Abstract: Memorandum on the potential of Kuwait (sometimes referred to as Koweit) and Bahrain (sometimes referred to as Bahrein) as the location for the Persian Gulf Residency should it be moved from Bushire. The document contains a short forward by John Gilbert Laithwaite of the India Office, dated 10 January 1930. The bulk of the memorandum is formed from telegrams and letters sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett, acting Political Resident, to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, Simla, during July and August 1929.The document is organised into two parts, as follows:I: Arguments for and against Kuwait, with numbered points for and lettered points against, with additional suggestions for how to remedy some of those points against.II: Relative merits of Kuwait and Bahrain. A subject by subject comparison, covering the following matters: Political, Commercial, Situation, Communications, Climate, Accommodation, Water Supply, and Amenities.The memorandum closes with a few concluding remarks by Barrett.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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 booklet contains an original typed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume is a political diary recording ‘native’ correspondence sent and received by the Residency, visits made by the Resident, visitors received at the Residency, and other occurrences of note. All of the correspondence detailed in the volume was sent to or received from Arab and Persian inhabitants of the region, chiefly Britain’s Native Agents on the Arab coast (Bahrain, Sharjah, Muscat) and Persian towns (Bandar-e Lengeh, Shīrāz), representatives of the Persian Court and Persian Government, and the rulers of the Arab coast.In each instance of correspondence, details of the date the letter was issued or received are recorded, along with the name of its recipient or sender, and a detailed synopsis of the letter’s contents. In each instance of a visit made or received, the name of the visitee/visitor is recorded, along with the nature of the visit. Most weeks noted visits by ‘merchants and masters of vessels on their own affairs’. Many weekly entries also record the arrival and departure of vessels from Bushire. Occurrences record a variety of events including: the arrival or departure from Bushire of significant individuals; political and military actions carried out in Bushire or in the surrounding area; appearances of cholera in the town; construction of the town’s fortifications.Some folios at the end of the volume (folios 128-32) are out of sequence, being related to earlier intervals (28 December 1850 to 6 February 1851 and 9 February to 3 April 1852), during which time the Resident was away from Bushire on his tour of the Gulf, and receiving/sending letters independent of the Residency.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence starts on the front cover and ends on the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1, 1A, 1B, and 1C.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence discussing the concerns of British officials regarding the movement of Persian Government officials in the Gulf and their supposed attempts to challenge British power in the region.The movements of Haji Ahmed Khan (also given as Hajee Ahmed Khan and Hajee Ahmed bin Mohamad Ali), the Governor of Bushire, are discussed in detail throughout the file and copies of some of his correspondence with local rulers and the British are contained in the file.The file also contains letters in Arabic (with English translations) from British agents in Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] and Sharjah that were sent to the Political Resident in Bushire and correspondence between the Political Resident and the following local rulers:Zayed bin Khaleefah [Khalifa], Chief of Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi]Rashid bin Huamid, Chief of AjmanHumaid bin Abdullah bin Sultan, Chief of Ras El Khaymah [Ras Al Khaimah]Ahmad bin Abdullah, Chief of Ummal Kaiwain [Umm Al Quwain]Rashed [Rashid] bin Maktoum, Chief of Debay [Dubai]Physical description: Condition: a bound volume.Foliation: The file's foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The file contains the following foliation errors: 1, and 1A; 28, and 28A; 91, and 91A.Pagination: A pagination sequence is also present between ff 2-160; these numbers are written in blue/red crayon, and are located in the top outermost corner of each page.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence, memoranda and other papers relating to the Anglo-Persian War (1856-57), and events following the Armistice signed in Paris, 4 March 1857, notably intelligence, military, administrative, diplomatic and financial matters. A large proportion of the letters are originals, but the volume also includes copy letters and copy Persian letters.There is no overall index; however, there are five internal ‘indexes’, or contents lists, which cover the majority of the volume. The titles of groups of papers are transcribed directly from the indexes, in single inverted commas.The papers are bound as follows:Folio 9: ‘Intelligence index’ comprising a list of items numbered 1-2Folios 10-45 (including title page for index item No. 1): ‘Intelligence received from Major H Ballard’, Intelligence Department, 25 February 1856-28 June 1857. Includes ink and watercolour plan of Persian positions near the ‘Haft Moolla Pass’ (folio 15) and Memorandum of Intelligence from Captain Lewis Pelly, Intelligence Department, June 1857 (folios 39-42)Folios 46-133 (including title page for index item No. 2): ‘General Intelligence’. Notably:Memorandum by Major John Hill, Commanding Engineer, Persian Field Force, to Assistant Quartermaster-General, Persian Field Force, Camp Bushire, 8 January 1857, containing estimate of force required for the expedition against Shuster [Shushtar] on the Karoon [Karun] River (folios 47-51)Intelligence received and forwarded to Brigadier-General John Jacob, Commander of the Persian Expeditionary Field Force in Bushire, by Captain Felix Jones, Political Agent and Resident in the Persian Gulf, and correspondence between Jones and Jacob, including translated intelligence from local chiefs, Mahomed Hassan Khan [Muhammad Husayn Khan?], British Agent in Shiraz [also spelt Sheeraz in the volume], and Meerza Hassan Ali Khan [Mirza Hasan ‘Ali Khan], British Agent at Shiraz now at Bushire, March-August 1857, and purport of extract from
Tehran Gazette, 12 March 1857 (folios 52-73, 95-97, 116-117, 122, 126-133)Cutting from
The Sindian Extra, 20 May 1857, on the ‘horrible massacre [of the English] at Delhi’ (folio 74)Letters from J Scott in Kurachee [Karachi], to Jacob, 23 May and 7 June 1857, on loyalty of the troops at Moultan [Multan], calm situation in the Punjab and Scott’s general comments on the 'mutiny' in India (folios 75, 114-115)Intelligence from J Gibb in Kurachee, to Jacob, 22 May-7 June 1857, notably on the 'mutiny' at Merrut [Meerut] and Delhi and reporting on troops and native population in Lahore (folios 76-77, 102-105, 112-113)Manuscript copy of telegraphic message from Agra for Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram, Commander-in-Chief, Persian Expeditionary Force: ‘Lady Outram and her son are quite safe. They were not at Delhi’ [May 1857] (folio 78)Three intelligence reports, two translated by James McAdam Hyslop, Assistant Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, containing news on the state of Persia, February and March 1857, and copy letter from Stratford de Redcliffe, British Ambassador at Constantinople, to Earl of Clarendon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 30 March 1857. All papers forwarded for the attention of Outram (folios 79-91)Letters from Commander James Rennie, Senior Naval Officer, Commanding Persian Gulf Squadron, to Jacob, June-July 1857, mostly forwarding intelligence from Lieutenant James Tronson, Senior Naval Officer at Mahumura [Mohammerah, now Khorramshahr], commanding the
