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25. 'File 12/10 Post Office - Muscat & Gwadur'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns postal services at Muscat and Gwadar. The arrangements for postal services in the territories of Muscat and Oman were complicated from 1947 by the independence of India, and the transfer of responsibility for postal services from the Government of India to the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, and by the question of whether newly-independent Pakistan should be asked to provide post and telegraph services at Gwadur [Gwadar].The papers include: staffing matters at Muscat, 1945; British Government plans for the future administration of postal services in the Gulf, 1947 (including minutes of a meeting at the India Office, 11 July 1947, folios 41-42); the attitude of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] to the proposed continuation of existing postal arrangements at Gwadar by the Government of Pakistan; correspondence concerning the temporary use of stamps overprinted 'Pakistan' at Muscat, Dubai, and Gwadar, following agreement with India to withdraw unsurcharged Indian stamps from areas served by the Pakistan Posts and Telegraphs Department, and the introduction of new British stamps to replace existing Indian stamps, 1947; recommendations of the British Post Office representative (W Appleby) concerning the takeover of postal services in the Persian Gulf on 1 April 1948 (folios 120-130); details of Post Office staff at Gwadar, 1947; and the Foreign Office's initial decision to ask the Government of Pakistan to take over responsibility for postal services at Gwadar (folio 154), and ensuing difficulties following the Political Resident's recommendation that responsibility for services at Gwadar be handed over instead to Cable and Wireless Limited, 1947-48.The file includes correspondence from the Political Agent, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the British Agent, Gwadar; the Commonwealth Relations Office; and the Government of Pakistan.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 210; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-98; 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.
26. 'File 12/3 II RAS-AL-HADD MAIL SERVICE PROPOSAL'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns proposals for the improvement of the mail service in Muscat and Oman. Muscat was said in 1944 to have been 'ill supplied with mail facilities for many months, resulting in serious delays in delivery of official mail and excessive expenditure on telegrams' (folio 45). The commercial community of Muscat was also affected, and offered to pay for improvements.The papers include: a petition from members of the commercial community of Muscat, calling for the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) service to and from India via Masirah to make an extra stop at Ras al Hadd [Ra’s al Ḩadd], so that mails and passengers could be brought from there to Muscat by launch (folios 2-3); the proposed involvement of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the collection of mails at Ras al Hadd; discussion of the proposals in correspondence between the Political Agent, Muscat, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Government of India, RAF Aden, and RAF Masirah; correspondence concerning the provision of guards for the service; and proposals for the transmission of official mail from Ras al Hadd to India via Bahrain, and vice versa.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 90; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-78; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
27. ‘File 16/32 III Miscellaneous Correspondence with the Residency, Bushire.’
- Description:
- Abstract: Copies of correspondence exchanged between British offices in the Persian Gulf, chiefly the Persian Gulf Political Residency or British Consulate in Bushire, and the Political Agency in Bahrain. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 16/32-II Miscellaneous. Correspondence with the Residency, Bushire.’ (IOR/R/15/2/1531).The papers deal with matters of a routine nature, chiefly the order of goods from suppliers and merchants, and their shipment to consignees, with insurance papers included in some instances. Ordered goods include: alcohol and foodstuffs (flour, sugar, tea); automobiles and automobile spares; medical supplies, including quinine; vegetable seeds; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay’s photographs; office supplies and stationery; hardware, such as bolts and batteries; sports equipment. Some correspondence and file notes allude to the shortage of supplies during wartime. The file also includes some telegraphic correspondence notifying on the departure, movements and anticipated arrival of British officers and other individuals in the Gulf.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 403; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-399; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
