Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:View of the Ashar Creek at Basra. At least seven canoes and one larger sailing boat are moored at centre and right. In the background two-storey buildings and palms recede into the distance.Inscriptions:Ink, alongside image at right: 'The Ashar Creek Basra.'Physical description: Dimensions:130 x 193 mm; 129 x 195 mmCondition:The prints are in good condition with minor transfer from opposite printe page and surface dirt throughout. Some light foxing and creasing at edges.Foliation:‘23’
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:View of the Ashar Creek at Basra. At least two canoes and one larger sailing boat are moored at centre and left. From right to left two-storey buildings and palms recede into the distance.Inscriptions:Ink, alongside image, at right: 'The Ashar Creek Basra.'Pencil, above and to the right of image: ‘29’Physical description: Dimensions:176 x 128 mmCondition:The print is in good condition throughout with minor toning/fading at all edgesFoliation:‘29’
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai].The item contains copies of research papers compiled by Lieutenant William Henry Wybard (also written 'J. W.' and 'Wyburd') during his exploration of the Province of Nedjd [Najd] between 1831 and 1833, the purpose of which was to find out more about the Wahabees [Wahabi] and their country. The research papers include:'Journal' (ff 61-69) which documents Wybard's journey from Bushire [Būshehr], via Bahrein [Bahrain] and Katiff [Al-Qatif], into Nedjd where he visited Ajeer [Al ‘Uqayr?] and the town of Elreasa (also written 'Elriasa' and ‘Elhasa’) [Al Hufūf]'Elreasa' (ff 70-71) which includes a description of the town, its defences and buildings'The Island of Bahrein' (ff 71-72) which contains a description of the island's: size; geography; city of Manama; town of Moharraq [Al Muharraq]; and the relationship between the Bahrein Sheikhs [Shaikhs] and the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat.After being pressed for more information which he had originally promised, Wybard provides copies of his researches on the history and current status of:'Kaab commonly called Chaub' (ff 78-86), the Chaub [Banū Ka‘ab] tribes'Bussora' (ff 86-88), the city of Bussora [Basra]'Bedowins of the Benee Laum' (ff 88-90), the 'Benee Laum or Lakhem' [Banu Lakhm] tribe'Bedouins of the Montifick' (ff 90-91), the Montifick [Muntafiq] tribe'Bedouins of the Shumer' (ff 91-92), the Shumer [Shammar] tribe.The item also mentions the advances provided for Wybard by the Government of Bombay and the discontinuation of his research due to ill health.The correspondents of the item are: Wybard; the Government of Bombay; David Anderson Blane, Resident in the Persian Gulf; J Crawford, Officiating Superintendent of the Indian Navy; and R Cogan, Assistant Superintendent of the Indian Navy. The item includes an extract from an unsigned letter at folio 59, which is most likely from the East India Company Court of Directors.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Collection N. 1’, ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 1592, Draft 644, 1835' and 'Rec[eived]
Duncan Gibb15th Aug[ust] 1834’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 54 and terminates at f 92, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item contains copies of secret and political correspondence from the Government of Bombay on the subject of Samuel Manesty's criticism of Nathan Crow, consecutive British Residents at Bussora [Basra]. The letters from Bombay express the opinion that Crow's reply to Manesty's accusations clear him of the charges. They enclose a letter from Manesty, dated 22 October 1796, where he sets out his accusations against Crow. These include:• Crow’s misrepresentation of the state of the Factory when he took over the Residency• His actions against British interests• Lies about Manesty’s quarrels with the Ottoman government• Crow’s reliance on the Jewish population of Basra• Bribery of the Mutasallim [the Ottoman Governor of Basra]• The character of Crow's attendant Mehedy Ali Khaun [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān]• The terms of the reestablishment of the British Factory.There is also a copy of a letter from Crow replying to these accusations, which includes copies of letters from the Pasha to the Mutasallim, from the Kia [an Ottoman official] to the Mutasallim, from the Mutasallim to Crow, and a set of queries and answers from Crow to Augustus Le Messurier, a junior official.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 6, Season 1808/1809, Draft 178, Para. 18'; and 'Examiner's Office, July 1808'.Physical description: The documents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front of the item to the rear.
