Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 18 of 1841, dated 26 March 1841. The enclosures are dated 10 August 1840 to 27 March 1841. They mainly consist of copies of correspondence sent and received by the Government of Bombay, relating to the Persian Gulf and Zanzibar.The correspondence is mostly between the following: the Secretary to the Government of Bombay (John Pollard Willoughby); the Secretary to the Government of India (Thomas Herbert Maddock); the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Samuel Hennell); the British Agent at Muscat (Captain Atkins Hamerton); the Superintendent of the Indian Navy (Captain Robert Oliver); and Commodore G B Brooks, Commanding the Indian Naval Squadron in the Gulf of Persia.The correspondence discusses matters including:The claim for compensation by Hajee Mahomed Ally Suffur (also spelled Hajee Mahomed Aly Jaffer) against the Shaikh of Kishm [Qishm, also spelled Kishin] for a quantity of sugar belonging to him, said to have been taken from the wreck of the buggalow
Futeh Ool Ruhman(also spelled
Futteh Ool Rahimanin this part) on the Island of QishmCaptain Hamerton proceeding on a mission to Zanzibar, and a deputation allowance of ten Rupees per day being granted to himThe suggestion of the Resident in the Persian Gulf that some small vessels should be attached to the Indian Naval Squadron in the Gulf, for the conveyance of important despatches to the Government of Bombay received via the Persian Gulf routeIntelligence received from Shiraz, including an account by the News Writer at Shiraz (Mirza Reza) of the ‘great disturbances’ which had recently taken place in the city, and news from other parts of Persia [Iran], including Kerman [Kirmān],Tehran, and Bushire [Būshehr]The proceedings of the Resident in the Persian Gulf in regard to the piracy stated to have been committed by Jubbur Rugragee (also spelled Jubber Ragragee) upon a boat belonging to Rasel Khyma [Ras Al Khaimah]The measures adopted by the Resident in the Persian Gulf for settling demands made against the Chief of Debaye [Dubai, also spelled Debayee], Shaikh Mookhtoom [Shaikh Maktoum bin Bati ibn Suhayl, also spelled Muckhtoom in this part], on account of the reported infractions of the maritime truce by his subjectsThe proceedings of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian GulfThe commanders and crews of the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat’s ships
Carolineand
Peidmontesebeing rewarded for the assistance they provided to the East India Company’s schooner
Emilyin March 1840, when it was in danger of being shipwrecked in Muscat CoveDr Thomas Mackenzie, the Civil Surgeon of the Residency in the Persian Gulf, being granted permission to proceed to Europe on furlough, and Assistant Surgeon Andrew Weatherhead being appointed to succeed him as Civil Surgeon.This part also includes enclosures relating to Oman, Bahrien [Bahrain, also spelled Bahrein in this part], and the Nejddee Country [Nejd, also spelled Nejdee in this part].Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-40, on folios 391-397. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
Abstract: Consular diaries describing affairs in Shiraz and the surrounding area of Fars Province, Persia [Iran]. The diaries were submitted on a fortnightly basis (monthly from November 1945) by the British Consul at Shiraz. They cover the period of the Second World War, the Anglo-Soviet occupation of Persia (1941-1946) and the increasing political instability and social unrest that unfolded across the country during 1946. Subjects covered in the diaries include: the actions and movements of local Persian officials, both civil and military; internal security, chiefly focusing on raids on the roads into and out of Shiraz by tribal groups; tribes, and in particular the actions and movements of the Qashqai and its leader Naser Khan Qashqai; the economic situation, with particular reference to food prices and food supply; agriculture and irrigation projects; British officials and British military movements; Soviet interests; American [USA] interests; public health; public utilities, including water supplies, medical care, roads; local politics, including elections and a growing focus on the activities of the Tudeh Party of Iran throughout 1946; meteorological observations. The file also includes a report produced by the British Consul entitled ‘Appreciation of local conditions May to November 1944’ (ff 270-277).The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 362; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The first part of the file (ff 322-420) contains copies of various reports on the internal situation in the district of Fars, most of which were prepared by the British Consul at Shiraz between 1932 and 1939. These reports describe security, public order, economic conditions and agricultural productivity in Fars. Included in these reports is a detailed summary of events in Fars for the year 1936 (ff 352-370), and a report on the economic conditions in Fars in July 1937 (ff 334-346). These reports were written by the British Consul at Shiraz, Arnold Edwards Watkinson.The second part of the file contains papers dated from August 1941 to July 1944 (ff 5-320). These papers concern the situation in Fars in the wake of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, and the two Allied powers’ occupation of Iran during the Second World War. These papers concern: the activities of the Qashgai [Qashqai] peoples and their leading representatives, including Muhammad Nasir Khan Qashgai; the Qashgai’s relations and negotiations with the Iranian and British Governments; the general security situation in the Fars district; reports on the whereabouts and activities of German spies believed to be operating in Fars, thought to be seeking influence with the Qashgai; security and defence of the oil refinery at Abadan. The principal correspondents in this part of the file are: the British Consul at Shiraz, Terence Vincent Brenan; HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, Reader William Bullard; the Foreign Office.