Falkland(folios 92-94, 98-99, 119-120, 123-125)Extract of letter from Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay, to Henry Bartle Frere, Commissioner of Sinde [Sindh], 30 May 1857, forwarding instructions for the recall of Outram and Jacob and a large part of the force at Bushire, to India (folios 100-101)Letter from Commander D W Macleod in Lahore, to Commissioner in Sind [Sindh], 15 May 1857, reporting, for the Court of Directors of the East India Company, on the state of affairs in India following the outbreak of the 'mutiny' (folios 106-109)Letter from H Ebden to Colonel Sir R Shakespear, 31 May 1857, on the spread of the 'mutiny' (folios 110-111)Manuscript copy of telegraphic message from 'The Resident' (at Bushire) to Jacob, stating that the agent at Shiraz is permitted to proceed and resume his post, 28 June 1857 (folio 118)Letter from [W?] Gardiner, Commanding the
Clifton, notifying Jacob of the transport ship’s arrival at Kurachee, 2 July 1857 (folio 121) Folios 134-135: ‘Index Miscellaneous’ comprising a list of items numbered 1-18, as follows:Folios 136-138 (including title page for index item No. 1): ‘Correspondence touching the progress of the war in Persia, etc.’ Letter from Thomas A Collier, Bushire, to Jacob, 24 December 1856Folios 139-141 (including title page for index item No. 2): ‘Trial experiment of the “Jacob Rifle”’, Letter from Charles Hay to Jacob, 14 November 1856Folios 142-203 (including title page for index item No. 3): ‘Applications for appointments under Brigadier-General John Jacob [to the Persian Field Force], recommendatory letters for, etc.’ Authors based in various locations, notably Bombay, Kurachee and London, December 1856-February 1857 (in this order): Henry Munro; J Outram; Lieutenant G S Morris; Lieutenant C M Ducat; Major Edward Green; G Nicholetts; Lieutenant W A Battine, Bengal Army; Captain [G?] E Ashburner; Captain James Young, 4th Regiment Bengal North India; E King; J Thatcher; H Young; Hugh Elliott, [T H Rantely?]; W G Mainwaring; R H Irvine; Captain Stuart Beatson, First Regiment [Light?] Cavalry; Lieutenant W R Alexander; George Montgomery; Lieutenant Quintin Battye, 56th Regiment Bengal Infantry; J W [Reviler?]; W W Davidson; [G Durrill?]; [C?] Stewart; W F Johnson; J Rennie; Hastings Fraser, 4th Cavalry; C Constable; Ensign John G Watts; Colonel P MelvillFolios 204-209 (including title page for index item No. 4): ‘Correspondence of congratulation’, from J Scott to Jacob, 14 January 1857; P H Le Geyt to Outram, 4 January 1857; and J Stirling to Jacob, 30 April 1857 (thanks for commendation of his regiment)Folios 210-244 (including title page for index item No. 5): ‘Correspondence relative to supply of provisions, tonnage and capacity of shipping, transports, munitions of war, etc.’ Correspondents mainly Rennie, Durrill, [Reviler?], W T Johnson and Captain Lewis Pelly, Political Secretary and Persian Interpreter, 25 January to 24 July 1857Folios 245-247 (including title page for index item No. 6): ‘Regarding the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob with the rank of Brigadier-General Persian Expeditionary Field Force’, 12 January 1857. Copy letter and General Orders, forwarded by R E H Birch, Secretary to the Governor of India, Military DepartmentFolios 248-256 (including title page for index item No. 7): ‘Correspondence regarding the state of the troops in Persia and other Bazar and Police arrangements’ [in Bushire]. Between Lord Elphinstone, Jacob, Jones and Pelly, 1 April-1 August 1857. Includes Persian letter from Sultan Mahomed Najjaff Meerza [Sultan Muhammad Najaf Mirza Hindi], Jahanabad [Jehanabad], to Jacob (folio 255) with Jacob’s replyPapers described in the index as numbers 8-17 are not bound in this volumeFolios 257-259: Title pages only to index items No. 16 ‘Relative to the employment of individuals in the Quartermaster and Adjutant Generals Department’, and No. 17 ‘Regarding Prisoners’Folios 259-297 (including title page for index item No. 18): ‘Miscellaneous Correspondence’. Between Jacob, Henry Scott, Walker, Macdonald, Colonel J S Ramsay and Pelly, 1 December 1856-26 December 1857. Includes news from Pelly on Mohammura [Mohammerah, i.e. Khorramshahr], Sir James Outram and views on the Peace Treaty (folios 284-297), and extracts from the
Bombay Government Gazette, 15 and 29 January and 30 June 1857 (folios 268-271)Folio 298: Map of a section of Abyssinia [Ethiopia] (no indication why this map has been bound in this volume apart from separating two indexes)Folios 299-300: ‘Index of Compilation’ comprising a list of items numbered 1-13Folios 301-359 (including title page for index item No. 1): ‘Correspondence regarding employment of General Jacob in Persia. Observations on the state of the troops and the coast of Persia, of the appointment of General Sir J Outram, political views on the nature of Britain’s relations with Persia and Russia’. Documents dated 18 November 1856-25 January 1857, chiefly Outram’s letters to Robert Vernon Smith MP, Sir George Clerk, Colonel Sykes, J H Edmonstone, Secretary to the Governor of India, Foreign Department, Lord Dalhousie and Jacob; Malcolm Green’s letters to Jacob; and copy of a telegraphic message from the Governor-General to Outram regarding JacobFolios 360-410 (including title page for index item No. 2): ‘Correspondence regarding the appointment of different officers, the distribution of the Brigades, etc., their several requirements in the event of their occupying named localities towards the furtherance of schemes determined on’. Documents dated 28 December 1856-28 December 1858, chiefly correspondence between Outram and Jacob, letters from Malcolm Green and from Lord Elphinstone, to Jacob, and a 'Plan of Operations' (in Persia) by Outram (folios 365-367)Folios 411-451 (including title page for index item No. 3): ‘Regarding the probable demands for munitions of war. Provisions and other necessaries, etc., required by the Troops in Persia’. Documents dated 18 March-12 May 1857, chiefly letters to Jacob from Outram, A M Boileau, Brevet Major Commanding ‘B’ Company of Madras Sappers and Miners, Rennie and JonesFolios 452-503 (including title page for index item No. 4): ‘Correspondence regarding the Expedition against Mohamreh [Mohammerah, i.e. Khorramshahr] and its capture, and of arrangements for raising and organising “Arab Levies” and other proposed arrangements regarding the dispersal of the troops subsequent to the above action’. Documents dated 13 March-9 May 1857, chiefly letters to Jacob from Outram (written from Mohammerah) and Colonel Edward Lugard, Chief of StaffFolio 504-509 (including title page for index item No. 5): ‘Information of movements of the Expeditionary detachment to Ahwaz [Ahvaz] and other correspondence following the fall of Mohamreh and the action