Abstract: The file consists largely of a report by Mr George William Rendel, Head of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office in London, on his private tour to the Persian Gulf and also to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Ibn Saud, in February and March 1937. This personal account of his trip is preceded by a small amount of correspondence in 1936 relating to his travel arrangements, and is followed by post-tour correspondence in 1937 about the drafting and circulation of his report, on a confidential and limited basis, to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department and other British officials in London, India and the Middle East. The main correspondents are Mr George William Rendel of the Foreign Office and Mr John Charles Walton, Foreign and Political Secretary to the India Office in London.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 102; 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 3-102; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This item consists of twelve copies of No. 11 of 1873, a report by Captain Samuel Barrett Miles, Assistant Political Agent, Mekran [Makran] Coast, regarding his tour of Kedj, Punjgoor [Panjgur] and Kurrachee [Karachi], dated 20 January 1873 and received by the India Office's Political Department on 12 August 1873.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 32, and terminates at f 132a, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence contains thirteen foliation insertion anomalies (e.g. 32a, 43a, 44a etc.).
Abstract: Enclosures Nos. 3-4 to Despatch No. 8 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 12 March 1860. The Enclosures are dated 13 February-12 March 1860. Received 5 April 1860.The Enclosures include a report by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident and Commandant, Aden, on his tour of the Red Sea aboard HM Steam Frigate
Auckland. The report covers Perim, Mussowah [Massawa, Eritrea], and Dissee Island, and is principally concerned with French influence in the area. The Enclosures also include a minute concerning the report by the Governor of Bombay, Lord Elphinstone.Physical description: 1 item (25 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 79 of 1841, dated 30 September 1841. The enclosures are dated 14 June-14 September 1841.The principal correspondents are: Captain Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf; Commodore George Barnes Brucks, Indian Navy, Commanding the Naval Squadron in the Gulf of Persia, on the EIC [East India Company’s] ship of war
Coote; the Acting Secretary to Government, Bombay; and the Secretary and the Officiating Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay.The item covers and includes the following:A letter from the Agent at Shiraz conveying intelligence from that area, including the arrival of Hubeel Olloh Khan [Ḥabīb Allāh Khān, also spelled Habeeb Oolla Khan in this item], Commandant of Artillery at Tuft [Taft], near Yezd [Yazd], en route to Kerman with eight guns and 6000 troops (ff 145-146), ostensibly on a mission which was initially to invade and destroy Kerman and was revised to destroying and plundering only the towns that had sent adherents to Aga Khan [Ḥasan 'Alī Shāh, Āqā Khān-i Awwal] and then to return to FarsHennell’s report of the hostile conduct of Shaik Nasir, Governor of Bushire [Āl Madhkūr, Shaikh Nāṣir II, Governor of Bushehr], towards British government officials there, including: an intimation that no officers from Karrack [Kharg Island, also known as Khark Island, also spelled Karrak and Kharrack in this item] are allowed to visit Bushire; punitive measures taken against the pilot of the
Braemarwho sailed to Bussorah [Basra] ignoring Shaik Nasir’s orders for the ship’s detention in Bushire harbour; and the unsuccessful attempts by Shaik Nasir to prevent the transmission of supplies to Karrack (where Hennell is currently stationed)Hennell’s requisitions to Brucks to undertake a tour of the Persian Gulf during the current pearl fishery season (ff 147-153) including instructions for: one war ship to accompany the
Coote; the route and the stops Brucks is to take along the Arabian coast from Bahrein [Bahrain] to Muscat, with the war ship calling at Bassadore [Basaidu] and Lingah [Bandar Lengeh] on its return to Karrack; delivering presents to the principal ‘Arabian chiefs’; investigating the political and military situation in Kateef [Qatif]; and for investigating and seeking redress for two acts of ‘piracy’ allegedly committed by subjects of Shaik Abdoolah bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah, Shaikh of Bahrain] as described in a letter from the Native Agent at Bahrein (ff 154-155). This is followed by a series of reports by Brucks to Hennell (ff 156-173) notably describing: the state of affairs in Katiff [Qatif] and Nedged [Najd]; a ‘war’ on the coastal area between Rass-ul-Khyma [Ras Al Khaimah] and Abothabbee [Abu Dhabi]; his actions regarding the two cases of ‘piracy’; his intentions in relation to the trade in enslaved persons allegedly carried on between the Lingah ‘chiefs’ and the families of the ‘chiefs’ of Rassul Khyma [Ras Al Khaimah] and Amulgaveen [Umm Al Quwain]; and the state of the pearl fisheriesThe agreement of the Government of India with the Government of Bombay that it is inexpedient at present to withdraw the European part of the force from the Island of Karrack, in view of the purported intentions of Persia [Iran] towards Afghanistan (f 174)Correspondence regarding: arrangements for the conveyance of an important packet (letter), in duplicate, from the Government of India to Sir John McNeill, HM Envoy to Persia, via the Government of Bombay and Hennell, utilising both HMS
Endymionand the HC [Honourable Company’s] schooner