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 421; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between: the India Office, the Foreign Office, the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, the British Consul at Shiraz (Major Frederick O'Connor), the British Minister at Tehran, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, regarding the Bushire-Shiraz road.The subjects are:the proposed tours of the British Consul and other officials to Shiraz and Tehran;the operations of the Persian Gendarmerie (led by Swedish officers) on the Bushire-Shiraz road;the headquarters and schools of the Gendarmerie.The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in it arranged by year. This divider is placed at the front of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 164; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume contains parts 1 and 2 of the subject 'South Persia'. Part 1 (IOR/L/PS/10/86/1 is entitled 'Persia Trade in South: Conditions on the Bushire-Shiraz Road; Russian Commercial Competition in South Persia'. It includes correspondence discussing trends in trade between the southern region of Persia including caravans of trade to be bartered. The volume includes statistics of products (including beer, cigarettes, dates, nails, tamarind, tea) taken inland from Gulf ports by caravans of mules.Part 2 (IOR/L/PS/10/299/2) concerns conditions of trade in South Persia and German documents relating to this including a copy of a book
La Perse et la Guerre Europpeeneand another book
Behind the Veil in Persia: English Documents.Other visual items of interest in Part 2 include a 'Map of Persia' (folio 299) depicting the Russian and British zones of influence along with project railways, frontier lines and provincial boundaries.The title on the spine reads '1912 3852 Pts 1 and 2. South Persia: Conditions in Trade in South. German documents.'Correspondents include: Foreign Secretary to the Government of India (Sir Hamilton Grant); Vice Consult, H B M Vice Consulate, Ahwaz; British Consul, Batoum; Deputy Political Resident, Persian Gulf; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Arthur J Balfour); and H B M Consul, Shiraz (W F T O'Connor).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 324; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to insecurity in southern Persia, particularly around Shiraz. A lack of central authority in the region had led to lawlessness along many of the roads, including that between Bushire and Shiraz. The papers cover the British response to the situation, including the discussion over evacuation and the distribution of troops in Shiraz, Isfahan, and Bushire.The volume is divided into two parts, both covering many of the same matters. The main division is chronological, part 1 coming earlier than part 2.The majority of the correspondence is between the Foreign Office, India Office, Government of India, and Minister at Tehran, but included as enclosures are letters and telegrams from the Consulates at Shiraz and Isfahan, and the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf. The papers include handwritten drafts and notes. There is some duplication.The volume comprises parts 1-2 of 2. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates and the inside back cover with 491; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume comprises copies of correspondence, minutes and other papers relating to the advance of loans to Persia. Two different loans are discussed:a loan of £100,000, made by the British Government in May 1913 to the Governor-General of Fars (half of which was to be payable by the Government of India), to be utilised towards the maintenance of law and order in southern Persia (specifically in the form of subsidies to be paid to the Fars gendarmerie), and proposed in response to a number of recent attacks on British forces, including the murder of Captain Eckford of the 39th Central India Horse, near Shiraz in December 1912;a joint Anglo-Russian loan to the Persian Government, to the value of £400,000, divided equally between Britain and Russia, with the Government of India paying £100,000 towards the British Government’s share of £200,000.The correspondence deals with arrangements for the payment of the loans, conditions attached to them, the agreement of terms between the British and Russian Governments, the date of commencement of interest repayments.Amongst the conditions discussed are:protection of and provision for British interests in the Persian Gulf, namely Persia’s responsibility for the supply of lighting and buoying in the waters surrounding Persian islands, and protection for Bahrainis and Trucial Coast subjects in Persia;loan interest rates;security against the loans, and repayment of loans, in the form of Persian customs receipts, and opium receipts;mining and railway concessions in Persia, pursued by British and Russian interests.The volume’s principal correspondents are: Sir Walter Beaupre Townley, British Minister at Tehran; Sir Arthur Hirtzel of the India Office; Sir Louis Du Pan Mallet of the Foreign Office; Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.The volume’s core correspondence covers the period January 1913 to February 1914. The earlier start date given for the volume is a result of correspondence included in a secret memorandum on Persian Government loans (ff 13-38), itself dated 17 October 1910, which is an historical précis of loans given to Persia by the British Government and Government of India since 1903.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 238. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-238; these numbers are also written in pencil and are circled, but have been struck through.
Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes relating to the security situation in south Persia, 1909-1911.The discussion in the volume relates to the deteriorating security situation for travellers and trade in south Persia (which was held to be a British sphere of influence) caused by fighting among the Kashgai, Lur and Arab tribes who had rejected the authority of the Governor-General of Fars. A further cause of insecurity relating to this is referred to in a note (ff 335-336) by the 2nd Assistant Resident, Bushire, J S Crosthwaite, who describes how tribesmen had invested their money in rifles and could only earn their living by robbing the caravans of commercial travellers.Correspondence discusses how this culminated in an attack upon J H Bill, Acting British Consul, Shiraz, in which two horsemen or '
sowars' were killed, as he travelled along a caravan route. Correspondence discusses measures to be taken as a result of this attack, including a claim for compensation from the Persian Government, a punitive expedition against the Kashgais tribe and the role of Soulet et-Dowle, Governor General, Fars. Measures discussed include using the guards (
gholam) of the Indo-European Telegraph Department paid for by a surcharge on customs duty levied by the British at Bushire; implications for relations with the Persian Government and the Russian Government are also discussed.Included in the volume is a 'Memorandum respecting the Disorders on the Trade Routes of Southern Persia' by H G Trick, Vice-Consul for Fars.The principal correspondents in the volume include Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Viscount Morley of Blackburn, Secretary of State for India; Percy Zachariah Cox, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and Sir George Head Barclay, Minister at Tehran.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 366; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to the famine that affected Persia [Iran] during the First World War (specifically the years 1917 and 1918) and attempts made by British officials in Persia to alleviate the effects of famine. The file includes: reports from British officials of famine conditions in Shiraz (from early 1917), Meshed [Mashhad] (January 1918) and Tehran (February 1918); speculation concerning the impact of British and Indian troops in Persia on food shortages; arrangements for the import of 1,000 tonnes of flour to Shiraz from India; the subsidy of bakers in Shiraz; discussion of how the costs of the relief effort should be split between the British and Indian Governments; food relief at Hamadan, including for Russian soldiers; relief at Ispahan [Isfahan] for Armenian refugees. Much of the correspondence makes clear the ‘valuable political effect that would result from extended relief work carried out under British auspices’ (f 82), that the British Government hoped could be obtained by it being seen to be helping a Persian population affected by famine. The file’s principal correspondents include: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Tehran, Charles Murray Marling; the Foreign Office; HM Treasury.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (f 4).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 163; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the consular appointment at Shiraz, the Ispahan consulate, and the Shiraz consulate accounts.Correspondents include the Under-Secretary of State, India Office; the Under-Secretary of State, Foreign Office; His Majesty's Consul, Shiraz; HM Minister, Tehran; and the Viceroy.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 559; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, correspondence, memoranda, and notes relating to political and military situation in south Persia.Topics discussed in the volume include:The retention of aeroplanes at BushirePersian Gulf – proposals for garrisonsProposals for British garrisons in the Persian Gulf and the incidence of costs and possibility of reductions in those costsThe Persian Government's demand for the withdrawal of British troops from the Persian Gulf and discussion of HM Minister's proposed replyThe grant of titles to 'notorious anti-British Khans' of TangistanBritish troops in Persian Gulf portsThe intervention of the Persian Minister of War in the civil administration of the Bushire hinterland, including his visit to south PersiaRetention of a battalion of the Indian infantry with ancillary services as the garrison of the GulfPosition of the Vali of Pusht-i-Kuh in relation to the Tehran Government and the British High Commissioner in IraqQuestion of the withdrawal of the infantry at BushireThe argument of the Government of India that in the present circumstances redistribution of the Gulf garrison is undesirable.The principal correspondents are: the Viceroy; the Secretary of State for India; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; HM Minister, Tehran; and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 371; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This volume comprises two parts that contain correspondence pertaining to two related topics.Part one (folios 80-398) contains correspondence between British officials related to the worsening security situation in Shiraz (including an attack on the British Vice-Consul in Shiraz, Walter Smart) and the related deployment of troops subsequently sent to the country from India.Part two (folios 3-79) contains correspondence between British officials regarding the costs of this troop deployment, arrangements for living quarters for the additional troops stationed in Shiraz and the reinforcement of consular escorts in Southern Persia generally.The volume comprises part 1 and 2. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 400; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.