28. ‘File 16/32 IV Miscellaneous Correspondence with the Residency, Bushire’
- Description:
- Abstract: Copies of correspondence exchanged between British offices in the Persian Gulf, chiefly the British Residency and Consulate-General in Bushire, and the Political Agency in Bahrain. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 16/32 III Miscellaneous Correspondence with the Residency, Bushire.’ (IOR/R/15/2/1532)The papers deal with matters of a routine nature, chiefly the order or exchange of goods from suppliers, merchants and colleagues, and arrangements for shipment. Ordered goods include: automobiles and automobile spares, including tyres and batteries; office supplies and stationery, including typewriter repairs; other items of machinery and machinery spare parts, such as oil engines, valves; alcohol, non-alcoholic beverages and foodstuffs; vegetable seeds; sports equipment. Some correspondence and file notes allude to the shortage of or restrictions upon the import and export of certain goods during wartime. The file also includes some correspondence between British officials concerning the transfer from one office to another of clerks and other Government staff, in response to specific working requirements.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 373; 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 3-332; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
29. ‘File 16/27 Miscellaneous. Miscellaneous Assistance to Government Officials’
- Description:
- Abstract: Correspondence sent to and from the Political Agency, and dealing with a miscellaneous range of day-to-day matters:arrangements amongst British officials and shipping agents in the Persian Gulf for the delivery, forwarding and receipt of letters, packages, furniture, motor vehicles, and other items, sent by post and steamer;arrangements for the financial settlement of bills;electrical supply and electricity running costs at the Political Agency in the early 1920s;an enquiry, dated 1932, from the Department of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Tanganyika Territory, relating to the transportation of livestock by dhow from Zanzibar to the Persian Gulf;in 1937, arrangements for the printing and distribution from Bahrain of new Bills of Health (also called Sanitary Certificates) for issue to vessels calling at Muscat;correspondence relating to Wilfred Patrick Thesiger’s exploration of the Empty Quarter, including a letter from Thesiger to the Political Agent at Bahrain, dated 6 May 1949, stating that he would like to give the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Zeid bin Sultan [Zayed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān], a rifle, as a token of his appreciation (f 199);correspondence dated 1950, relating to a Palestinian teacher applying for work with the Muscat Government, having formerly been employed by the Government of Bahrain.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 285; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present between ff 3-173; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Foliation anomalies: f 46a.
30. 'File 12/3 I MAIL SERVICE - MUSCAT & GWADUR'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the operation of mail services to and from Muscat and Oman.The papers include: correspondence concerning the Muscat Political Agency launch; proposals for an air mail service between Muscat and India via Bahrain; the operation of a commercial contract for carrying mail by launch from Muscat to Ras-al-Hadd [Ra’s al Ḩadd]; a proposal to operate an air mail service via Ras-al-Hadd terminated by the disbandment of the Royal Air Force (RAF) unit there; a memorandum from the Political Agent, Muscat, dated 15 April 1946, concerning defects in the postal arrangements in Muscat territory (including Gwadur [Gwadar]); a letter from the Office of the Director of Posts and Telegraphs, Sind and Baluchistan Circle, dated 5 February 1947, detailing proposed improvements to post and telegraph arrangements in Gwadar and Muscat; correspondence from the agents of the British India Steam Navigation Company Limited (BISN), concerning the Company's mail services for Muscat; and correspondence from the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) concerning local services in the Persian Gulf.The file also includes correspondence from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department, and Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited.The Arabic language content of the papers consists of three items of correspondence, and a notice issued by the Political Agent, Muscat (all with English translations).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 183; 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
31. ‘File 16/32-II Miscellaneous. Correspondence with the Residency, Bushire.’
