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49. 'File 0205 Sharjah Affairs (Including Bani Qitab)'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to affairs in Sharjah. The correspondence is principally between the Residency Agent or the Political Officer at Sharjah, the Political Agency at Bahrain, and the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf at Bushire (Bahrain from 1946).Matters covered by the file include:Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr, the ruler of Sharjah's proposal to build a fort on the island of Sir Bu Nu'air;an intercepted letter from King 'Abdul 'Aziz bin Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia to Shaikh Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Huwaidin of the Bani Qatab [Bani Qitab] tribe (August 1939);a settlement between Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr and Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed of Kalba over the allowance given to the latter;fears of Bedouin raids in Dubai;a proposal from the Bank of India and Persian Gulf to open a branch in Sharjah;the murder of the cousin and rival of the Shaikh of Himriyah;incidents of robbery by members of the Bani Qitab and Awamir tribes;reparation work carried out on the falaj ( pl.aflāj), a network of water channels, at Dhaid.Folio 12 is a secret memorandum on the Bani Qitab tribe, written by Khan Abdur Razzak, the Residency Agent, dated 6 October 1943.Folio 51 is a genealogical chart of the Qasimi tribe.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 52; 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-34; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
50. ‘File 2/4 II. AVIATION. A. CIVIL AVIATION (1) Sanitary Administration on the Arab side of the Gulf’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters and notifications related to the outbreak of smallpox at Sharjah. Correspondents in the file discuss the necessity of the application of the International Sanitary Convention and of quarantine restrictions in the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Coast.The correspondence also discusses the issue of sending a medical officer by airplane from Baghdad to Sharjah; the sanitary administration at aerodromes on the Arabian Coast of the Persian Gulf; and measurements that are taken at Bahrain; Kuwait and Muscat.The main correspondents in the file are the Political Residency, Bushire; the Office International d'Hygiène Publique (International Office of Public Hygiene); India Office; the Ministry of Health, and the Air Ministry.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 61; 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 3-60; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
51. ‘File 28/10-(c) Anti-British Activities of Abdullah bin Faris, Secretary of the Shaikh of Sharjah’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence and other papers related to anti-British and pro-German propaganda being disseminated at Sharjah, and specifically that being allegedly spread by the Ruler of Sharjah’s Secretary, Abdullah bin Faris. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman; Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban) and the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd al-Razzaq).The file includes:the Residency Agent’s reports on propaganda activities at Sharjah, dated July 1940, including anti-British statements made by the Ruler of Sharjah’s secretary, Abdullah bin Faris, and one report enclosing a number of poems (in Arabic original and English translation), two of which are pro-British in tone (ff 10-11, ff 13-14), and another, apparently written by the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, which is pro-German in tone (f 12, f 15);a petition, signed by forty-eight inhabitants of Sharjah who are of Arabic, Iranian and Indian origin (Arabic original f 40, English translation ff 23-24) affirming that the Abdullah bin Faris is ‘the greatest supporter’ of the British Government;further correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Residency Agent at Sharjah, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior), concerning reports that the signatures on the petition supporting Abdullah bin Faris were obtained by misrepresentation, and a circular, sent to those British (Indian) subjects at Sharjah who signed the petition, dated 16 October 1940, ensuring that they were fully aware of what they had signed (ff 38-39);letters sent by the Political Agent at Bahrain to the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, warning him against the spread of anti-British propaganda in Sharjah, with replies from Shaikh Sultan (ff 21-24, ff 44-45).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 50; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-48; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
52. ‘File 28/74 Oil storage facilities for U.S.T.A.C. [United States Army Transport Corps] at Muharraq’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence, reports and other papers concerning oil storage facilities requested by the United States Army Transport Corps (USATC) at Muharraq airfield in Bahrain. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Tom Hickinbotham); the Royal Air Force (RAF) Air Liaison Officer (ALO) at Bahrain, Squadron Leader W A Chase; representatives of the Air Ministry and India Office.The file includes:correspondence and notes, chiefly written by the Political Agent at Bahrain during the period November to December 1943, concerning meetings held with the ALO at Bahrain, US Army and RAF officials, concerning the USATC’s requests for Bahrain and Sharjah (specifically, aviation fuel supplies, accommodation and wireless facilities at Bahrain), in anticipation of the increased movement of US troops to the Far East theatre of war (ff 2-36);correspondence dated 1944 concerning the installation of a pipeline to carry aviation fuel from the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (BAPCO) refinery to the RAF jetty at Manama and airfield at Muharraq, and fuel storage tanks at Muharraq. Correspondence concerning the fuel storage tanks occupies much of the remainder of the file, and includes correspondence between various parties including the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior) and India Office and Air Ministry officials. The correspondence includes: BAPCO objection to the erection of tanks on behalf of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), who supply aviation fuel to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and RAF at Muharraq; proposals for the RAF to purchase and install fuel tanks; legal questions over whether the storage of AOIC fuel for use by BOAC at Bahrain contravenes the exclusive rights BAPCO holds with the Government of Bahrain; the Air Ministry’s assertion of its right to construct and maintain fuel storage facilities at Bahrain for its air stations (f 120).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 123; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-122; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
53. ‘Foreign Office budget for the year 1949-50 and six monthly expenditure etc.’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises papers relating to the accounts (actual expenditure and estimated budget) of the Political Agencies at Bahrain and Sharjah:a copy of a circular written by Ernest Bevin, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, dated 18 July 1946, requesting returns from overseas agencies of their expenditure for the period April to September 1946, and enclosing specimen forms (ff 3-7, with duplicates at ff 10-14);a copy of a second circular from Bevin, dated 30 April 1948, acknowledging the difficulties and delays in receiving accounts of expenditure for 1946, and stressing the need for accurate and prompt accounts for the period 1948-1949, with a revised form for returns enclosed (ff 8-9);compiled budget estimates for the Political Agency at Bahrain, and for the Sharjah and Dubai Agencies, for the financial year 1949-50 (ff 16-26);further specimen forms for annual returns of expenditure, listed under various subheadings (public information services, consular establishments, diplomatic establishments, commercial diplomatic establishments) (ff 31-37);the annual return of expenditure and receipts for the Political Agency in Bahrain for the period 1 April to 30 September 1948, with financial estimates for the subsequent eighteen months (ff 39-50).Financial figures are given in a mixture of British sterling and Indian rupees, with conversion rates indicated (for example, 1 pound sterling being equivalent to 13.26 rupees, f 39).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 52; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Condition: Water damage to the file notes (f 51) has obliterated a large portion of the handwritten notes on this folio.
54. 'File 28/44 Locust Survey Officer'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence between the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO) representatives, the Political Agents at Bahrain, Kuwait, Sharjah, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and various suppliers on arrangements and statement of accounts for a Desert Locust Survey. At the beginning of the file there are also some letters requesting a survey on BAPCO's labour conditions (folios 2-4).Physical description: The main foliation is written in pencil, circled, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering begins on the front cover of the file, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 96. There is another foliation sequence, which is incomplete.
55. ‘Trigonometrical Plan of the Back-water at Sharja by Lieut.t R. Cogan under the direction of Lt. J.M. Guy, H.C.Marine. 1822’
- Description:
- Abstract: Distinctive Features:Depths shown by soundings.Hand drawn nautical chart of the shores of the Persian Gulf compiled from the survey carried out by the Bombay Marine’s officers in 1822 showing Sharja [Sharjah, United Arab Emirates] with the location of fresh water wells marked.Place names given both in English and Arabic.Includes note on water levels and soundings with latitude and longitude of a ‘square tower’ reported.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink on paperDimensions:455 x 570 mm, on sheet 497 x 618 mm
56. PZ 3191/34 'Persian Gulf Viceroy's passage by Imperial Airways from Karachi to UK'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the ceremonial visits made by the Viceroy of India to Bahrain, Kuwait and Sharjah in the summer of 1934, where he landed by aeroplane, on route from Karachi to England by Imperial Airways Ltd, for a period of home leave. The file contains reports by the Political Agent, Bahrain and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf which describe the ceremonies that took place. Also included in the file are English translations of the speeches made by the Shaikhs of Bahrain and Sharjah to mark the Viceroy’s visit to their sheikhdoms, as well as a letter of greeting addressed to the Viceroy by the Sultan of Muscat and Oman.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 for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 30; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
57. Muscat Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 59 of 1850, dated 31 October 1850. The enclosures are numbered 3-22 and are dated 10 April-30 October 1850.The papers relate to affairs in the vicinity of Muscat including:The implementation of measures (including an Act of Parliament of 1 August 1849) to enforce agreements between HM Government and the Imam of Muscat and the Arabian rulers in the Persian Gulf for the effective suppression of the trade in enslaved peopleReports from the Native Agent at Shargah [Sharjah] and the Native Agent Muscat on the trade in enslaved people, including that undertaken by the dependants of Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī].The primary correspondents are the following: the Resident in the Persian Gulf; Moollah Houssein [Mullā Ḥusayn], the Native Agent at Shargah [Sharjah]; the Advocate General, Bombay; the Governor of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (35 folios)