at Ahwaz’. Letters from Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent in Ismailiyah [Ismailia], to Outram, and from Outram to the Earl of Clarendon, 30 March-5 April 1857 Folio 510 (title page for index item No. 6): ‘Reflections on the policy of the action at Mohamreh which was originally intended to facilitate the progress of the British forces into the interior of Persia’ (no papers present)(Title page and papers for index item No. 7 not present)Folios 511-518 (including title page for index item No. 8): ‘Regarding proposed modifications and other important arrangements for the permanent defence of the frontiers of Sind’. Two documents, both addressed to ‘My Lord’, authors not identifiedFolios 519-525 (including title page for index item No. 9): ‘General correspondence from Lord Elphinstone’. Letters to Outram, notably mentioning coals for English steam ships, cholera between Madras and Bangalore, and rifle ammunition, 3 and 4 April 1857Folios 526-531 (including title page for index item No. 10): ‘Refutation of assertions regarding the “panic” supposed to have occurred subsequent to the action at Burazgoon [Borazjan]’. Letter from Outram to Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Somerset, Commander-in-Chief, Bombay Army, 11 April 1857, including extracts from intelligence reports dated 18 and 25 February 1857 regarding enemy casualtiesAlso after index item No. 10 (not covered by the index):Folios 532-535: copy of letter of congratulation on Persian victories from Vernon Smith to Outram, with forwarding letter by Hyslop, Political Agent, Bagdad [Baghdad], April 1857Folios 536-538 (including title page for index item No. 11): ‘Correspondence of congratulation, offer of presents, to the Native Troops by the Nawab of Oude from Bagdad’. Summary translation of undated letter from the Nawab Ikbal-ood-Dowlek to Captain Kemball, congratulating the British Indian troops in action at Bushire and BorazgoonFolios 539-558 (including title page for index item No. 12): 'Correspondence regarding the Sirkisheekchee [Sarkisheekchee] Bashee, etc’, (Mirza Mahomed Khan, Persian Commander-in-Chief and Plenipotentiary). Chiefly letters from Outram to Jacob, 12 April-15 June 1857 Folios 559-597 (including title page for index item No. 13): ‘Relative to the state of affairs in India and the measures which it would be advisable to adopt for the maintenance of British influence in the Bombay Presidency, etc.’ Chiefly letters from Lugard, Outram and Vernon Smith to Jacob; Lugard to Outram; and Outram to the Governor-General of India, the Earl of Clarendon and Vernon Smith, 28 June-15 July 1857Folios 598-689 (including title page for index item No. 2): ‘Relating to the Deputation of Ahmed Beg from Persian Camp and further correspondence regarding Meerza Agha’ (Persian Secretary to Charles A Murray, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to His Majesty the King of Persia, at Bagdad). Chiefly original and copy letters, including Persian letters from Meerza Agha [Mirza Agha] (folios 602, 614, 626), relating to his dismissal by Jacob who accuses the former of unprecedented ‘insolence’ contained in a letter to Captain Felix Jones regarding the Deputation of Ahmed Beg. Correspondence is largely between Jacob, Outram, Jones, Murray and Meerza Agha. Murray, who strongly defends Meerza Agha, an employee of the British for over eighteen years, believes there is a campaign to smear his secretary’s character. Murray also dismisses Mahomed Hassan Khan, the Agent at Shiraz, who accuses Meerza Agha of threatening him. Covering dates c 25 April-31 August 1857Folios 690-691: ‘Index Sirkasheekchee Bashee’, comprising a list of items numbered 1-11Folios 692-733 (including title page for index item No. 1): 'Regarding the Treaty Armistice etc., Convention proposed to be entered into – line demarcation proposed and explained etc.' Documents dated c 22 April-7 May 1857, chiefly correspondence between Outram, Meerza Mahomed Khan, Sarkisheekchee Bashee, Persian Commander-in-Chief and Plenipotentiary [Mirza Muhammad Khan Davallu, Kishikchi Bashi], and Jacob, regarding news of the armistice reached between Britain and Persia in Paris, 4 March 1857, and terms of the truce concluded between Outram and Meerza Mahomed Khan (to extend to 4 June 1857). Includes original, copy, Persian (folios 695-697, 717-723 and 729-731) and translated letters from all correspondentsFolio 734: Note stating items ‘No. 2 and 3 transferred to Separate Compilations. No. 2 Regarding Meerza Agha [see folios 598-689]. No. 3 Regarding the Persian spy or Engineer officer [see IOR/H/550]’Folios 735-736 (including title page for index item No. 4): ‘Regarding the procuring of corn provisions, etc.’ Letter from Jones to Jacob, 13 May 1857Folios 737-741 (including title page for index item No. 5): ‘Correspondence regarding Nawab Mahomed Ali Khan’. Letter from Jones to Jacob, copy letters in Persian from Jones and from Shuja ul Mulk [also spelt Shooja ool Moolk], April 1857Folios 742-743 (title page for index item No. 6): ‘Correspondence from and with the Khan of Khelat [Kalat]’. Letter from Jones to Jacob, 5 June 1857(Index item No. 7 is filed out of order, on folios 775-814)Folios 743-746 (including title page for index item No. 8): ‘Regarding the return of Mohamed Hussan Khan [Shiraz Agent] to Shiraz’. Letter from Jones to giving instructions to the former, 29 June 1857Folios 747-748 (including title page for index item No. 9): ‘Regarding permission to persons of British camp to purchase horses from Persian camp at Borazjoon [Borazjan]’. Request from Jacob to the representative commanding the Persian forces, 8 July 1857Folios 749-752 (including title page for index item No. 10): ‘Request for restoration of certain baggage animals captured in the action at Borazjoon.’ Correspondence between Jones, Jacob and Mihr Ali Khan, Shooja ool Moolk, 5-9 July 1857Folios 753-755 (including title page for index item No. 11): ‘Regarding the escape of certain persons who attempted to murder a woman on purpose to rob her.’ Letter from Jones to Meerza Mohammed Khan, Sirkisheekchee Bashee, with his reply, 10 and 17 July 1857(Folios 756-774 do not appear to be covered by the index)Folios 756-774: Correspondence and papers relating to general matters in Bushire. Documents dated 23 June-22 August 1857, including intelligence from Mahomed Hassan Khan, Shiraz Agent, his letters to Jones, August 1857, and notice of termination of his employment and the temporary appointment of Hajee Mahomed Khuleel [Ḥāji Muḥammad Khalīl]; correspondence of Jones and Jacob with Mihr Ali Khan, Shooja ool Moolk; Meerza Mahomed Alee Khan [Mirza Muhammed Ali Khan], Nawabi Hindee [Hindi]; and Sheikh Noshin Khan, Sirhauz of the First Order [Shaikh Nushin Khan, Sarbaz (soldier) of the First Order], Persian Force, notably regarding garrisoning of Bushire by different Persian regiment and permission for conclusion of commercial transactions with the locals by soldiers of previous Persian regiment. Persian letter from Alee Khan to Jacob (folio 766)Folios 775-814 (including title page for index item No. 7): ‘Regarding the deputation of Haji Sheikh Noshin Khan, Sirhauz of the First Order, from Persian Camp and of Brigadier Trevelyan, Commandant of the Artillery, from British Camp, and other proceedings touching the mission to the Persian Camp’, to re-establish friendly relations following the transfer of supreme power at Bushire from Outram to Jacob. Correspondence, dated 15 June-10 July 1857, chiefly between Jacob, Jones and Meerza Mahomed Khan, including Persian letters (folios 777-779, 793, 805-806 and 810) and translationsFolio 815: ‘Index’ comprising a list of items numbered 1-3. No. 2 and 3 are filed before No. 1. They are all preceded by the correspondence on folios 816-832Folios 816-832: Mainly formal correspondence, dated 20 July-28 August 1857, regarding dispersal of treasury no longer needed at Bushire, including shipment of ten lacs of rupees on the steamer