- Description:
- Abstract: Copies of correspondence exchanged between British offices in the Persian Gulf, chiefly the Persian Gulf Political Residency or British Consulate in Bushire, and the Political Agency in Bahrain. The papers deal with matters of a routine nature, including:the order of goods from suppliers and merchants, and their shipment to consignees. Ordered goods include alcohol for the Residency, firearms and ammunition, furniture, automobiles and lubricant oils, copper wire to replace stolen telegram cables at Bushire, plant and vegetable seeds, office supplies, and sports equipment. Wartime correspondence makes reference to the export licenses required for shipped goods;telegrams giving notification of the departure, movements and anticipated arrival of British officers and other individuals in the Gulf;arrangements for passports and passage for individuals, including two tailors travelling from Bahrain to Shiraz;sale of and transfer to England of carpets belonging to the late Political Resident, Sir Trenchard William Craven Fowle.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 273; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-268; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
32. Vol 134 Secret letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume contains three letters and a company circular received by the British Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, from: a British company in Baghdad advertising its new overland postal service in Arabia (folios 1A-3), Commander Porter reporting on his sea patrol of the Persian Gulf in January 1843 (folio 4), the British Envoy to Tehran reporting the willingness of the Persian Government to repair the dilapidated public buildings on the Island of Karrak [Kharg] (folio 6).The volume title ‘Bushire Residency Book No 134 Secret letters inward 9 Jan 1843-14 Jan 1843’ is typewritten and appears on a modern title page that has been inserted at the front of the volume (folio 1).Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1, 1A, then 2 to 6, from the front to the back of the volume. Folio 1 is a modern, typewritten title page. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner.As a result of a secondary and earlier foliation sequence, the volume is also numbered from 2 to 7 in ink, except for blank folios and folios containing brief details such as name and address, which are unnumbered.
33. PZ 2246/1932 'Communications between London and the Middle East'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains papers relating to communications between London and the Middle East. It mainly consists of copies of correspondence sent to the India Office from the Foreign Office. This largely consists of copies of correspondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the British Consulate, Aleppo, regarding the railway service, and improved mail service, between London and Aleppo and other places by the Simplon Orient Express and the Taurus Express.It also includes:copies of correspondence between HM Representative, Tehran, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, concerning the establishment of a through service to Europe via Nisibin and Istanbul, by the International Sleeping Car Company, Cairoa copy of a letter from the General Post Office to the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, regarding the mail service to Syria, Iraq and Persia [Iran] by Simplon Orient Express and Taurus Expressand a copy of a letter from HM Acting Consul-General, Beirut, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, regarding the delay in the mail service from England to SyriaThe correspondence includes enclosures in French (folios 12-14 and 32-37).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 38; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
34. Persian Gulf Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: The item mainly relates to affairs in the Persian Gulf. It chiefly comprises copies of despatches of Captain Samuel Hennell, Political Resident, Persian Gulf, to John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, Bombay [Mumbai], with relevant enclosures, such as letters to and from Hennell, reports, and translations of letters. It also includes: Willoughby’s acknowledgments of receipt; Hennell’s reports to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors, EIC; and Willoughby’s communications with Thomas Herbert Maddock, Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General. Hennell’s despatches were sent from the island of Karrack [Khark, also known as Kharg, also spelled Karrak in this item], the Residency having relocated to the island following a dispute with Mirza Assad, the Governor of Bushire [Bushehr].The main subjects covered are:Arrangements for strengthening the defences of Karrack, by repairs to the wall and fort of the town, organisation of the ammunition stores and the erection of new buildings; departure from Karrack of Sheik Nasir [Shaikh Nāṣir Āl Mazkūr II, a former Governor of Bushire]; conversion of the island into a military post and imposition of martial lawHennell’s efforts to monitor and influence Khorshid Pasha [Khūrshid Pasha], Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Forces in Nedgd [Najd, also known as Nejd], in view of the latter’s recent