Abstract: A translation of a note from Hajee Mahomed Hussein Khan [Hājī Mohammad Husayn Khān Isfahānī], Sudr Aazim [Sadr-e ’Azam, Prime Minister] of Persia [Iran], and Mirza Abdul Wahab [Mīrzā Abdul Wahāb Nishāt Isfahānī], Moatemed ed Dowleh [Mu’tamid al-Dawla, Foreign Minister], to Henry Willock, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Persia, received 17 December 1820.In response to Willock’s letters (IOR/L/PS/9/69/49-50), the Ministers remonstrate with Willock regarding the entry of British ships into Persian ports without permission, assert Persian sovereignty over Kishm [Qeshm] and Hengaum [Hengām], and protest the landing of British troops on Kishm, arguing that the security of the Gulf should be secured by the Prince [Prince-Governor] of Fārs rather than British forces. They also condemn the actions of William Bruce, Resident in Bushire [Būshehr], in relation to Charak [Bandar-e Charāk] and Lingua [Bandar-e Lengeh], demand compensation from Bruce for Persian subjects, and refuse the cession of an island for a British base in the Gulf.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company dated 26 December 1820 (IOR/L/PS/9/69/46).Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Henry Willock, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Persia [Iran], to Persian Ministers [Haji Mohammad Husayn Khān Isfahānī, Sadr-e ‘Azam or Prime Minister, and Mīrzā Abdul Wahāb Nishāt Isfahānī, Mu’tamid al-Dawla or Foreign Minister], sent from Tehran and dated 12 December 1820.In response to the ministers’ note received on 9 December (IOR/L/PS/9/47), Willock defends British actions and continuing military presence in the Gulf following the 1819 expedition against ‘piracy’.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company dated 26 December 1820 (IOR/L/PS/9/69/46).Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: A translation of a note from Hajee Mahomed Hussein Khan [Hājī Mohammad Husayn Khān Isfahānī], Sudr Aazim [Sadr-e ’Azam, Prime Minister] of Persia [Iran], and Mirza Abdul Wahab [Mīrzā Abdul Wahāb Nishāt Isfahānī], Moatemed ed Dowleh [Mu’tamid al-Dawla, Foreign Minister], to Henry Willock, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Persia, received 9 December 1820.The note concerns Anglo-Persian relations in the Gulf following the 1819 British expedition against ‘piracy’, and protests the continuing British military presence in the Gulf.The Ministers remonstrate with Willock regarding the entry of British ships into Persian ports without permission and the landing of British forces on Kishm [Qeshm] over Persian objections, and request Willock to order the withdrawal of the troops from the Gulf. They also condemn the actions of William Bruce, Resident in Bushire [Būshehr], in relation to Bahrein [Bahrain], Charak [Bandar-e Chārak], and Lingua [Bandar-e Lengeh], and request his removal from Persia.The note was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company dated 26 December 1820 (IOR/L/PS/9/69/46).Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: A translation of a letter from Hajee Mohammad Hussain Khan [Hājī Mohammad Husayn Khān Isfahānī], Sudr Aazim [Sadr-e ’Azam, Prime Minister] of Persia [Iran], to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, undated.The letter requests the removal of William Bruce, Resident in Bushire [Būshehr], following actions by British forces against the Persian ports of Lingua [Bandar-e Lengeh] and Charrack [Bandar-e Chārak], which were accused of links with ‘piracy’, and the landing of British troops on Kishm [Qeshm].The letter was enclosed in the letter from Henry Willock, HM Chargé d'Affaires in Persia, to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company dated 26 December 1820 (IOR/L/PS/9/69/44).Physical description: 1 item (3 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee: Bombay Secret Letter 25 May 1821. The enclosures are dated 20 December 1820-12 May 1821. (Attached to folio 5 is a note, f 5a, stating that the ‘Enclosure in Bombay Secret Letter of 18th October 1820 is missing’).The initial enclosure (numbered 1) is a letter dated 10 February 1820 from George Swinton, Secretary to the Government at Fort William, to Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay, conveying the Governor-General’s pleasure that the threatened rupture of relations between the British Government and the Ameers of Sind [Amirs of Sindh] has been averted and a treaty negotiated, and approbation of Captain Sadler who was sent as an envoy to Hyderabad to restore good relations.The