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1. ‘Dispatch of Three Cruizers to the Persian Gulph [Gulf] for the Suppression of Pirates.’
- Description:
- Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of Political Consultations and Political Letters sent to and from the Government of Bombay.The item relates to attacks on merchant ships by the Joasamee [Āl Qāsimī] and the numerous counterefforts made by the East India Company and others over several years to curb the power of the Joasamee 'pirates'. In particular the item is concerned with:Accounts of the attack on the Company ships Macaulayand DuncanThe armament and dispatch of three Company cruizers to the Gulph [Gulf] of Persia for the purpose of protecting trade in the region against the Joasamee piratesThe order to inform the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat and the English Broker at Muscat of the above expedition so that they might offer aid and assistance to the commanding officersThe prohibition of the sale of timber, teakwood and planks at British ports to Arabs as it has been discovered that some of these items are then sent to the Coast of Malabar where the Joasamee are able to source the material to repair their shipsThe successful attack on Rasul Khyma [Ra's al-Khaymah], the principal port of the Joasamee, by Captain Wainwright of His Majesty's ship La Chiffonneand Lieutenant-Colonel Smith of His Majesty's 65th RegimentIntelligence that a fleet of 18 'piratical' vessels based at Rasul Khyma are preparing to intercept merchant ships on their journey from Bussora [Basra] to IndiaInstructions to commanding officers including orders in the event of conciliatory proposals on the part of the Joasamee and orders to avoid 'all undue constraint or detriment towards the interior commerce of the Gulph'Reports of a battle between the fleet of Rehma bin Janber [Rahmah bin Jābir al-Jalhami] and the Uttobies [ʿUtūb] of Bahrein [Bahrain] in which three of Rehma's ships have been blown up and Rehma has reportedly been killed.The item also includes a note on the number of ships destroyed and men killed or wounded in the attack on Rasul Khyma (f 59 verso).Correspondents: Government of Bombay; East India Company Court of Directors; J Babington, Deputy Secretary to Government of Bombay; W J Hamilton, Secretary in the Government of Bombay Marine Department; Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to Government of Bombay; Alexander Bell, Conservator of the Forests in Malabar [Kochi]; Captain Charles Sealy, Commander of the Company's cruizer Benares; Chief Secretary to the Supreme Government; Captain Prior of His Majesty's ship Hesper; William Bruce, Acting Resident at Bushire.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 9, Season 1814/15, Draft 20' and 'Examiner's Office November 1812-November 1813'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 52, and terminates at f 80, 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 file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
2. 'Book No. 46. 31 July 1826 to 19 February 1827'
- Description:
- Abstract: Correspondence from Ephraim Gerrish Stannus, the Resident in the Persian Gulf, primarily to William Newnham, Chief Secretary to Government at Bombay and Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonald, Envoy to the Court of Persia.The main subject of correspondence within the volume is the relationship between the British Government and the Government of Persia, centering on the attitude of the Prince of Shiraz (Ḥosayn-‘Alī Mīrzā) and the Government of Bushire to the British Officers based there.Affairs at Bushire are the main topic of discussion, with the abduction by the Imam of Muscat (Saʻīd bin Sulṭān) of the former Governor Abdool Russool Khan [‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān], the seizure of the Government of Bushire by Shaikh Ahmed [Aḥmad bin Khamīs] from Shaik Hussein [Shaikh Ḥusayn Khan], and the counter attack by Shaikhs Hussein and Nassir [Nasir Khan] which resulted in threats of violence against the Residency at Bushire, the Prince of Shiraz's troops occupying the town, and the Resident being forced to leave the limits of the Bushire Residency until the acts committed by the Government and its supporters against the Residency are acknowledged.Other tensions between the British Officers in Persia and the Prince of Shiraz and his Prime Minister Zekee Khan [Zakī Khān] are also discussed, including the seizure of packets and baggage by the Customs House at Shiraz and accusations made against the officers in relation to the abduction of Abool Russool Khan, which were unfounded.The correspondence also details the daily financial administration of both His Majesty's Mission to Persia and the Residency at Bushire and includes statements of accounts and registers of Bills, along with communication with the Accountant General and Civil Auditor at Bushire on financial matters; the movements of British vessels in the Gulf; and the situation on the Arab Coast including the Imam of Muscat's intention to attack the fort at Derah [Ad Dir‘īyah] and remove its inhabitants from that place; an encounter between Rahma bin Jabir and vessels from Bahrein [Bahrain] which resulted in Rahma bin Jabir's death; and the blockade of Bussorah [Basra] by the Imam of Muscat's forces, and subsequent mediation of the situation by the Resident at Bussorah, Captain Robert Taylor.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 2, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 140. There is also a former pagination sequence numbering 1-272, which is written in ink in the top left corner of each page and runs through folios 3-139.