Chusanfrom Bushire to Kurachee (for Bombay), a portion to Sinde [Sindh] and one lac to the Baghdad treasury. Correspondence is between Jacob; H L Anderson, Secretary to the Government, Bombay; E E Elliot, Accountant General; B E Frere, Commissioner in Scinde [Sindh]; Captain Annesley, Paymaster, Persian Field Force, Bushire; Jones; and PellyFolios 833-841 (including title page for index item No. 2): ‘Miscellaneous demi official correspondence’. Letters from Jones to Jacob on various matters in Bushire, including ill-treatment of animals that went to the Persia Camp and attempted robbery of a “Bagdad lady of easy virtue”, 9-13 July 1857Folios 842-849 (including title page for index item No. 3): ‘Miscellaneous correspondence regarding the
Pioneerand
Feroze.’ Concerning delay in delivery of Kurachee mails on the
Pioneerand allocation of
Ferozeto go to Bombay, 11 July-2 AugustFolios 850-886 (including title page for index item No. 1): ‘Audits on abstracts by the Paymaster Persian Field Force.’ Correspondence relating to recouping salary allowances erroneously paid to Jacob during the Persian Campaign, chiefly correspondence between Jacob; Annesley; Major H J Barr, late Field Paymaster, Persian Expeditionary Force; the Military Department in Bombay; and Colonel Melvill, Secretary to the Government, c June 1857-April 1858Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 889; 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 original pagination sequence dating from the 1920s is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. This sequence correlates to the description found in Samuel Charles Hill's
Catalogue of the Home Miscellaneous Series of the India Office Records(London: HMSO, for the India Office, 1927).
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence, reports, memoranda, petitions, registers and other papers relating chiefly to events following the Anglo-Persian War (1856-1857) Armistice, signed in Paris 4 March 1857, notably the military withdrawal, diplomatic, political, logistical and security-related matters. A large proportion of the letters are originals, but the volume also includes copy letters and copy Persian letters.There is no overall index, however the content of the volume is partially covered by four internal ‘indexes’, or contents lists. Where covered by an index, the titles of groups of papers are transcribed directly from the index, in single inverted commas.Note: there is a certain amount of internal duplication of subject and copy documents, and between this volume and IOR/H/549.The papers are bound as follows:Folio 9: list of commended ship officers, including name of ship, surname of individual and remarksFolios 1-110: Correspondence and papers principally relating to: fulfilling the peace treaty terms with regard to withdrawal of Persians from Herat and Afghanistan and British from Mohammerah [now Khorramshahr, variously spelt in this volume Mohammera, Mohamera, Mohamra and Mohamrah] and Bushire; British relations with the Persian authorities; Turkish claims on Mohammerah vis-a-vis the latter sending a vessel of war to the port prior to British withdrawal. Also covered are arrangements for packet (mail) couriers; strained relations between Brigadier-General John Jacob, Commanding the Persian Field Force, Bushire, and Charles A Murray, British Envoy to the Court of the Shah of Persia (near) Tehran, over timing and manner of British withdrawal, notably Jacob’s scathing doubt of Murray’s warning of a Persian plot to attack embarking British troops (folios 63-64); arrangements for Persian prisoners of war; intelligence, via Bombay, relating to uprisings against the British in India and their suppression; and use of remount agents for purchase of horses for the cavalry and artillery. The principal correspondents are Murray, Jacob, Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia (Baghdad), and Commander James Rennie, Senior Naval Officer, Commanding Persian Gulf Squadron. Additional correspondents are Captain Felix Jones, Political Agent with the Persian Field Force and Resident in the Persian Gulf; J G Taylor, Agent in Bassorah [Basra]; Malcolm Green, Military Secretary (then in Baghdad); and Sir Henry Rawlinson (then a crown director of the East India Company). Also included are translated extracts from the
Tehran Gazetteand a letter from the 'Sudr Azim' [ṣadr-e aʿẓam, head of the Persian Government], to Murray, 1 August 1857, regarding precise fulfilment of the treaty termsFolio 111: ‘Victoria Cross Index’ comprising list of items numbered 1-2Folios 112-167 (including title page for index item No. 1 and No. 2): ‘Miscellaneous correspondence regarding the valor of individuals at different actions in Persia [Iran] and having therefore recommended for the “Victoria Cross” decoration’ and ‘Reports on the merits of officers and men of the Field Force at Bushire 14 June 1857’. Chiefly original correspondence and printed official extracts of letters, reports and commendation lists, dated May-June 1857, by Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram, late Commander Persian Expeditionary Force; Viscount Canning, Governor-General of India; Earl of Clarendon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Robert Vernon Smith, MP, President of the Board of Control; Ross Donelly Mangles, Chairman of the Court of Directors, East India Company; Edward Lugard, Chief of the Staff, Persian Expeditionary Force; and Jacob. Includes report on Poona Irregular Horse in the action at Kooshab [Battle of Khushab, February 1857], by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Tapp, Commanding Poona Irregular Horse and 1st Cavalry Brigade at Kooshab, with names of those commended and reason; list of those recommended for the Victoria Cross for conduct at Kooshab under command of Outram, with names and detailed accounts of actions; further recommendations by Lieutenant-Colonel H W Trevelyan, Commanding Artillery Brigade, Persian Field Force; list of officers of meritorious conduct whilst under the command of Jacob in Bushire, post-conflict (for Jacob’s original handwritten recommendations see folios 150-163); notice of official thanks by George Frederick Edmonstone, Secretary to the Government of India, to officers presiding over the Bushire evacuation; printed specification of the award of the Victoria Cross issued 29 January 1856 (folios 130-131). There is some duplication of documents in this group of papers. (See also IOR/H/552, folios 148-156)Folios 168-169: ‘Secretary to Government Index’ comprising list of items numbered 1-7 (before the first item is a page entitled ‘Secret Department’)Folios 170-179 (including title page for index item No. 1): ‘Correspondence regarding Steamers and Tonnage, etc.’ Letters, dated 17 May-17 Jun 1857, by Jacob, H L Anderson, Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Captain H R James, Officiating Secretary to the Chief Commissioner, Punjab, and Rennie, on the expediency of moving as many vessels as possible to the Indus (river) for “the more pressing requirements of the Indian Empire” (folio 172)Folios 180-187 (including title page for index item No. 2): ‘Regarding the Turkish question in respect of Mahomera and the state in general of Persia’. Letters covering the neutrality of Turkey during the conflict and its claims on the port, February-April 1857, including a memorandum by Murray (at Basra), for the Earl of ClarendonFolios 188-206 (including title page for index item No. 3): ‘Relating to the views of the Russian cabinet in respect of the ratification of the Treaty. Release of Persian prisoners on the ratification of the Treaty. Russian troops on frontiers of Persia’. Chiefly copies of letters forwarded by Anderson to Outram. Also includes a report for the Earl of Clarendon, written by John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, British Envoy-Extraordinary to Russia in St Petersburg, concerning his dealings with Prince Gortchakoff [Prince Alexander Gorchakov], Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire, 3 April 1857; and intelligence supplied by Colonel Materazza in Tabreez [Tabriz], on the Persian army, politicians and finances, 13 February 1857 (see also IOR/H/552 folios 112-115)Folios 207-210 (including title page for index item No. 4): ‘Appointment of General Katenine as Governor of Orenburg’, following the resignation of General Peroffsky [Vasily Perovsky] on account of his health, April 1857 (copy letters)Folios 211-216 (including title page for index item No. 5): ‘Grant of extra allowances to certain individuals’. Notices forwarded by Anderson to Outram of special allowances granted to Mahomed Beshir, Native Zabit of Kharrack [Kharg Island], Assistant Surgeon James MacAlister, and Captain C P Rigby (when Civil Assistant Commissioner in Bushire), June-July 1857Folios 217-218 (including title page for index item No. 6): ‘Instructions for the evacuation of Bushire and further correspondence connected therewith. Arrangements etc. proposed thereafter’. (There is a note that this has been ‘transferred to separate file’). One copy letter from Anderson to Jacob notifying him that the Governor in Bombay intends to appoint him to the Command of a movable Column for active service in the Deccan (India), 23 July 1857Folios 219-223 (including title page for index item No. 7): ‘Correspondence regarding the embarkation of captured [Persian] cannon for India’. Includes letters from Jacob, July-August 1857Folios 224-286 (including title for index item No. 8 ‒ not included in the preceding index): ‘Miscellaneous letters transmitting correspondence to Secretary to Governors of Bombay and India’. Chiefly correspondence, dated July-October 1857, between Anderson, Jacob and Jones, relating to arrangements for the evacuation of British troops from Bushire, disposal of captured enemy cannon, use of remount agencies for purchase of horses in Persia and Arabia, matter of Persian officer who allegedly attempted to open secret communications with Hajee Ahmed (see folios 287-346), stationery allowances for officers, arrival of steamer
Chusanat Kurrachee [Karachi] without the mails, and other minor matters. Includes copy of instruction to Jacob, 10 October 1857, to resume his command of troops and political duties on the frontier of Sind [Sindh] on return to IndiaFolios 287-346 (including title page for an index item No. 3 – displaced from volume IOR/H/549): ‘Regarding Meerza Mahomed Ali, an Engineer Officer of the Persian camp deputed with a letter to Hajee Ahmed, Arabic Secretary to the Resident in the Persian Gulf’. Concerns Jacob’s decision to arrest and imprison Meerza Mahomed Ali Meerza Mahomed Ali [Mirza Mahomed Ali Khan] and Tachee Ghuloon Hoossein [Haji Ghulam Husayn], a representative of Tungistoon [Tangestan] Chief Bawkir Khan, who were deputed by Meerza Mahomed Khan, Sirkischikchi [Sarkischeekchee] Bashee (Persian Commander in Chief), to deliver letters to Hajee Ahmed, a Secretary to the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Felix Jones), which instructed Hajee Ahmed to undertake a survey of Bushire, the vicinity, and (Jacob thinks) the British camp. The two messengers are intercepted and Jacob accuses the Persian Commander-in-Chief of underhand tactics for not sending the messengers directly to him. The Persian Commander-in-Chief denies any duplicity and Envoy Murray insists it was merely an infraction of the rules of etiquette and appeals to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Clarendon), pressing the case for the prisoners’ release. Correspondence, dated May to July 1857, is chiefly between Jones, Jacob and Meerza Mahomed Khan, with additional letters from Jacob to Lugard; translated transcripts of the original intercepted letters for Hajee Ahmed written early in May; copy of Murray’s letter to Outram declaring Jacob’s actions to be inflammatory and an 'entire misconception of the intentions' of the Commander-in-Chief (folio 340); copy of Clarendon’s letter to Outram, 11 July 1857, approving Jacob’s course of action (folio 343)Folios 347-397 (not covered by any index): Correspondence, dated July-December 1857, relating to evacuation of occupying British forces from Bushire and Mohammerah, and arrangements for long-term garrisoning of Karrack [Kharg] Island. Chiefly Jacob’s progress and situation reports, July-October 1857, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. (Jacob reports that the last portion of the Persian Expeditionary Force under his command embarked for Bombay on 2 October). Also includes Jacob’s detailed advice to Clarendon on how the British army can purchase horses in Persia at non-inflated prices; report by Jones to Jacob on the cholera outbreak at Kazeroon [Kazerun] and Murray’s activities; Jacob’s departing instructions to the Persian Commander in Chief; Clarendon’s mediatory letter to Jacob, 9 Dec 1857, regarding the strained relations between the latter and Murray during the recent operationsFolios 398-453: ‘Index’ comprising list of items numbered 1-5 (the contents of item No. 4 are different to those described in the index, and there are no papers for item No. 5)Folios 398-414 (including title page for index item No. 1): ‘Correspondence (relative to the withdrawal of the British troops) with the Governments of India and Bombay’. Copy of withdrawal instructions from Anderson to Jacob, dated 23 July, with Jacob’s reply on logistics; copies of Field Force Orders issued by Jacob for garrisoning of Karrack and withdrawal from Bushire; memoranda between various artillery and naval commanders including Lieutenant-Colonel Trevelyan, Rennie; and ‘List of vessels in the Bushire Roads 4 August 1857’ (folios 413-414)Folios 415-425 (including title page for index item No. 2): ‘Correspondence (relative to the withdrawal of the British troops from Mohammera and Bushire) with the Persian Commander in Chief’. Includes formal letters, dated 2-8 August 1857, between Jacob and Persian Commander in Chief and copy transcripts and translations of Persian letters (folios 422 and 426)Folios 426-445 (including title page for index item No. 3): ‘Correspondence with naval authorities, etc., touching the withdrawal of the War steamer from Mohammera’. Letters, dated August-September 1857, between Rennie, Jacob, Kemball, Jones, Lieutenant James Tronson, commanding