Emily; and arrangements for the receipt of McNeill’s reply, emphasising the importance of its arrival at Aden in time for the November mail. The letter instructs McNeill to ascertain the attitudes and plans of Persia towards Afghanistan and gives him authority to withhold the order to evacuate Karrack ‘until perfectly satisfactory assurances shall be obtained from the Shah in these respects’ (f 178) (ff 174-196)Hennell’s views regarding the need for an enhanced naval presence in the Gulf to increase British influence over the maritime Arabian states (ff 197-199), and the Government of Bombay’s confirmation that it cannot make any permanent addition to the Gulf Squadron but that HMS
Endymionhas recently proceeded to the GulfInstructions by Hennell and Brucks for surveillance of Asseeloo boats [Bandar-e Asaluyeh, also spelled Assaloo in this item] which are suspected of intercepting supplies to the Island of Karrack and interrupting ‘the free navigation of the Gulf’ (f 203).Physical description: 1 item (69 folios)
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 33 of 1853, dated 10 May 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-10 and are dated 1-17 May 1853. A note in red ink indicates that numbers 8-9 (copy of the
Bombay Times,
Telegraph and Courier, and the
Bombay Gazette) are missing.The papers relate to affairs in the Persian Gulf including:A tour of the Persian Gulf by the Resident in the Persian GulfThe interception of ships carrying enslaved peoples to the Batinah Coast of Oman.Correspondents include the Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Native Agent at Sharjah, and the Secretary to the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (12 folios)
Abstract: The file contains a report of a visit of Tom Hickinbotham, Political Agent at Kuwait, to Riyadh, occurred between 24 and 27 May 1942. The report is forwarded by the Political Residency at Bushire to the Secretary of State for India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 19; 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 file concerns the provision of transport facilities for tours of the Political Resident at Bushire to the Persian Gulf, by ship and aircraft.The file is composed of correspondence between the Political Resident at Bushire, the Viceroy, the British Legation at Tehran, the Treasury, the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Secretary of State for India, the Air Ministry, the Ministry of War, the Admiralty, the Government of India, and Camper & Nicholsons Limited.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 322; 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 file contains papers, mostly correspondence, relating to: a tour of Muscat by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and HM Consul-General, Bushire, in February 1940; his journey from Muscat to Bahrein [Bahrain] in the ship LT [Lighthouse Tender]
Nearchus; and a later tour of Bandar Abbas, Jask and Chahbar [Chabahar] in Iran by Prior in November and December 1943.The correspondence includes the following letters from Prior to the Secretary to the Government of India External Affairs Department: a letter dated 26 April 1940, which consists of a detailed account of his trip to Muscat, including the day he spent at Kuwait with Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, and a stop to refuel and meet the Senior Naval Officer at Khor Kuwai [Khawr al Quway‘] on the way to Muscat, with twelve enclosed photographs [IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 22; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 23; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 24; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 25; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 26; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 27; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 28; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 29; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 30; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 31; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 32; IOR/L/PS/12/3940, f 63]; and a letter dated 29 April 1940, recounting Prior’s cruise from Muscat to Bahrain, with stops at Qais [Kish] Island and Ras Tanura. Copies of these letters were sent from Prior to Roland Tennyson Peel at the India Office.The file also includes: a copy (sent from Prior to the Secretary of State for India) of a letter from Prior to Sir Reader William Bullard, HM Minister, Tehran, dated 28 January 1944, which contains a report of his tour of Bandar Abbas, Jask and Chabahar; a letter in response from Bullard to Prior dated 22 February 1944; and a letter from the Foreign Office to Bullard, dated 23 March 1944, regarding Prior’s report.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 66, 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 file concerns the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The file covers:Political Resident's tours of the Trucial Coast, 1940 and 1942Anglo-Iranian relations, 1940report of a reception at the Residency, 1941Political Resident's visit to Bahrain, 1944.The file is composed solely of internal correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the India Office, the Foreign Office, the Government of India, and the British Legation at Tehran.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 43; 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: correspondence; deciphered telegrams; India Office Political Department Minute and Draft papers containing draft letters, draft telegrams and internal notes; covering letters of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India (with enclosures); and India Office Political Department registry forms with subject and notes.The papers relate to the visit of the Shah of Persia [Aḥmad Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Iran] to Europe, chiefly the arrangements for his journey from Tehran [also spelled Teheran in this volume], departing in August 1919 and his return there, arriving in June 1920, and the defrayment of the costs thereof. The papers notably cover:The role of Sir Percy Cox, HM Minister in Tehran, in promoting and facilitating the trip, and of various British diplomats in arranging hosts, visits and accommodationPolitical considerations incumbent upon and generated by the visit, particularly with regard to Anglo-Persian relations and the Anglo-Persian Agreement of August 1919The progress of the Shah and his party on their journey: from Tehran, via Baku and the Caucasus, to Batoum [Batumi]; by sea, on HMS