58. Coll 5/68 ‘Air route to India: Air facilities on the Arab Coast; Security of the Air Route; emergency landing arrangements’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence related to the security of the Arab Coast Air Route, used by both Imperial Airways and the Royal Air Force (RAF). The majority of the file is devoted to proposals made by Sir Trenchard Craven William Fowle, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, in his letter dated 28 June 1939: see folios 44-50. His proposals can be summarised as follows:Alternative landing facilities should be established for use in the event of civil disturbances at Sharjah and Dibai [Dubai].The Political Resident should be given the discretion – in the event he is unable to consult the home government – to use force against ‘troublesome Shaikhs’ that threaten the continued operation of the Air Route.There is also a small amount of discussion in the file around the possibility of negotiating a fresh agreement with the Shaikh of Ra's al-Khaymah for the provision of air facilities.The main correspondents in the file are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, and officials of the India Office (J P Gibson and Roland Tennyson Peel). The Admiralty is also consulted over the Resident's proposals.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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 56; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
59. Coll 5/18 ‘Air Route to India (Arab Coast): Use of landing grounds by foreign aircraft’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence, and related India Office notes, regarding the Arabian Coast air route linking Europe and Asia. In particular, it is concerned with Britain's policy over restricting access to this route to non-British aircraft. It contains applications from the Governments of France, Italy, and the Netherlands for permission for their companies to access this route. These companies being: Air France, Ala Littoria, and Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM) respectively. The focus of these applications is on obtaining access to landing grounds at Gwadur, Kuwait, Bahrain (Muharraq), Sharjah, and Yas Island. The file contains a record of the British response to these applications, which is largely correspondence between officials over the extent that they can legitimately exclude these companies from the region; there is particular concern over keeping Sharjah aerodrome an exclusively British preserve.As a result of a policy decision made by the British Government to allow Air France and KLM access to Muharraq and Gwadur (for refuelling and in cases of emergency), the file includes periodic applications from these companies to the Shaikh of Bahrain and the Sultan of Muscat for authorisation to use these aerodromes.The correspondence dating from the Second World War (1939-1945) largely relates to a reversal of British policy – due to wartime difficulties – which allowed KLM to run regular air services via Bahrain and Sharjah for the duration of the war. It also contains discussion related to an attempt to secure a wartime agreement to facilitate the utilisation of KLM aircraft for war purposes by the British.The correspondence with the Government of France and with Air France is in French, as is a small proportion of the correspondence with the Government of the Netherlands. Overall, the French language content forms only a small proportion of the material within the file.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Bahrain, and the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat. There is also correspondence with officials of the following British Government departments: the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India (External Affairs Department from 1937). Correspondence is frequently forwarded to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.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 545; 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 present between ff 2-544 is also circled, but has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
60. Coll 5/19 ‘Air Route to India: Sharjah Rest House – Payment and accounting arrangements’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file is concerned with the financing and construction of a rest house at Sharjah for the use of the passengers of Imperial Airways. It contains correspondence authorising expenditure, outlining the procedure to be followed for making payments, and reporting on the progress of construction. It also contains statements of expenditure submitted periodically by the Persian Gulf Political Resident to the Secretary of State for India, for subsequent submission to the Air Ministry. These statements generally outline the following: allowances made against the construction of the rest house, the personal subsidy paid to the Shaikh of Sharjah, rent paid to the Shaikh of Sharjah for the aerodrome, pay for guards at the aerodrome, and an allowance paid for additional accounting work undertaken at the Persian Gulf Residency.The file also contains two reports, dated between 1932-33, related to early difficulties encountered by Captain Kenneth Mackay, Supervising Engineer, in the construction of the rest house: see folios 97-112 and 131-143. Particular attention is given to the attitude of the Residency Agent for the Trucial Coast, Khan Bahadur Isa, and the attitude of local rulers.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 168; 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.