Abstract: The volume contains copies of letters sent out from the Residency, Bushire (with copies of enclosures where applicable). The correspondence is general, covering all aspects of the Residency's administrative functions.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation system in use commences at 1 on the second folio after the front cover, and continues through to 133 on the last folio before the back cover. The sequence appears written in pencil, enclosed in a circle, in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Foliation anomaly: folios 58, 58A. In addition there is an original pagination system, starting at 1 (folio 1r) and continuing through to 267 (folio 133r). The pagination sequence is written in ink (apart from the last number, which is in pencil) and appears in the top left hand corner of each page.
Abstract: The volume chiefly comprises letters to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company from the Resident and Factor at Bussora [Basra], Samuel Manesty. The letters are dated 31 January 1793-21 June 1803 and the date each letter was received is recorded on the back of it.From 31 January 1793 to 2 August 1794 (ff 1-38), many letters are also signed by Harford Jones, who acted as Assistant Resident and co-Factor up to 1794. Between 3 January and 25 September 1796 (ff 51-192) there are letters which overlap with Manesty’s, written by [George] Nathan Crowe and Peter LeMessurier [Le Mesurier], who were appointed to run the Bussora Residency and Factory following the suspension from office of Manesty by the Court of Directors on 1 January 1796. The suspension was in connection with Manesty’s dispute with the Ottoman authorities originating in 1791, which had led him to remove the Residency to Grain [Kuwait] in 1793. Manesty had actually re-established himself in Bussora by September 1795, before Crow and LeMessurier arrived from Bombay [Mumbai], and he was officially reinstated in July 1796. However, Crow and LeMessurier only transferred back control of the Residency when they received orders to return to Bombay in September 1796.Letters dated 31 January to 27 April 1793 are written from Maghil [Al Maqal] ‘near Bussora’. Manesty left the city at the end of April 1793 and from 18 July 1793 to 5 March 1795 he writes from Grain (ff 2-43). From 9 October 1795 (f 45), following Manesty’s return in the previous month, his letters are written from Maghil or Bussora.The enclosures Manesty refers to are mostly not included in the volume, although his letters regularly incorporate extracts of his communications to the President in Council, Political Department [Bombay] and the Governor-General in Council [Bengal]. Manesty occasionally writes to individual members of the Court of Directors, lobbying for an increase in his pay and allowances and lamenting his pecuniary difficulties and unsettled claims upon the Company (see ff 356-359, ff 478-482, and ff 524-525).The letters concern matters including:The re-establishment of the Bussora Residency, notably Manesty’s detailed account, dated 28 August 1796 (ff 80-184), of his negotiations between February and October 1795 with the Bacha [Pāshā] of Bagdat [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā of Baghdad] for the restoration of the Factory and Residency at Bussora and re-establishment of relations. The negotiations were via their respective mediators, Coja Cawork Doud [Khawājah Kevork Dāwūd], the Company’s ‘broker and linguist’ (f 82) at the Bussora Residency, and the Mussaleem of Bussora [Mutasallim, Ottoman Governor of Basra]. The account details Manesty’s dispute with the Ottoman authorities, which developed following the murder in Bussora of a wealthy Jewish merchant in March 1791, the arrest of an Armenian subject, protracted sectarian clashes between Jews and Christians in Bussora, and the Ottoman authorities’ rebuttal of Manesty’s claims that Armenians came under British protectionManesty’s objections to Crow and LeMessurier, regarding control of the Bussora Residency and Factory in 1796The movement of, and events concerning, Company ships and private merchant vessels trading to, from and via Bussora, and the conveyance and landing of their cargoes, notably woollens imported to Bushire [Bushehr] and Bussora from BengalThe marine conveyance, via Bussora, of mail packets (official Despatches to and from to the Court of Directors in London and British government in India, and other mail), including: routes taken; delays; lost or missing items; and packets captured or stolenThe overland transmission of mail packets, via Aleppo, notably matters concerning: routes; security; couriers; and Manesty’s communications with the Company’s agents at Aleppo, including Louisa Abbott, who took on duties of the Agent (f 368) following the death of her husband Robert Abbott in 1799 until the appointment of John BarkerManesty’s management of the Residency and Factory, including: communications with the British embassy at Constantinople [Istanbul] and relations with Peter Tooke, Company Agent there; increasingly fractious relations with Harford Jones (appointed first Company Resident in Bagdat in September 1798) notably over the latter’s official status; and relations with the Ottoman authorities