Ceres,to Constantinople [Istanbul] and Taranto; and through Italy by railway to Switzerland, where the Shah planned to take a ‘rest of cure’ [rest cure] (f 246) before travelling to Paris and BiarritzDetails of the persons making up the royal party (see ff 230 and 239)The movements in Europe of Nusret-ed-Dowleh [Prince Fīrūz Mīrzā Nuṣrat-al-Dawlah III], the Persian [Iranian] Foreign Minister, including: his meeting in Geneva with the Swiss Ambassador, Sir Horace Rumbold; a visit to London in mid-September; and his stay in ParisThe practical and financial arrangements for the accompaniment of the Shah by a British officer on his outward and return journeysDomestic tensions and the perceived increasing Bolshevik influence in Persia [Iran], which contributed to the Shah's decision in April 1920 to hasten his return homeProgress of the Shah and his party on their return journey including their: departure from Marseille on 1 May on the P & O ship SS
Narkunda; reception in Port Said on 7 May by Field-Marshall Lord Allenby, High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan; departure from Aden on 12 MayProgress of the Shah and his party up the Persian Gulf to Basra on the Royal Indian Marine Service steamer
Lawrence, including the Shah’s: visit to Bushire [Bushehr], 17-18 May (ff 62-65); meeting with the Civil Commissioner, Bagdad [also spelled Baghdad in this volume], at Basra; visit to Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and meeting with the Sheik [Shaikh] and representatives of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, 20 May (ff 85, 71-72, 49-50)The cost and security considerations of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, regarding the Shah’s journey through Mesopotamia [Iraq], by railway, from Basra to Baghdad and visit to the holy sites of Kerbela [Karbala] and Nejef [Najaf], 23-24 MayReport by Cox on the public reception of the Shah on his return to Tehran on 3 JuneA dispute between the India Office and the Foreign Office over liability for expenses incurred by the
Lawrencein May 1920 for conveyance of the Shah from Aden to Basra, including summaries of costs submitted by the Government of India Marine Department (ff 41-42, 34, 15-16).The primary correspondents are: the Foreign Office; the India Office; the Admiralty; the Treasury; HM Minister at Tehran; and the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad. There is also correspondence (chiefly of the Foreign Office) with commissioners, ambassadors, and other senior British Government overseas officials who were involved in the arrangements for portions of the Shah’s journey to and from Europe, notably: the Ambassador to France; the Assistant High Commissioner at Constantinople; the High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan; the Ambassador to Berne; the Ambassador to Italy; and the Consul-General at Marseilles.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 end of the correspondence (front of the volume).Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 264; 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 part contains papers relating to the provision of a despatch vessel for the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to transport him on his regular tours of the Persian Gulf, and his occasional visits to places on the Arabian coast in order to deal with events as they arise.It includes papers relating to the following:The proposal of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Government of India that the steam ship
Patrick Stewartshould be hired from the Indo-European Telegraph Department for the use of the Political Resident for his normal touring periodsThe Government of India’s proposal that the Colonial Office should be asked to contribute towards the cost of hiring the
Patrick StewartThe question of what arrangements would be made for the Resident’s tours in the Gulf following the transfer of the
Patrick Stewartfrom the Indo-European Telegraph Department to the Communications Company (Imperial and International Communications Limited)The proposed purchase of the
Patrick Stewartby the Government of IndiaThe Government of India’s position that owing to the need for financial stringency they were unable to purchase the
Patrick Stewartor any other vessel for the use of the Political Resident as a despatch vesselThe Admiralty being unable to agree to the suggestion that HMS
Triadmight be borrowed occasionally by the Political ResidentThe Admiralty agreeing to the India Office proposal to place on a formal basis the hitherto informal arrangements for making sloops available, through the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, for the transport of the Resident.The papers mostly consist of correspondence and India Office Political Department minute papers.The main correspondents are as follows: the India Office; the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the India Store Department of the Office of the High Commissioner for India; the Admiralty; the Foreign Office; Imperial and International Communications Limited; and the Agents of the British India Steam Navigation Company Limited, Bombay.The papers also include a photograph of the steam ship
Patrick Stewart(folio 530A).Physical description: 1 item (452 folios)