encroachments on the coastline of the Persian Gulf and purported plan to conquer the island of Bahrein [Bahrain], including: sending letters of ‘warning’ to Khorshid Pasha; dispatching the Assistant Resident, Lieutenant Thomas Edmunds, to Bahrein and Koweit [Kuwait]; instructing HM Consul in Egypt to demand an explanation from the ruler of Egypt, Mahomed Ally [Muḥammad ‘Alī Pasha al-Mas'ud bin Āghā] of his policy in the Persian Gulf ; ascertaining the policy of Abdoollah ben Ahmed [‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], Sheik of Bahrein [Shaikh of Bahrain], and the sheik's estimation of the likelihood of an Egyptian invasion; ascertaining the ‘disposition, the strength and the relative interests’ (f 62) of the main rulers in the Persian Gulf towards Khorshid Pasha (see ff 62-66) and influencing them against assisting the Egyptian force in obtaining supplies of grainConsideration of the possibility of Khorshid Pasha turning his attentions to Bussorah [Basra] and Mohumrah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah] if there is a rupture of relations between Egypt and the [Ottoman] Porte and a battle between Ibrahim Pasha [Kavalali] (unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan) and Hafiz Pasha [Hafiz Osman Pasha] in SyriaAversion of a possible war between Bahrein and Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi] over the ‘fugitive’ from Bahrein, Esa bin Tareef [Shaikh ‘Īsá bin Ḥamad bin Ṭarīf Āl Bin ‘Alī al-‘Utbī], and members of his Alli Ally [Āl Bin ‘Alī] tribe, who are residing in Aboothabee, and news that the Shaik of Bahrein has signed a treaty of peace with Kuleefa bin Shakboot [Shaikh Khalīfah bin Shakhbut Āl Nahyān], the Shaik of Abothabee [Shaikh of Abu Dhabi]Rumours of a Persian force marching from Tehran into Khorassan [Khorasan] to occupy HeratDelays in the transmission of overland (mail) packets, notably with regard to events in Syria between [Ottoman] Turkey and Egypt, and investigation of different routes, including via Damascus, transmission times, charges and possible couriers.There is a note at the beginning of the item stating that the ‘Enclosure in Bombay Secret Letter No. 75, dated 12th June 1839, are missing from this Collection’.Physical description: 1 item (42 folios)
35. Turkish Arabia Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 26 of 1844, dated 25 March 1844. The enclosures are dated 23 January-11 February 1844.The enclosures comprise despatches of Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], to John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, Bombay, and for the attention of the Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General, with associated enclosures, including a letter from Rawlinson to Sir Stratford Canning, HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul]. The principal matters covered are:Arrangements for postal communications between the Bagdad [Baghdad] Agency and the Government of India to be transmitted via Egypt and Damascus, utilising the private dâk [post] between Beyrout [Beirut] and Bagdad used by British merchants, due to the slow and irregular communications between India and the Persian GulfThe dispute between Turkey and Persia regarding Mohamerah [Khorramshahr], notably a lengthy memorandum by Rawlinson, dated 6 January 1844, giving an account of the early and modern history of the territory and the tribes within it (ff 444-480)Apparent atrocities committed by the Pasha of Moosel [Mosul] against the Nestorian Christians of the Kurdish mountains, and resumption of the Nestorian Commission (temporarily delayed due to the death of the Pasha of Moosel) sent to investigate the incidentPersian-Turkish tensions, including slow progress of treaty negotiations at Erzeroom [Erzurum]Unrest amongst Persian-Kurdish tribes on the frontier with Turkey and inability of Nejib Pasha [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad] to prevent local Turkish retaliation against Kurdish ‘depredations’The application by Nejib Pasha for use of the HC [Honourable Company's] steamer of war Nitocristo help suppress the ‘refractory’ Arab tribe inhabiting the marshes on the banks of the Euphrates River, and Rawlinson’s reluctance to interfere and referral of the matter to Sir Stratford CanningThe pretensions to independence (from the Ottoman Porte) expressed by the Pasha of Suliemaniah [Sulaymaniyah] and Rawlinson’s view that Britain should not support it.Physical description: The enclosure numbers 3-4 are written on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure, which also contain an abstract of the contents of the enclosure.
36. Coll 1/34 'Aden. Changes in civil administration in the event of separation from India: printing and sale of stamps'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence between the Aden Chief Commissioner (Bernard Reilly), the India Office Political Department, and the Colonial Office, regarding arrangements for postal services and the printing and sale of stamps in Aden upon its transfer to Crown Colony status. Reilly argues that the existing rates for post between India and Aden should be kept as they are, given the important economic links between the two countries.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 15; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.