in Bussora and BagdatVarious events, and Manesty’s activities, within Ottoman territory and the seas between Bussora and India, in relation to the wars with France [French Revolutionary Wars 1792-1802], notably: the monitoring of French ships, and intelligence communications with British naval officers; surveillance of French emissaries such as Abbé Beauchamp [Pierre-Joseph de Beauchamp]; efforts to combat French influence in the Ottoman Empire and Persia [Iran], especially after the French invasion of Egypt in 1798 headed by General Buonaparte [Napoleon Bonaparte]; the activities of John Lewis Reinaud (former Assistant Resident at Bussora) to influence the Bacha of Bagdat against the French; Manesty’s highlighting of the potential threat to British dominance in India and recommendation that an English military force be despatched to protect British interests; the defeat of French forces by a British fleet at the Battle of the Nile, August 1798; the unsuccessful French siege of St Jean d’Acre 1799 [Akko or Acre]; the British fleet and army sent against the French in Egypt, March 1801; and the Convention for the Evacuation of Egypt and the Definitive Treaty of Peace between Britain and France [Treaty of Amiens, signed 25 March 1802]Affairs in the Persian Gulph [Gulf], notably trade relations with Muscat and efforts to avert the establishment of a French presence there, and Manesty’s proposals for stationing intelligence officers at Muscat and Bushire (f 373)Internal Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] affairs, including: political conflicts; relations with local tribes; and the Bagdat Bacha’s expeditions against the Whahabee Shaik [Wahhābī Shaikh] Abdul Aziz [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Muḥammad Āl Sa‘ūd, Emir of Diriyah]Intelligence relating to the Company’s campaign in India against Tippoo Sultan [Tīpū Sulṭān, Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore], including reports of Tippoo’s defeat in May 1799 (f 406)The spread of plague in Ottoman Turkey from 1800 and Manesty’s actions in July 1802 to secure the British establishment at Bussora and preserve communications and trade between India and Europe following the arrival of plague at Bagdat, including requisition of the
Teignmouthas a floating Factory and removal of Bussora Factory staff to Maghil (ff 556-606)Harford Jones’s deteriorating relations with the Bacha of Bagdat in July 1801, and Manesty’s apparent efforts to restore the British reputation and the position of the Bagdat Residency (ff 498-516)The death of the Bacha of Bagdat (f 568) in 1802 and arrangements for his successor, Ali Bacha [‘Alī Pāshā]Manesty’s temporary embarkation of the Bussora establishment on the
Furyin June 1803, following a rupture with the Ottoman authorities [he does not elaborate, however the incident arose over the apparent ‘violation’ of the ‘honour’ of an allegedly Egyptian Christian woman] (ff 606-607).Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 608; 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.The sequence contains one foliation anomaly, f 16a.
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Properties labelled for reference with some measurements reported. Site of Bagdad Railway Material Depot indicated as ‘German property’ and shown by red pecked line with land hired from the Turkish Government separated by black line. Turkish Marine Ground and Turkish Dock also shown.In the bottom left-hand corner printed: ‘S.D.O. No. 604. Dec. 1912’.Physical description: Dimensions:345 x 210 mm
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, extracts from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Political Consultations. It is the third in a series of three items on general affairs in the Persian Gulf (the others are: IOR/F/4/1435/56726 and IOR/F/4/1435/56727).The first half of the item (folios 8-76) relates to administrative matters at the Residency in the Persian Gulf (also called the Residency at Bushire [Būshehr]), in particular:Allowances for the Resident and the Residency household, including employees’ salaries and pensionsEstimates for repairs to the Residency houseThe purchase of vessels for use by the ResidentDetails of two robberies carried out on the Residency in 1832 and 1833, including losses sustained and efforts to trace the perpetratorsRequests for medical suppliesProposals by David Anderson Blane, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to establish a Native Agent at Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi].The second half of the item (folios 77-115) relates to administrative matters at the Political Agency in Turkish Arabia (also called the Political Agency at Bussora or Bussorah [Basra]), in particular:Accounts relating to the Agency, including an increase in salary for the Political Agent and the appointment of two Writers [clerks]Allowances and compensation awarded to John Ross, Assistant Surgeon at the Agency, for property lost in a shipwreckRequests for medical supplies for the Agency by RossRequests for medical supplies by Robert Taylor, the Political Agent, on behalf of a charitable group of English gentlemen based in Bagdad [Baghdad].The item also includes requests by the Native Agent at Muscat (also called the Government Agent at Muscat and the Broker at Muscat) to be appointed to a different location.The principal correspondents of the item are: Blane, Taylor, and various secretaries to the Government of Bombay. Additional correspondents include: James Farish, Civil Auditor (Bombay); James McAdam, Secretary to the Medical Board (Bombay); and the Native Agent at Muscat.