3. Vol 13 Letters Inward
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume comprises letters received by the Resident at Bushire. For most of the period covered by this volume the Acting Resident at Bushire was Lieutenant William Bruce. The three other occupants of the Residency during this period were Lieutenant Robert Taylor, James Orton, and Thomas Flower. Most of the letters are from the Government of Bombay, although there are a small number of letters from the Government of Fort William, Calcutta. The letters cover a range of subjects including: the Bushire Residency's accounts and expenses; the woollen trade; the procurement of sulphur for gunpowder; instructions for receiving visitors at Bushire; the threat of pirates in the Gulf; relations between the East India Company and the Sultan of Muscat; and the sending of arms from Bombay to the Court of Persia, via Bushire. Many of the letters contain enclosures such as copies of letters from other Government departments at Bombay, and copies of letters from the Court of Directors.Physical description: Pagination: This volume contains an original pagination sequence, used by the Bushire Residency. It is written in ink and appears in the right hand corner of each recto and in the left hand corner of each verso. The sequence begins with the first letter and runs from number 1 through to number 268.Foliation: The volume has been foliated for referencing purposes, using circled numbers written in pencil in the top right hand corner of the recto of each folio. The sequence begins on the second folio of writing, on number 1, and continues through to number 137, which is the last folio of writing. Two folios were numbered 82; these folios are now numbered 82 and 82A, in accordance with the IOR foliation guidelines. This is the sequence that has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the volume.
4. Vol 65: Letters Inward
- Description:
- Abstract: This file consists of correspondence relating to the Indian Navy in the Persian Gulf. Most of the correspondence is addressed to Major David Wilson, Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, by the Commanding Officer of the Indian Navy in the Persian Gulf, William Sowden Collinson. In addition, there are several letters addressed to Wilson by other marine officers, plus copies of correspondence between Collinson and some of his fellow marine officers. A significant amount of the correspondence in this file exists in the form of reports of the general proceedings of individual East India Company ships. Each report is divided into two columns: the first column, which has the heading 'Orders Received', consists of instructions issued to the ship's commanding officer, either by the Senior Marine Officer or by the Resident in the Persian Gulf; the second column, which has the heading 'Detail of Execution', contains the commanding officer's account of how the orders have been carried out. The first of these reports (see ff 4-8), which concerns the Honourable Company's surveying ship, the Benares,commanded by Stafford Bettesworth Haines, ranges in date from 30 June 1829 to 14 August 1829. The first set of orders, which appears in the left-hand column, is issued by Thomas Elwon, Senior Marine Officer; the remaining orders are given by Major David Wilson, Resident in the Persian Gulf. Haines's responses to these orders appear in the right-hand column. The next report (see ff 26-27), which relates to the general proceedings of the Honourable Company's brig of war, the Tigris,commanded by John Sawyer, ranges from 12 to 27 March 1830. In addition, there are similar reports for the Euphrates,commanded by William Denton (see f 35 and ff 46-47, dated 30 May-3 June and 15 June-2 July 1830 respectively), and the Elphinstone,commanded by William McDonald (see ff 38-41, dated 13 March-26 May 1830). Other marine officers who feature in this file as correspondents include William Lowe, Henry Windham, Edward Wyburd and John Sawyer. Most of the correspondence is concerned with relations between local Arab rulers. The letters received from the various marine officers consist of accounts of their visits to the Arabian coast. Details found in these letters include:News of fortifications being built at Manamah [Al-Manāmah] and Maharraq [Al-Muḥarraq], Bahrain;References to letters addressed by David Wilson to Abdoolah Ben Ahmed [Shaikh Abdullah ibn Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah] of Bahrain, requesting that the latter relinquish property which has purportedly been taken by his men from vessels belonging to the Chief of Moobat;Reports on relations between the Imam of Muscat [Sa‘īd bin Sultān Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and Abdoolah Ben Ahmed;News of a peace having been concluded between Sooltan Ben Sugger [Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Ra's al-Khaymah and Sharjah] and Sheik Thanoon [Tahnun bin Shakhbut Āl Nahyān, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi];Speculation that the predatory incursions of some Bedouin tribes into the territories of the Imam of Muscat are being encouraged both by Sooltan Ben Sugger and by the opposite branch of the Imam's own family;Reports on the growing power of the Wahabee [Wahabi] Chieftain, Toorkee Ben Sood [Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad Āl Sa‘ūd, founder of the Second Saudi State];News of an attack by the Imam of Muscat on the town of Sohar [Ṣuḥār].In addition, there are two letters addressed to Wilson which are not written by marine officers. The first is a letter signed by a number of Armenians from Julfa [Jolfā], in Ispahan [Eşfahān], in which the Resident is thanked for having sent a vaccin inoculator [ sic] to that place. The second item is a statement, addressed to the Bushire authorities by Alexander Ogilvie, Chief Officer of the Poop(and signed by a number of witnesses), in which Ogilvie complains of having been subjected to abusive language by one of the ship's passengers.Physical description: Foliation: There is an incomplete foliation sequence and a complete foliation sequence. The complete foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last folio of writing, on number 47. This is the sequence which has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the file.