Falkland, and Khandur Khan, Sirhang [senior military officer] at Boorazjoon [Borazjan], concerning departure of the Turkish war vessel from Mohammera to Shat ool Arab [Shatt al-Arab] on 20 August, subsequent British departure from the port, and delays in arrival of Persian force taking over in BushireFolios 446-452 (including title page for index item No. 4): ‘Weekly jail and police reports from the Superintendent of Bazars, town of Bushire’, July-August 1857, forwarded by the Superintendent of Camp Police and Bazaars (Captain C P Rigby, later Captain J B Dunsterville). Prisoner reports include name, nationality, crime and sentenceFolios 453-473: ‘Register of Inward letters’, 11 May-30 September 1857 and ‘Register of Outward letters’, 18 June- 24 September 1857Folios 474-491: ‘Index. Petitions. From various individuals in the camp and town of Bushire correspondence touching prisoners’. Documents dated June-August 1857, concerning cases of Jemsheed bin Ardashar, Eduljee Jumsedjee and other Parsi Merchants, and Ali bin Ismail. Also, notification to Jacob that Moonshi (secretary) Ali Akbar is being sent by Outram to assist himFolios 562-727: (Not covered by any index). Mainly original letters, April-September 1857, a portion of which relate to the preceding contents of this volume and to IOR/H/549, including a number of duplicate copy letters. Many of the letters are annotated in pencil with a number which probably refers to an index (in this or other unidentified volumes). The papers cover various matters connected to the British occupation and withdrawal from Persia after cessation of hostilities, notably administration; intelligence; condition and availability of steam transport ships; logistics of troop shipments out of Bushire; mail communications; new police establishment at Karrack under Captain Rigby; military commendations and testimonials relative to the campaign; arrangements of land transports of the armed forces (including assistance of wealthy merchant Hajee Yusuf bin Bedr of Kuwait [also spelt Yoosoof bin Budr of Koweit]); local trade and commerce in Bushire; matters relating to individual officers; activities of Murray at Tehran; salvage of wrecked ship
Futteh Moobarek; apprehension of two locals who attempt to open General Foster Stalker’s grave, September 1857; and dismissal of Bushire signaller for neglect of duties. Correspondents include Jacob, Jones, Rennie, Captain Lewis Pelly (Aides-de-camp to Outram), Lugard, Anderson, Colonel P M Melvill, Secretary to the Government, Commander G G Wellesley, Tronson, Trevelyan, Lieutenant-Colonel R R Younghusband, Deputy Adjutant General, Major John Hill, Commanding Engineer, J A Ballard, Intelligence Department, Dunsterville, Commander Miller B Worsley, Major Henry Green, Assistant Adjutant General, R W Swinton, Superintendent of the Electric Telegraph, C Constable, Captain J Forbes, and Captain J C Graves, Commanding 3rd Regiment Bombay Light Cavalry.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 730; 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 original pagination sequence dating from the 1920s is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. This sequence correlates to the description found in Samuel Charles Hill's
Catalogue of the Home Miscellaneous Series of the India Office Records(London: HMSO, for the India Office, 1927).
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 107 of 1847, dated 31 December 1847. The enclosures relate to British attempts to suppress the 'slave trade' [trade in enslaved people]. They are numbered 3-91 and are dated 11 September to 30 December 1847.The enclosures consist of correspondence, and minutes, resolutions and memoranda of the Government of Bombay. The enclosures also include: an enclosed copy of the treaty between the Queen of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria, and the Sultan of Maskat [Muscat], Saud Saud bin Sultan [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, also written as Syud Sueed in this item], for the termination of the export of enslaved persons from the African dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, dated 2 October 1845 (in enclosure No. 3); and enclosed depositions of ‘liberated’ enslaved African people (in enclosure No. 37).The enclosures concern matters including:The Resident in the Persian Gulf, Major Samuel Hennell, reporting the arrival at Bushire [Bushehr] Harbour of a bugla [baghlah] belonging to a subject of the Imaum [Imam, or Sultan] of Muscat, with ‘some 30 or 40 Negro and Abyssinian slaves’ [Black African and Ethiopian enslaved persons] on board for saleThe recommendation of the Superintendent of the Indian Navy, Commodore Sir Robert Oliver, that the ‘Arabs’ on board buglas detained in Bombay Harbour, which had been captured in the Persian Gulf and found to be carrying enslaved persons, should be allowed a supply of tobacco and coffeeThe Government of Bombay authorising the Superintendent of the Indian Navy to release the buggalows [baghlahs] seized with enslaved persons on board, currently detained in Bombay Harbour, but directing him to warn the nackodas [nakhudas, also spelled naquodahs and in various other ways in this item] that any subsequent infractions of the treaty with the Sultan of Muscat would not be met with leniencyThe Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay, Gregor Grant, reporting that what appears to be smallpox has broken out amongst some of the formerly enslaved persons currently on board the police hulk
ZenobiaThe opinion of the Advocate General, Bombay, A S Le Messurier, on the inability of Government to enforce the treaty concluded with the Sultan of MuscatInstructions issued by the Government of Bombay to the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, and the Superintendent of the Indian Navy, as to the course they should pursue in regard to vessels seized with enslaved persons on boardThe preparation of a letter from the Governor of Bombay to the Imaum of Muscat, congratulating him on the seizure by British officers of enslaved persons on board vessels belonging to his subjects, who were acting in contravention of his orders and the treaty concluded between the two governmentsThe Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay, forwarding the depositions of forty-seven girls and women and twelve boys. Grant writes that these fifty nine individuals are: the ‘slaves recently liberated’; two women whom he is satisfied are the wives of two of the naquodahs, to whom they have been returned; and two boys who state that they were not enslaved and are anxious to return to the vessel from which they were taken. Most of these girls, women and boys, Grant states (with the exception of three or four individuals, who appear to be natives of Zanzibar), appear to be ‘Gallas’ [Oromo people] or ‘Abyssinians’The question of how the formerly enslaved persons should be ‘disposed of’, with the Government of Bombay instructing the Senior Magistrate of Police that as many boys as the Superintendent of the Indian Navy wishes to take should be made over to him for care and naval education, and that if he does not take all of them, then the remainder may go to the polytechnic institution on similar terms, and that the best mode of providing for the girls and women will be for the Senior Magistrate of Police to invite applications from ‘respectable persons’ to ‘entertain’ them as servants, with preference being given to Christian familiesA letter from the Governor of Muscat, Syud Thoenee bin Sueed bin Sultan [Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], to the Governor of Bombay, requesting the release of the buggalows seized for having enslaved persons on boardThe Superintendent of the Indian Navy requesting the sanction of the Government of Bombay for the bugalows detained in Bombay Harbour being allowed to depart without paying harbour duesA letter from the President of the Diocesan Committee of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Corresponding Committee of the Church Missionary Society, the Bishop of Bombay, Thomas Carr, to the Governor of Bombay, submitting an offer from the Committee to take the formerly enslaved persons and have them educated as Christians and provide for ‘their disposal in life’A letter from Mahomed bin Alli [Muḥammad bin ‘Alī, also spelled Mahomed bin Ally in this item], an ‘Arab inhabitant of Bombay’, to the Governor of Bombay, requesting that the formerly enslaved persons be made over to himself, for him to ‘entertain’ them at his own expense for charity, for as long they like, and for him to undertake to marry the grown up young women with whoever they may like, and to allow the rest to go where they may pleaseThe Senior Magistrate of Police reporting that: all the formerly enslaved boys have been made over to the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; the Senior Magistrate invited applications from ‘respectable families’ to house the girls as servants; there were a great many applicants, mostly ‘Mahomedans’ [Muslims], ‘with a few respectable Portuguese Gentlemen’; but only one of the women was persuaded to take service with one of the Portuguese men, whilst the rest refused to be taken in by Christian families; and he ultimately persuaded ‘the greater number of the girls’ to accompany ‘some respectable Mahomedan Gentlemen’ to their housesThe Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, Captain William Lowe, pointing out the inadequacy of the force in that station for the complete suppression of the ‘slave trade’, and the Superintendent of the Indian Navy reporting that he is unable to increase the naval force on the Persian Gulf station, due to the limited number of vessels of war at his disposalThe Resident in the Persian Gulf reporting the arrival of articles sent from Bombay by HMS
Cruizer, but requesting to be provided with a bullet mould and a supply of scarlet cloth, for him to give as presents to ‘Arabian Chiefs’The Resident in the Persian Gulf reporting: his observations on the anomalous position of the Shaik of Koweit, Shaik Jabir [Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Jābir bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Ṣabāḥ], for whilst the nominal supremacy of the Porte [the Government of the Ottoman Empire] over him means that he is exempt from the British political control and surveillance exercised over the other maritime chiefs of the Persian Gulf, Hennell also expects that he will not pay any attention to the Turkish orders for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’; Hennell’s intention to write to the Shaikh of Koweit about Soor [Sur] vessels sending enslaved persons to his town for sale, and to urge him to enforce within his own districts the same regulations which exist at Bussorah [Basra], regarding the suppression of the ‘slave trade’; the issue of Persian [Iranian] vessels and Persian ports engaged in ‘slave dealing’, the different methods of evasion practised by ‘slave traders’ in the Persian Gulf, and his suggestions for measures for the suppression of the trafficThe Government of Bombay instructing HM Consul and Honourable Company’s [the East India Company’s] Agent in the Dominions of the Imaum of Muscat, Captain Atkins Hamerton, to bring to the notice of the Imaum the Soor vessels evading the treaty entered into with him for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’, and to express the conviction of the Governor in Council that the Imaum will adopt the necessary measures for prohibiting the embarkation of enslaved persons in his portThe Government of Bombay requesting the Superintendent of the Indian Navy to issue instructions to the officer commanding the Honourable Company’s brigantine
Tigris, under orders for Zanzibar, regarding the removal and disposal of enslaved persons from vessels which he may have the right to seize, and to gain as much information as he can regarding the Slave Trade and the effect the treaties recently concluded have had upon it.The correspondence is primarily between the Government of Bombay (mostly the Chief Secretary to Government, Arthur Malet, and the Governor of Bombay, George Russell Clerk) and the following: the Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Advocate General, Bombay; the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; the Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay; HM Consul and Honourable Company’s Agent in the Dominions of the Imaum of Muscat; the Secretary to the Medical Board, Bombay, John Scott; the Governor of Muscat; the Imaum of Muscat; the President of the Diocesan Committee of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Corresponding Committee of the Church Missionary Society; Mahomed bin Alli; and the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India, George Alexander Bushby.Physical description: 1 item (168 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises a despatch (undated but probably 16 January 1857) containing three copies of the
Bombay Government Gazette, Extraordinary Issue, published 15 January 1857, announcing the ‘unresisted’ occupation of Karrack [Kharg Island, also known as Khark] on 4 December and the surrender of Bushire [Bushehr] on 10 December ‘after an ineffectual opposition’, and praising the conduct of the military and naval forces and their commanders.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 22 dated 2 February 1857. The enclosures are dated 12-29 January 1857.The papers comprise:A letter from the Adjutant-General of the Army, to the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, regarding the capitulation of Bushire [Bushehr], and conveying approbation for: the conduct of the campaign and particular senior officers; the co-operation between the military and naval forces; and the gallantry and endurance of officers and soldiers, including the ‘Hindoo’ [Hindu] soldiersThe Second Supplement to the
