Abstract: Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Residency and Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency for 1901-02, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, Calcutta [Kolkata], forming part of the Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, and based on reports sent to Government by the Political Resident and other Agents in the Persian Gulf.The Administration Report is organised as follows:1.
General Summary, submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 21 April 1902 (folios 4-6), with overviews of: the year’s rainfall and harvest, and the impact of drought; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public peace; public health; currency; customs administration in the Gulf, under Belgian control; settlement of claims for compensation. The General Summary also includes summaries for key towns and regions, chiefly comprising accounts of local politics: Oman and Muscat; the Oman Coast; Bahrain; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, including details of the loss of a decisive battle by Shaikh Mubarak al-Sabah at the hands of the Amir of Nejd, and the capture of Riadh [Riyadh] by Abdul Aziz [Ibn Sa‘ūd]; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast; Persian Baluchistan. Further reports are included on: the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted by British officials in the region; incidents of piracy; naval movements, chiefly British but also Russian and French vessels; changes in British official personnel; and movements and changes in foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.2.
Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency, 1901-02, submitted by Major Percy Zachariah Cox, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and Political Agent at Muscat, dated 2 April 1902 (folios 7-9) including: an account of recent tribal politics of Oman, most notably disturbances at Wadi Maawal; events in Sohar; ill-treatment of British Indian subjects in Muscat and Oman; customs; arms trafficking; pearl disputes; the death of the Sultan’s Vazir [Wazir], Sayyid Saeed bin Mahomed bin Salimin, and a brief account of his life; opening of the Muscat to Jask telegraph cable; epidemics and preventative measures; the slave trade; and naval movements.3.
Trade Report of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1901, submitted by Kemball, in his capacity at His Britannic Majesty’s Acting Consul-General for Fars, Khuzistan, etc., dated 31 March 1902 (folios 9-39), with summaries on: imports and exports; the harvest; exchange; currency and specie; mule hire; freight and shipping activity; Russian commerce; customs administration; administration of justice; further details of imports and exports, with reference to particular commodities including cotton, medicines, kerosene, opium and shells. An appendix follows with tabulated trade data of the principal imports and exports, and number, tonnage and nationality of vessels.4.
Trade Report for Maskat[Muscat],
1901-02, submitted by Cox (folios 40-41), with brief summaries on the import of arms, cereals, coffee and silk, and the export of dates and dried fish. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade statistics.5.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of Mohammerah[Khorramshahr]
for 1900(folios 42-46), with remarks on: exchange; exports; imports; shipping; caravan routes; agriculture; health; and the river trade. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.6.
Trade Report of Bundar Abbas[Bandar-e ʻAbbās]
for the Year 1901, submitted by Captain C H Boxer, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul at Bandar-e ʻAbbās, dated 12 March 1902 (folios 46-52), with remarks on: the value of imports and exports; harvest; exchange; transport; shipping; and the benefits to British trade that an extension of the telegraph cable to Bandar-e ʻAbbās would bring. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.7.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1901, submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant Political Agent, dated 7 February 1902 (folios 53-60), containing remarks on: total trade in Bahrain; the year’s pearl fishing season; importation of cotton and coffee; exports, including oyster shells; imports from India, Turkey and Persia; weights and measures in Bahrain; shipping; and a schedule of the lighterage rates at the Port of Bahrain. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.Physical description: The report is arranged into a number of parts and sections, with tabulated statistical data directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (folio 3), which refers to the report’s internal pagination sequence.
Abstract: Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Residency and Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency for 1902-1903, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India (Calcutta), forming part of the Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, and based on reports sent to Government by the Political Resident and other Agents in the Persian Gulf. Folios 181 and 168 are copies of notes, dated 15 and 21 May 1903 respectively. Both notes were sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to Louis William Dane, Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department. The first note (no.82) enclosed the Residency and Muscat Political Agency reports. The second note (no.87) enclosed statistical tables of trade at Ahwaz and Shuster for 1902, drawn up by His Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] from returns supplied by Messrs Lynch and Brothers.The Administration Report is organised as follows:1.
