary areas operated by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) at Abadan, and within Britain’s own post office concession at Henjam.Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 229; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers concerning the proposed re-appointment of a British Consul at Basra, and how the new post should be funded. Subjects covered include: whether the Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] could also be appointed Consul at Basra (the two places being in close geographical proximity); the High Commissioner for Iraq’s (Henry Robert Conway Dobbs) argument that a full-time Consul is required for the post; discussion between officials from the Government of India and the Foreign Office about who should fund the new appointment; assessments of the importance of British trade in Mesopotamia, including tables of statistical data outlining diplomatic and consular expenditure in Turkish Arabia, and trade between India and Turkish Arabia; the Government of India’s refusal to contribute to the cost of the Basra Consulate; the transfer of land and property associated with Basra consulate from the Government of India to HM’s Office of Works; a further report written by Dobbs, dated 1928, arguing for the appointment of a British Consul at Basra, enclosing a memorandum written by Charles Wills of the Mesopotamia-Persia Corporation Limited.Physical description: 1 item (164 folios)
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to the export of dates from Mesopotamia [Iraq] during Britain’s military occupation of Mesopotamia in the First World War. The file includes: correspondence dated 1916 relating to the lifting of a general prohibition on the export of dates from Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and Basra (as well as from Muscat), in view of Mesopotamia’s status as enemy territory; in 1917, proposals to prohibit the export of dates from Mesopotamia to destinations other than Britain or its wartime allies; in 1917, the supply of dates to British troops in France, including arrangements for purchase and freight by the War Office; a copy of a printed British diplomatic and consular report entitled ‘Turkey. Report for the Year 1913 on the Trade of Basra’, edited at the Foreign Office and Board of Trade (ff 293-303); reports in early 1918 that the demand for dates in Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf exceeded supply, leading to the Foreign Office’s initial decision to decline a request from the Government of the USA for the Hills Brothers Company of New York to export dates from Mesopotamia, a decision that was reversed in March 1918; price controls on dates for export, arranged in 1918; correspondence dated 1919 on the future policy of restrictions on dates exported from Mesopotamia.The volume’s principal correspondents are: the Chief Political Officer of the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force, Percy Zachariah Cox; the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India; the Foreign Office; the War Office; the Ministry of Food.The volume contains a single item in French, being a note from the French Ambassador in London (f 69).The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references 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 348; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This volume contains letters, reports and memoranda concerning the lighting and buoyage of the Shatt al-Arab. Correspondence discusses the poor state of the buoys and need for repainting; a re-survey of the Shatt al-Arab in order the prevent the Germans from gaining influence. Also discussed is the need to establish which British maintained-buoys are in Turkish or Persian waters and the dispatch of a British naval force to the area where British buoys had been laid.Correspondents include: Viceroy of India; Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department; Director, Royal Indian Marine, and the Vali of Basra.The volume is part 2 of 2. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part of the year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 327; 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: This file contains papers relating to the civil administration of Basra and its environs after its takeover by British forces during the First World War, such as the city's police force. Other topics covered in the papers include the importation of Indian Staff for the new administration, the suppression of arms trafficking, and Sir Percy Cox's political role in Iraq following the War. The papers are primarily reports and exchanges between the Viceroy's office in India and British military authorities in Iraq.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 283; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to the status of cargo consignments held at Basra, Mesopotamia, for export to Britain, during the British invasion of Turkish Mesopotamia [Iraq] in November 1914. The file includes: discussion as to whether consignments of cargo that are on their way from Basra to Britain should be considered enemy cargo; reports of the looting and destruction of British goods held at the customs house in Basra by the Turks; enquiries made to the Foreign Office by several companies based in Manchester, England (and their legal representatives), concerning claims for losses incurred in the wake of their cargo at Basra having been destroyed or looted; lists of cargo stored at Basra by various British companies, with descriptions of the good, quantities, and prices.The file’s principal correspondents are: the Foreign Office; the Under Secretary of State for India; and Manchester solicitors Boote, Edgar, Grace & Rylands.The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references 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 200; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.