Bombay Government Gazette, published 29 January 1857, adding the names of officers which were omitted from the first list of commendations for distinguished serviceTwo Resolutions of the Board: commending Major-General Foster Stalker, Commanding the Persian Expeditionary Force, in operations leading to the surrender of Bushire, and all the officers and men serving in the Persian Field force; and regarding the issue of instructions to Richard Ethersey, Commander of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf, for the protection of Bassadore [Basaidu, Qeshm Island] as both a coaling and communications stationTwo letters from the Secretary to the Government of India to the Secretary to Government, Bombay, regarding: the disposal of guns captured from the Persians [Iranians]; the importance of protecting Bassadore; and the appointment of Commander James Felix Jones, Political Agent with the Forces, as Civil Commissioner in the town of Bushire.Physical description: 1 item (11 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, [Bombay Secret Letter] No. 54 dated 2 February 1857. The enclosures are dated 5-29 January 1857.The primary correspondents are: Major-General Foster Stalker, Commanding the Persian Expeditionary Force; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; Dr J G Fraser, Civil Surgeon at Ahmednuggur [Ahmednagar]; and the Secretary to the Government of India. Also included are Resolutions of the Board, and Minutes of the Governor of Bombay and members in Council. The enclosures to the despatches include letters and reports of: Lieutenant Herbert Disbrowe, Assistant Political Agent and Assistant Resident, Persian Gulf; Charles Augustus Murray, HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia [Iran] (then stationed at Baghdad); Major H J Barr, Bombay Army; and Captain Griffith Jenkins, Indian Navy, Commanding the HCS [Honourable Company Steam] frigate
Assaye.The papers relate to the progress of operations against Persia and related matters, and notably cover:Information regarding Persian coastal ports north of Bushire [Bushehr], particularly: their strategic value; the inhabitants, tribes and sheikhs [shaikhs]; topography; navigability, anchorage and facilities for disembarking troops; and resources for supplying the British forces in the event of future military movements in that direction. Included is Lieutenant Disbrowe’s report (ff 433-439) of the tour made by the
Bereniceand the
Falklandto visit the ruling shaikhs of Gonavah [Bandar Ganaveh, also spelled Gonava and Ginava in this item], Dillom [Bandar Deylam], Bunder Reeg [Bandar Rig] and Roodhilla [Dehrud-e Olya]. The report describes his meetings with the shaikhs to apprise them of the current conflict between Britain and Persia and to secure their agreement (by secret compact) to provide assistance and intelligence to the British in return for a temporary allowance, and contains information on the resources of Dillom, Hindiyan [Hendijan] and Bihbian [Behbahan, also spelled Bihbihan in this item] and the roads between those placesThe placing, by Murray, of Major Taylor of the Bombay Army, at the disposal of Major-General Stalker, to provide language assistance, local knowledge, and to relieve the pressure on Captain James Felix Jones, Political Agent with the Forces and Civil Commissioner in the town of BushireThe Persian forts and works at Mohumrah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah] in the course of erection and other works at the confluence of the Karoon [Karun] and Shatal Arab [Shatt al-Arab, also spelled Shut-el-Arab in this item] rivers, and Stalker’s assertion to Bombay that he was unable to destroy them due to the recall of ships to the Presidency (to form transports for the reinforcements)Proposals for an electro-telegraphic communication between the Bushire Residency, Stalker’s camp, and the shipping in the Bushire Roads, including the proposal by Major Barr (ff 453-455) and the Bombay Government’s approval of the scheme should Lieutenant R L Brunton, Acting Deputy Superintendent, Electric Telegraph Department, confirm that sufficient telegraphic cable is procurable in BombayThe transfer by Captain Jenkins, of three (‘men of rank’) prisoners of war, and their followers, captured at Bushire, to Ahmednuggur, via Poona [Pune] into the care of Dr Fraser, and the terms and arrangements for their confinement.Physical description: 1 item (47 folios)
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, consultations, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Major Samuel Hennell, British Resident in the Persian Gulf. It is the fifth in a series of twenty items on the Persian Gulf (the others are IOR/F/4/2180/106055, IOR/F/4/2180/106056, IOR/F/4/2180/106057, IOR/F/4/2180/106058, IOR/F/4/2180/106060, IOR/F/4/2181/106061, IOR/F/4/2181/106062, IOR/F/4/2181/106063, IOR/F/4/2181/106064, IOR/F/4/2181/106065, IOR/F/4/2181/106066, IOR/F/4/2181/106067, IOR/F/4/2181/106068, IOR/F/4/2181/106069, IOR/F/4/2181/106070, IOR/F/4/2181/106071, IOR/F/4/2181/106072, IOR/F/4/2181/106073, and IOR/F/4/2181/106074).The item concerns the punishment of five men who took part in the assault on Shaik Yoosuf bin Suggur [Shaikh Yūsuf bin Ṣaqr] in Bushire [Bushehr], and the failure to apprehend the ringleaders.The item contains a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 282/47, P.C. [Previous Communication] 5573, Coll[ection]: 10, Collection No 5 of No 140’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 950, and terminates at f 953, 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 15 of 1847, dated 12 February 1847. The enclosures is dated 14 December 1846.The item comprises copies of despatches forwarded, for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor-General of India, by Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, HM Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia [Iran], to Viscount Palmerston, HM Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, with relevant enclosures.The papers cover a number of matters, notably including:Sheil’s report that he has contracted Hajee Syed Noor Doollah, a native of Bokhara [Bukhara] (but which he left twenty years ago) to make enquiries in Bokhara regarding the whereabouts or the fate of Mr Wyburd [Lieutenant William Henry Wybard], and of an English man and woman said to be prisoners captive in Afghanistan and Khiva. Included is a copy of Sheil’s detailed instructions to the agent which contain details of Mr Wyburd who left Tehran twelve years ago to proceed to Khiva by Asterabad [Gorgan], dressed as ‘an Arab’ or ‘a Persian’ and who called himself ‘Hajee Ahmed Arab’ (ff 252-254)Sheil’s report of responses to his enquiries regarding the whereabouts or fate of Mr Wyburd that he has received from: the Political Resident at Bushire [Bushehr]; the Khan of Khiva (f 256); Aga Khan, the Yoomoot Toorkooman [Yomut Turkmen] chief; the Cazee [qadi] of Herat (ff 256-258); and the Acting Agent of the Mission at Meshed [Mashhad] (f 259). These notably comprise versions of a story that a person called ‘Hajee Ahmed’ was said to have been killed or committed suicide at Bokhara, possibly in the house of the Naib, Abdoos Semed Khan [Nā’ib ‘Abd al-Ṣamad Khān]A commercial treaty concluded between Persia and Spain (ff 261-263)The apprehension, expressed to Sheil by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, of a potential attack on Bushire due to the disaffected state of Tengestan [Tangestan], Desht [Dashti] and Deshtestan [Dashtestan], which the Resident states is caused by the Persian Government’s practice of selling the government of provinces and districts leading to oppressive exactions on the populace.Physical description: 1 item (50 folios)
Abstract: The file contains notes regarding an interview conducted at the British Residency with Mr Muntz (a Director of Air Works Limited, Indian National Airways Limited, and Messrs Misr Air Corporation), sent by the Political Agent, Bahrain, to the British Resident and Consulate General, Bushire. The paper details proposals made by Mr Muntz, regarding the running of an air service for the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited and the American Arabian Oil Company.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 3; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.