General Summary, submitted by Kemball (folios 183-87), including reports on: the year’s rainfall and harvest; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public health, with details of outbreaks of cholera and smallpox; customs administration in the Gulf; settlement of claims against the Persian Government; and the coronation of King Edward VII. The General Summary also includes summaries for towns and regions, chiefly comprising accounts of local politics: Oman and Muscat; Oman and the Pirate Coast, including an assessment of the pearling season; Bahrain, including news from El Katr [Qatar]; El Hassa [Al-Hasa] and El Katif [Al-Qaṭīf]; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, with an update on the fighting taking place between Abdul Rahman bin Feysul el Saood [Ibn Sa‘ūd] and the Emir of Nejd, Ibn Rashīd; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast, with separate reports from Shiraz, Lār, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; Persian Baluchistan. Further reports are included on: the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted by British officials in the region; incidents of piracy; naval movements, chiefly British but also Russian, French and Persian vessels; changes in British official personnel; and movements and changes in foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.2.
Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency, 1902-03, submitted by Major Percy Zachariah Cox, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and Political Agent at Muscat (folios 187-92), including: an account of the tribal politics of Oman; reports from Seeb, Awabi, Nezwa [Nizwa], and Gwadur [Gwadar]; the Political Muscat Agent’s tour, including Fujeyrah [Fujairah], a Persian flag flying on Sirrī Island, and the journey from Abu Thabi [Abu Dhabi] to Muscat; a report of Cox’s attendance of the Delhi coronation durbar; customs; the arms trade; public health; slave trade activity; telegraph rates; Agency buildings; naval movements at Muscat, chiefly British but also Russian, French and U.S. vessels; official changes and the Resident’s visit. A trade report for Muscat is appended to the administration report, summarising imports and exports, itself followed by an appendix of tabulated trade statistics.3.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1902, submitted by Kemball (folios 192-99), including: general remarks on trade; imports and exports; exchange; mule hire rates; freight and shipping rates. An appendix follows with trade data of the principal imports and exports, and number, tonnage and nationality of vessels.4.
Report on the Trade of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1902, submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant Political Agent (folios 200-02), with details of: coffee imports; pearling season; shell exports; exchange; port improvements. An appendix follows the report, containing tabular data on the principal imports and export at Bahrain.5.
Report on the Trade of Mohammerah[Khorramshahr]
for the Year 1902, submitted by William McDouall, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Mohammerah (folios 203-08), with summaries on: exchange; shipping; river trade; caravan routes; and agriculture. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.6.
Trade Report of Bundar Abbas[Bandar-e ʻAbbās]
for the Year 1902, submitted by Captain William George Grey, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Bandar-e ʻAbbās (folios 208-11), with summaries on: openings for British trade; mistakes made by British traders; the progress or decline of rival trade; obstacles to trade; communication between traders and the Consular Officer; legislative and tariff regulations; shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.Physical description: The report is arranged into a number of parts and subsections, with statistic data in tabular format directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (folio 180) which lists the report’s contents, and refers to the report’s own pagination sequence.
Abstract: Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Residency and Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency for 1903-1904, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India (Calcutta), forming part of the Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, and based on reports sent to Government by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Political Agent at Muscat. Folios 165 and 166 are copies of notes, dated 18 April 1904 and 18 May 1904 respectively, sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and Captain William George Grey, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and Political Agent, Muscat, to Louis William Dane, Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, submitting their respective annual administration reports.The Administration Report is organised as follows:1.
General Summarysubmitted by Kemball (folios 167-69), including reports on: the year’s rainfall and harvest; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public health, with details of outbreaks of cholera and plague; settlement of claims; the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon’s visit to the Gulf, including details of the itinerary; the British Minister at the Court of the Shah of Persia’s visit to the Gulf; and the postal service. The
General Summaryalso includes summaries for towns and regions, as follows: Oman and Muscat; Oman and the Pirate Coast, with an assessment of the pearling season, incidents of piracy and tribal relations; Bahrain [referred to as Bahrain], with an assessment of the pearling season; El Hassa [Al-Hasa] and El Katif [Al-Qaṭīf]; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, with an update of the struggle between Abdul Rahman bin Feysul el Saood [Ibn Sa‘ūd] and the Emir of Nejd, Ibn Rashīd; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast, with separate routes from Shiraz, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; Persian Baluchistan; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted; incidents of piracy; movements of British naval vessels; reports on changes in British officials; and visits made by foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 (folios 168-70) comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.2.
Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency, 1903-04, submitted by Grey (folios 170-77), including an account of the tribal politics of Oman; a detailed account of Lord Curzon’s visit to Muscat, including copies of the addresses presented to Lord Curzon by the community of British subjects and other British protected persons in Muscat, and Sultan Seyyd Faisal [Sa‘id Fayṣal], and Curzon’s replies to each. The report also includes details of the Resident’s visit to Muscat; political tours made by the Muscat Agent; administration of customs; Gwadur [Gwadar] customs; arms trafficking; health; law; building work in Muscat; improvements to the coal depot at Makullah cove; marine incidents, principally the wrecking of the French steamship
Amiral Gueydon; naval movements at Muscat; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted at Muscat; and changes to official personnel at Muscat.3.
Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1903, submitted by Kemball (folios 178-87), including general remarks on trade, and more detailed remarks on customs tariffs; imports and exports; tea; indigo; exchange; freight and shipping. Two appendices to part 3 contain tabular data on the value and quantities of imports and exports into Bushire and other Gulf ports, as well as data on the numbers, tonnage and nationality of visiting vessels.4.
Trade Report for Muscat, 1903-1904, submitted by Grey (folios 187-91), containing details on imports and exports at Muscat, and followed by an appendix with trade statistics.5.
Report on the Trade of Mohammerah[Khorramshahr]
for the Year 1903, submitted by William McDouall, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Mohammerah (folios 190-92) with summaries on: exchange; shipping; caravan routes; and agriculture. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.6.
Trade Report of Bundar Abbas[Bandar-e ʻAbbās]
for the Year 1903, submitted by Arthur Prescott Trevor, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Bandar-e ʻAbbās (folios 193-96), with summaries on: openings for British trade; mistakes made by British traders and their foreign competitors; the progress of rival trade; obstacles to trade; changes to trade tariffs; communications; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.7.
Report on the Trade of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1903, submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant Political Agent, dated 9 January 1904 (folios 196-99), with details on: cotton, rice and coffee imports; lantern manufacture in Bahrain; assessment of the pearling season; the oyster shell export trade; boatbuilding activity; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing tabular data on the principal imports and export at Bahrain.Physical description: The report is arranged into a number of parts and subheadings, with statistic data in tabular format directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (. 164) which lists the report’s contents, referring to the report’s own pagination sequence. Some statistical tables (ff. 197-99) are arranged on the page in landscape format.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the implementation of the Navicert system in the Persian Gulf, which was intended to regulate and control shipping in and out of the Persian Gulf during wartime. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban; Edward Birkbeck Wakefield; Major Tom Hickinbotham; Cornelius James Pelly) and representatives of the shipping agency Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited, who had offices in Bahrain, as well as in other Gulf ports.The file includes:correspondence and notices relating to the introduction of the Navicert system for steamships and dhows sailing into or out of the Persian Gulf from 15 May 1941 (f 7, f 10, f 18);correspondence relating to enquiries and concerns regarding the implementation of the Navicert system in the Persian Gulf, including: fears voiced by representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) that the system would duplicate the existing system of oil export licensing (ff 13-17); the use of Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] as a port for the issue for Navicerts for outgoing vessels; vessels from Dubai and Sharjah having to stop at Bandar Abbas to obtain Navicerts (ff 21-22); confusion over the Muscat Political Agency’s failure or refusal to issue Navicerts (ff 80-82);several letters from the Collector of Customs at Karachi, informing the Political Agent at Bahrain of vessels arriving in Karachi from the Persian Gulf with no Navicert (examples at ff 44-46), and the subsequent investigations by the Political Agent, enquiring as to why Navicerts were not issued;a sample of a blank Navicert application form (f 17), and two completed application forms (f 71, f 93);an enquiry made by the United States Consulate at Dhahran, in December 1944, concerning applications for Navicerts for oil shipments from Dhahran (f 108, ff 112-113);correspondence concerning two oil tankers, the
Empire Bronzeand the
San Vito, that left Bahrain without Navicerts (ff 118-124, ff 126-135);correspondence between the Political Agents at Bahrain and Kuwait over the applicability of the British Government’s Oil in Navigable Waters Act (1922) to the Persian Gulf (ff 159-160);a letter from the Political Resident to the Political Agent at Bahrain, dated 30 November 1946, enclosing an extract from
The Times, dated 25 September 1945, announcing that Navicerts would no longer be required by ships from 30 September 1946 (ff 162-163).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 184; 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 2-97, and a mixed incomplete foliation/pagination sequence between ff 98-166; these numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file notes at the back are paginated between ff 166-179 in pencil.