remaining enclosures, with their relevant enclosures, are: despatches from Henry Willock, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Tahran [Tehran] to the Marquis of Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal; despatches from H R Deschamps, Acting Political Agent and Captain Commanding at Kishma [Qeshm, also spelled Kishm and Kishmee in this item], to Francis Warden; and instructions issued by Warden to Dr Andrew Jukes with relevant enclosures. They relate to the complaint by Persia [Iran] about the British occupation of the island of Kishm, and comprise the following groups of papers:(1) Willock’s correspondence with the Persian Prime Minister and with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in which Willock disputes the Persian contentions on the following points:Whether the occupation of Kishm is a violation of Article 11 of the Treaty between Persia and Britain (prohibiting British ships of war going to Persian ports without express permission)Whether the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat, had the right to authorize the relocation of the British detachment at Rosul-Khyma [Ra's al-Khaymah, also spelled Ras-sol-Khyma in this item] to Kishm and Hengaum [Hengam] and if Muscat is a dependency of Bunder Abassi [Bandar Abbas] and hence of PersiaWhether it is the prerogative of the Prince of Fars to take steps to prevent ‘piracy’ (of the Joasemees [al-Qawāsim]) and ensure security in the Persian Gulph [Gulf] or if a permanent British naval presence was and is more effectiveWhether Captain William Bruce, Political Resident in the Persian Gulph [Gulf], should be removed from his post (and pay reparation for damaged and lost property) for interfering at Bahrein [Bahrain] in efforts to suppress ‘piracy’ which were the business of the Prince of Sheraz [Shiraz] and the Imaum of Muscat; and for being responsible for the ‘unwarranted’ seizing of the arms of 300 men of Lingua [Bandar-e-Lengeh] and fourteen of their boats which were all destroyed following a storm, and for the burning of ships at the port of Charack [Bandar-e Chārak, also spelled Charak in this item], in alleged retaliation for attacks on British subjects.The correspondence also covers Willock’s attempts to: dissuade or delay the sending of Persian representatives to Kishm and Bombay, respectively, to ask the British to leave Kishm and to remonstrate over the occupation to the Government of India; and to exonerate Captain Bruce from responsibility for the events at Lingua and Charack.(2) Letters from the Acting Political Agent and Captain Commanding at Kishma, to the Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay, reporting that he has placated the vakeel sent with a letter (ff 29-30) by the Hussin Ally, Prince of Shiraz [Husayn 'Ali Mīrzā Farmānfarmā, Prince-Governor of Fārs] and that he has received intelligence that the Prince is amassing a force of 12,000 near Bunderabbas [Bandar Abbas], which could not be repulsed by the small British military establishment on the island (detailed on f 30).(3) Detailed background and instructions (ff 34-43) to Dr Jukes issued by the Government of Bombay for his mission to the Persian Gulph in which he is to allay the claims and suspicions of Persia and conduct himself as the situation, however it develops, may warrant. In particular Jukes is instructed: to investigate the claims of the Imaum of Muscat and Persia to the island of Kishma; verify whether the Prince of Shiraz has amassed a force near Bunder Abbas; direct the detachment to withdraw to Muscat if hostilities look inevitable; how to act with regard to Captain Bruce; to be the Political Agent at Kishme on the recall of Captain Thompson. The instructions are accompanied by copies of letters of authority, introduction and information (ff 44-65), including: letters from the Government of Bombay addressed to Willock, the King [Shah] of Persia, the Prince of Sheeraz [Shiraz] and the Imaum of Muscat; detailed report by Major-General Lionel Smith, dated 23 April 1821, on the advantages of Kishme and how to best use it to check ‘piracy’ and in general how to police the Gulph (ff 48-57); and letters to the Officer Commanding the Troops and Acting Political Agent, and the Officer Commanding HC [Honourable Company] Cruisers at Kishm.The last enclosure ends with a list of the four enclosures comprising Bombay Secret Letter 25 May 1821.Physical description: The despatch comprises enclosures numbered 1-4. The enclosure number is written for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.