Abstract: The item consists of abstracts of political and secret letters from the governments of Bombay and Bengal. The letters date from 3 October 1798 to 28 September 1801 and concern attempts by Zaman Shah Durrani [Zamān Shāh Durrānī] to conquer Hindostan [subcontinental India] and British efforts to counteract them.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: This file consists of one handwritten and one typescript copy of a memorandum written in the India Office Political Department, in which the author describes the resolution, through British arbitration, of a dispute between the Governments of Persia and Afghanistan relating to the allocation of the Perso-Afghan boundary in Seistan.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 6; 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 item consists mostly of copies of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the Government of Bombay. It concerns a request from Shahzada Darab, of the ruling Durrani dynasty of Afghanistan, for assistance in recovering property plundered by pirates during a voyage between Mandavie [Mandvi, also referred to as Mandavy and Mandavee] and Curatchee [Karachi, also referred to as Cratchy and Kuratchee]. It includes:The arrival in Bombay of Prince Sultan Wais, the son of Shahzada Darab, his appeal for assistance in recovering his father’s property, and the hospitality provided for him during his stay in BombayThe assistance earlier provided by Shahzada Darab in capturing the pirate Luckoo [also referred to as Luckhoo], who was being pursued by the
Zephyrand had taken refuge in the port of Almarrah [Ormara, also referred to as Ulmarrah, Olmurah and Hoormara]The investigations carried out into the act of piracy committed against Shahzada Darab, said to have been in retaliation to the capture of Luckoo, and the likely whereabouts of the plundered property.The primary correspondents are: Lieutenant George Millet, Commander of the
Zephyr; Lieutenant James MacMurdo; R J Goodwin, Secretary and Translator in the Office of Country Correspondence; and Mountstuart Elphinstone, Resident at Poona [Pune].The title page (f 179) of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political No. 5, Season 1814/15, Draft 190’; and ‘Examiner’s Office, January 1815’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at 179, and terminates at 212, 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This file consists of a memorandum written by Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, in which the author discusses a proposed delimitation of the Russo-Perso-Afghan frontier by the Russian Government. The author points out that, aside from the difficulties of delimiting such featureless terrain, any artificial boundary so marked out would be ignored by the numerous nomadic tribes of the area. The author proposes instead that a frontier be established merely in general terms.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences and terminates at folio 169, as it is part of a larger physical volume; this number is written in pencil, is circled, and is located at the top right corner of the folio.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; this number is also written in pencil, but is not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, HM Minister at Kabul, the India Office and the Ministry of Information, regarding French and German radio broadcasts which stated that the Government of Afghanistan had warned Britain that they would enter the war on the side of Iraq unless the British Expeditionary Force was withdrawn from that country. The correspondence also documents a decision taken to broadcast an unattributed denial of the truth of the French and German broadcasts through the BBC.A list of correspondence references contained in the file appears on the front cover.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 13; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence regarding contracts to supply the Afghan Government with ammunition. The Government of India had agreed to supply 2.5 million rounds a year for six years, and the file primarily concerns negotiations between the Afghan Government and Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, over the supply of further ammunition.The majority of the correspondence is between Imperial Chemical Industries Limited and the Foreign Office, regarding the quantities of ammunition to be supplied, and price and payment options. The file also contains communications received by the India Office from the British Legation in Kabul (William Kerr Fraser-Tytler), reporting on meetings with the Afghan Prime Minister and War Minister, and commenting on the Afghan Government's arms-supply arrangements and negotiations with arms firms in Belgium and Czechoslovakia.The file also contains a small amount of correspondence (dated 1941) between the India Office, the Government of India External Affairs Department, and the Department of Overseas Trade, regarding a request made by the firm International Traders of Karachi for permission to import British radios into India and Afghanistan.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 143; 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 correspondence and minutes regarding requests by the Afghan Government for arms, ammunition and aircraft to be supplied by either the British or Indian Governments. The material predominantly consists of telegrams sent to the India Office by HM Minister at Kabul (William Kerr Fraser-Tytler), and the Government of India Foreign and Political Department, regarding the following:an initial request from the Afghan Government to be supplied with arms and ammunition, with the aim of strengthening the Afghan army, and thereby convincing the frontier tribes to disarm;requests for British and Indian assistance in defending the northern road from a possible Russian advance against Afghanistan;Afghan concerns over the loss of arms, particularly .303 calibre rifles, to tribes in the southern and eastern regions, and their enquiries into the possibility of purchasing a different calibre of rifle and ammunition;Afghan policy towards the Soviet Union;Afghan policy towards Britain and the Government of India;the policies of Britain and India towards Afghanistan, and the need to ensure an independent and stable Afghanistan for the security of India.The file also includes correspondence between HM Minister Kabul, the Government of India Foreign and Political Department, the India Office Political Department and the War Office, regarding: the quantities and calibres of arms and ammunition to be supplied; the division of costs and liability between the Governments of Britain and India; and payment options for the Afghan Government.The correspondence ends following the delivery of 5,000 rifles and three million rounds of ammunition, in time for the start of the Jashan festival. At this point the Afghan Government were negotiating for a further supply of 10,000 rifles and ammunition; this request is documented in the file IOR/L/PS/12/2203.