Abstract: This file is divided into two sections. The first section (folios 2-21) consists of fourteen letters from Bushire to Tehran, two letters from Bushire to Baghdad and two letters from Tehran to Bushire. The letters from Bushire are written by Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to one of the following: His Excellency Colonel Justin Sheil CB, Her Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Persia, Tehran; William Taylour Thomson, Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at the Court of Persia, Tehran; Colonel Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, Baghdad. In addition, there are two letters from William Taylour Thomson to Arnold Burrowes Kemball. Subjects covered in the first section include: British relations with the Persian Government; the state of affairs in Tangestān and Bandar-e 'Abbās; the retrieval of consignments of indigo, which formed part of the plundered cargo of the
Centaur. The second section (folios 24-59) consists of fourteen letters from Commodore George Robinson, Commander of the Persian Gulf Squadron, to Kemball and eight letters addressed by Kemball to Robinson. Many of Robinson's letters include enclosed copies of letters from various officers of the Naval Squadron (namely Lieutenants James Tronson, Robert Anstice Stradling, Charles Golding Constable and David Rose Dakers), which include not only accounts of duties carried out in the lower end of the Gulf but also reports of intelligence received from the native agents at Sharjah and Bandar-e Lengeh respectively. Subjects covered include: attempts made by Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Āl Sa‘ūd, ruler of the Second Saudi State, to obtain a tribute from the Governor of Muscat, Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘id al-Sa‘id, for the Al-Bāṭinah coast; the various duties carried out by officers of the Squadron, such as seizing boats that have imported slaves into ports along the Arab coast.Physical description: Pagination: There is an original pagination sequence which is written in ink, in the top right corners of the rectos and in the top left corners of the versos. The sequence is consistent, although not all of the pages have been paginated.Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is written in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. This sequence begins on the third folio after the front cover, on number 1A, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 62. It should be noted that the sequence begins on f 1A and is followed by f 1B and f 2. This is the sequence used by this catalogue to reference items within this file.
Abstract: This volume consists mostly of correspondence between the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, and the Secretary to the Government of Bombay. Writing on behalf of the Residency are Commander (James) Felix Jones, Acting Resident (and later in the volume, Resident) in the Persian Gulf, and Herbert Frederick Disbrowe, Assistant Resident in the Persian Gulf. At this time the Secretary to the Government of Bombay was Henry Lacon Anderson.The volume is divided into two sections. The first section (ff 1A-65) concerns Persia and the Persian coast. Several of Anderson's letters contain copies of received correspondence, including a letter (ff 3-7) from George Frederick Edmonstone, Secretary to the Government of India, as well as extracts of letters from the East India Company's Court of Directors. In addition, there is a copy of a petition (ff 41-44) addressed by Cornwallis Hewett, Resident at Kurrachee [Karāchi], to Lord Elphinstone, Governor and President in Council at Bombay, in which Hewett complains that he has sustained losses as a result of the Governor of Bushire detaining a number of his horses. This petition is followed by copies of letters between the Residency and Hewett (and Hewett's agent), which date from September 1855 to May 1856.Some of the letters from the Residency to Bombay include translated extracts of correspondence with native agents and local rulers, including the Agent at Shiraz and His Royal Highness the Prince of Shiraz.Other subjects covered in this section include Britain's commercial treaty with Persia (1847) and its implications for granting passports to Indian-born and Persian-born subjects, and the onset of the Anglo-Persian War.The second section (ff 66-93) has been labelled as miscellaneous correspondence. One letter from Jones to Anderson (ff 67-75) contains translated extracts of correspondence both with native agents and with a number of local rulers, including: Zayid ben Khuleefah [Shaikh Zayed bin Khalīfah Al Nahyan], Chief of Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi]; Sheikh Abdul Rahman ben Suggur, Governor of Kishm [Qeshm]; Sheikh Ali ben Khuleefa [Shaikh Ali bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah], Chief of Bahrein [Bahrain]; and Ameer Fyzal [Faisal bin Turki bin ‘Abdullāh Al Sa‘ūd], the Wahabee Ameer [Wahhābī Emir]. These enclosures relate to the Crimean War: each extract expresses the respective ruler's pleasure at having learned of the fall of Sebastopol [Sevastopol].This section also includes a letter (ff 76-84) from Jones to Anderson on the subject of the Residency's finances, in which Jones encloses lists of the allowances for the various positions attached to the Residency on 1 May 1827, 1 May 1832, 1 October 1835 and 1 July 1856 respectively.In another letter to Anderson (ff 85-88), Jones includes copies of correspondence, dating from 1844, between Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, and the Secretary to the Government of India, on the subject of replacing Indian sepoys with horsemen for the purpose of collecting and carrying dispatches.Physical description: Pagination: An original pagination sequence is present between folio 2 and folio 93; these numbers are written in ink and can be found in the top left corners of the versos and in the top right corners of the rectos.Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the title page and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. It should be noted that the following anomalies occur in this sequence: folio 1 is followed by folio 1A; folio 71 is followed by folio 71A; folio 79 is followed by folio 79A; folio 80 is followed by folio 80A; folio 81 is followed by folio 81A.