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 1339, Draft 435, 1834’ and 'Examiner's Office'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 4, and terminates at f 115, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: Correspondence relating to details of shipping and congestion of storeships at Basrah for the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force, published by the Quarter Master General, Simlah, in 1916. The information is divided into two sections: shipping and congestion of storeships at Basrah and is annotated with relevant 'serial numbers'.An appendix includes twenty five telegrams relating to the logistics of moving troops and supplies (such as hay, bhoosa, wood, rice, fuel) from India to Basrah under different weather conditions. The correspondents in these telegrams include: the Inspector General of Communications, Basrah; Quartermaster-General in India, Simla; Chief of the General Staff, Simla.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 typed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:View of the Shatt-el-Arab at Basra. In the foreground and middle-ground at let two canoe-like boats hold two men each. In the background the arsenal, the entrance to Ashar Creek and the customs house are marked in ink on the photograph.Inscriptions:Ink, below image: 'The Shatt-el-Arab at Basra'Pencil, above image to the right: ‘26’Ink, inscribed on image: ‘Arsenal’; ‘entrance to Ashar Creek’; ‘Customs House’Physical description: Dimensions:150 x 193 mmCondition:The print is in good condition throughout.Foliation:‘26’
Abstract: A rough journal of the voyage of the East India Company ship
Faulcon[
Falcon]. The journal consists of rough notes when the ship is at anchor, as well as an inventory of goods. The journal starts on 25 September 1645 in Swally [Suvalli], Suratt [Surat] and finishes on 16 October 1649 at Suratt. The journal also mentions the ship
Merry[Mary], which was at anchor at Swally on September 1645 (folio 51). Also featured is the signature of William Makins, a possible author of the journal.The journal contains information on the ship's cargo, which is written using abbreviations. The cargo includes pepper, lumber [timber], money and gunpowder. The journal employs Old Style (i.e. Julian calendar) dates most of the time; some entries use both Old Style and New Style (i.e. Gregorian calendar) dates.Destinations on the ship's route include the following places (dates are those of arrival): Swally, 25 September 1645 (folio 51); Sinde [Sindh], 28 November 1645 (folio 51); Swally 7 December 1645; Ragapore [Rajapuri], 7 January 1645 [New Style date 7 January 1646] (folio 52); Mocha, 12 February 1645 [New Style date 14 February 1646] (folio 52); Madras, 29 September 1646 (folio 54); Gumbrun [Bandar-e ʻAbbās, also spelled as Gumbroon], 21 January 1646 [New Style date 21 January 1647] (folio 55); Surratt, 11 March 1646 [New Style date 11 March 1647] (folio 56); Mocha, 5 May 1647 (folio 56); Aden, 14 August 1647 (folio 57); Suratt, 4 December 1647 (folio 58); Mocha, 15 March 1647 [New Style date 15 March 1648] (folio 64); Swally, 30 July 1648 (folio 68); Mocha, 12 August 1648 (folio 68); Gumbrun, 14 January 1648 [New style 14 January 1649] (folio 68); Suratt, 17 March 1648 [New Style date 17 March 1649] (folio 72); Bussra [Basra], 22 July 1649 (folio 72); Suratt, 16 October 1649 (folio 74).Physical description: 1 item (24 folios)
Abstract: The volume contains copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence for the Persian Gulf Residency. At the start of 1852 Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell is Resident, before being superseded in March by Captain Arnold Kemball.The volume includes:Correspondence with the British Envoy at the Court of Persia, Colonel Justin Sheil, reporting on affairs in Persia, on the construction of an upper story for the house of John Malcolm at Bushire, and requesting for information on the history of Bahrain before 1716;Correspondence with the Secretaries to the Government at Bombay regarding affairs in Persia, the Persian Gulf slave trade, commerce, the 1853 occupation of the Island of Carrack [Kharg, Iran] and the conversion of an Armenian to Islam in Basra;Correspondence with the British Envoy at the Court of Persia and the Political Agents at Muscat and Shiraz, in regard to the dispute between the Imam of Muscat and Feerooz Meerza, the Prince Governor of Fars Province, over Bandar-e ʻAbbāsThe volume contains letters in Arabic, one from the Imam of Muscat (folios 57 and 133).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation is written in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering begins on the first folio with 2, and runs through to the final folio with 146.Pagination: there is also an original pagination sequence, which is not complete; only the pages with writing have been paginated.