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 339; 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 letters and enclosures from Captain John Malcolm, British Envoy at Abusheher [Bushehr, various spellings appear in the volume] to the Earl of Mornington, Governor-General, Fort William (Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess, Wellesley, spelled Marquis in the volume). Letters were also sent to Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Secretary to the Government in the Secret Political and Foreign Department, Fort William; Lieutenant-Colonel William Kirkpatrick, Secretary to the Government in the Foreign Department, Fort William; Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay [Mumbai]; Henry Dundas, President of the Board of Control; and to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors.The letters cover a variety of issues and topics including:Malcolm's journey to Persia [Iran], via Muscat, and his meeting with the Imam of Oman [Sayyid Sulṭān bin Aḥmad Āl Bū Sa‘īd, also written as Imaum]Malcolm's arrival at Abusheher and his reception by Persian officialsHis visits to a number of cities and regions including: Muscat, Hormuz [Jazireh-ye Hormoz], Kishm [Qishm], Anjam, Sheraz [Shiraz, various spellings appear in the volume], Isfahaun [Isfahan], Kashan [Kashan], and Teheraun [Tehran]Malcolm’s observations on the following: a general view of the former trade of European nations with the Persian Gulph [Gulf], from its first establishment until the year 1763; the present state of the trade with the Persian Gulph; the model by which the East India Company (EIC) could improve its trade; the port best situated for a settlement in the Gulph; an estimate of revenues and expenses; and the best way to carry this plan (ff 29-62)His communication with the ambassadors from the late Tippoo Sultan [Sulṭān Fātiḥ ʻAlī Ṣāḥib Tīpū, Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, d 1799], to the Court of Persia offering his advice to enable them to return to IndiaCorrespondence with Jaffier Ali Khan [Ja‘far ‘Alī Khān, various spellings appear in the volume], ‘Native Agent’ in Sheraz; and with Mirza Mehdi Alli Khan [Mirzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān, various spellings appear in the volume], ‘Native Agent’ in AbusheherMalcolm’s memoir on the origin and rise to power of the Royal Family of Persia, covering narration of the character of Baba Khan [Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh Qājār], his ministers and generals, the Persian army, the internal state of Persia, and its foreign relations (ff 68-76)‘Abridged memoir of the Khajar [Qājār] Family’ (ff 77-92)Reports received from Herat about the advance of Zemaun Shah’s army [Zamān Shāh Durānī, Amīr of Afghanistan] in PersiaRussian-Persian war over GeorgiaPersian-Afghan WarBritish-Afghan relations‘Substance of a Declaration or manifest of the Empress Catherine the 2nd on taking up arms against Aka Mahummud Khan [Āqā Muḥammad Khān Qājār], King of Persia, printed at Astracan [Astrakhan] 23rd May 1796 in the Russian and Armenian languages’ (ff 114-117)Translations of rukums [royal grants confirming specific trading privileges] from the Shah of Persia, Futteh Ally Khaun [Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh Qājār, various spellings appear in the volume] (ff 128-129 and ff 182-183)The relations between Zemaun Shah and the late Tippoo SultanArrangements for Malcolm to meet with the Shah of PersiaThe French activities in Baghdad [also spelled as Bagdad] and Bussorah [Basra]The appointment of certain officials in the Persian CourtThe communication between the Shah of Persia and Prince Mahomood [Maḥmūd Shāh Durānī, brother of Zamān Shāh]Copies of a Political treaty (ff 247v-251) and a Commercial treaty (ff 253v-259r) between the English Government and the Government of Persia. Each treaty was preceded by firmaun [farman, also spelled as Firimaun] from Futteh Ally Khaun (ff 246-247, 252-253, and 258v-259r)The possibilities of the Russian Government forming a connection either with the Aosbegs [Uzbeks] led by Shah Mooraud [Shāh Murād r 1785–1800], Zemaun Shah, or the Persians for the purpose of invading IndiaMalcolm’s arrival at Baghdad and his meeting with Soliman Pacha [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, also spelled as Pashaw]; Harford Jones, British Resident at Baghdad; and Samuel Manesty, British Resident at BussorahA journal of Malcolm’s mission to Persia including notes on the manners and habits of the Persian Court, and details of general military affairs in the region (ff 288-291).Further correspondence, included as enclosures in the volume, comes from Persian officials: Cheragh Ali Khan, Wakeelud dawlah [Chirāgh ‘Alī Khān Navā’ī, Wakil al-Dawlah, Vizier to the Prince Regent of Shiraz]; Hajy Abrahim [Ḥājjī Ibrāhīm Khān Zand Kalāntar Shīrāzī, Eʿtemād al-Dawlah, Persian Prime Minister]; and Reza Kouli Khan, Governor of Kazeroon (Rezā Qulī Khān, Governor of Kazerun]. Besides some intelligence received from notable merchants, and native inhabitants of Afghanistan, Georgia and Persia.The volume includes some duplications, and some faded letters/enclosures.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 293; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.