Abstract: The volume consists of draft letters outwards from the British Resident in the Persian Gulf; up to 1831 the office holder is David Wilson, but following his departure Samuel Hennell fills the position — in an acting capacity — until the end of the volume.The correspondence can be divided into two broad categories. The first being letters addressed to the Resident's Native Agents throughout the Persian Gulf at Bahrain, Carrack [Bandar-e Chārak], Muscat, Sharjah, and Shiraz. A great deal of this material is of a routine nature; for example, praise for good conduct, reprimands for poor conduct, instructions to forward correspondence, and authorisation for leave. Solicitations for information on a range of topics such as local political affairs, the slave trade in the Gulf, and suspected piratical activity are also common.The second category is made up of letters addressed to various rulers throughout the Persian Gulf. The principal recipients being Shaikh Sulṭān bin Saqr, Hakim of Ra's al-Khaymah; Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah, Hakim of Bahrain; Shaikh Tanoon [Ṭaḥnūn bin Shakhbūṭ Āl Nahyān], Hakim of Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi]; Sa‘īd bin Sultān Āl Sa‘īd, the Imam of Muscat; and Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān, Governor of Bushire. Much of this correspondence is related to to the Resident's efforts to maintain peace in the Gulf, and ensure the suppression of piracy. It also covers attempts by the Resident to investigate suspected acts of piracy, to facilitate recompense for property plundered at sea, and calls to punish offenders. To a lessor extent, it includes applications for redress for injuries inflicted against British agents, and matters affecting British trade.It should be noted that ff 67-89 are blank folios.Physical description: 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 foliation amendments: f 66, and f 66A.Pagination: The volume also contains an original pagination sequence (1-128) between ff 3-66A; these numbers are written in ink, and are located in the top outermost corner of each page.
Abstract: The volume consists of substances of, and translations of native letters (i.e. correspondence in Arabic or Persian) sent to the British Resident in the Persian Gulf. The majority of these are from various native agents serving the British in the Gulf at Bahrein [Bahrain], Lingah [Bandar-e-Lengeh], Muscat, and Sharjah respectively. They provide updates on the local political situation; relay local news; report incidents of, enquiries into, and restitution for acts of piracy; and forward any intelligence that the agents perceive to be of interest to the Resident. It also includes incidents where the agents report ill treatment at the hands of local subjects, or the local authorities.Also included are communications from local rulers in the Gulf region. These are much less common, but include communications from Shaikh Abdollah bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], Chief of Bahrein; Sultan ben Sugger [Sulṭān bin Saqr], Chief of the Joasmees [Qawāsim]; and Shaikh Khuleefa ben Shakboot [Khalīfah bin Shakhbūṭ], Chief of the Beniyas [Bani Yas].Some specific topics covered include a war between the Wahabees [Wahhabis] and Bahrein; a dispute between Humood bin Azan, Chief of Sohar [Ṣuḥār], and the Governors of Muscat; and political instability in Persia following the death of Fatḥ ‘Alī Shāh Qājār (such as Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā's declaring himself King of Shiraz). The murder of Shaikh Toorky bin Saood [Turki bin Sa‘ūd], Wahabee Chief, is also reported within.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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.The file contains the following foliation corrections; 14, and 14A.Pagination: The file also contains an original pagination sequence; these numbers are written in ink between ff 3-135, and are located in the top outermost corners of each page.
Abstract: The file concerns reports of interference with Kuwaiti dhows by Iranian (also referred to as Persian) customs and naval authorities. The papers contain witness statements, letters of protest by the Shaikh of Koweit [Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, Ruler of Kuwait], reports, discussion of the incidents by British officials, and representations by HM Minister at Tehran (later HM Ambassador, Tehran) to the Government of Iran.The papers concern four main incidents:The arrest of the nakhoda of a Kuwaiti dhow at Kharaj (also referred to as Kharg) Island [Jazīreh-ye Khārk], February 1934 - March 1937 (folios 160-178).The firing on a Kuwaiti dhow by an Iranian launch, near Lingah [Bandar-e-Lengeh], June 1936 - March 1937 (folios 132-158).The seizure of a Kuwaiti dhow by Iranian customs authorities at Qusbeh [Qoşbeh-ye Manī‘āt], February - April 1937 (folios 64-130).The seizure near Lingah of a Kuwaiti dhow (the
Furat)outside Iranian territorial waters, by an Iranian naval sloop, thought to be HIMS
Babr, February - May 1937 (folios 5-62).Folios 72-110 consist of later correspondence, dated April 1947 - February 1948, also on the subject of interference by Iranian naval vessels with Kuwaiti dhows, which has been misfiled. A note on folio 3 states that the file 'seems to have got out of order'.The file also contains significant correspondence from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Kuwait; and the British Consul, Kerman.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 180; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Printed copies of annual trade and commerce reports for the Persian port of Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], compiled by HM’s Consul at Bunder Abbas (George Alexander Richardson, Cecil Henning Lincoln). The file includes reports for the years 1925-26, 1926-27, 1927-28, 1928-29, 1930-32, 1932-33, 1934-35, and 1935-36.The reports vary in extent from one year to the next, but broadly include sections on the following subjects: a general review of the year’s trade at Bunder Abbas; currency, weights and measures; trade at the Persian port of Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh]; taxation; military operations and conscription; agriculture (including opium production); industry; roads; public health and hygiene; shipping and navigation; statistical tables of shipping activity, commodities, imports and exports.The original copies of the reports were forwarded by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, with a request that printed copies be sent back to the Political Residency. Included amongst the reports are India Office Political Department minute papers and other notes, with comments written by India Office officials on the contents of the reports.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 122; 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 operations and official status of the British Vice-Consulate at Lingah. The papers primarily discuss the downgrading and decommissioning of the Vice-Consulate and the transfer of its staff and operations to Bandar Abbas or Bahrain. The documents are primarily correspondence between British authorities in the Persian Gulf, India, and the India Office in London.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 191; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume comprises two parts discussing quarantine services in southern Persia:part 1 concerns the appointment of a medical officer at Bandar Abbaspart 2 concerns quarantine services more generally on the Persian side of the Persian GulfThe volume comprises parts 1 and 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 by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.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 631; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.