Abstract: This volume consists of letters written from the Bushire Residency. The first eighty-two items are attributed to William Bruce; the remaining items, with the exception of a few letters written by Bruce from various locations, are written by James Dow, Assistant Surgeon at the Bushire Residency, who was in charge of the Residency during William Bruce's absence. Most of the letters are written to representatives of the Government of Bombay, with the most common recipients being John Wedderburn (Accountant General, Civil Auditor and Military Accountant), Richard Morgan (Secretary to the Marine Board), Francis Warden (Chief Secretary to the Government) and Mountstuart Elphinstone (President and Governor in Council, Bombay). In addition, a significant number of letters are addressed to army officers, including Major General Sir William Grant Keir and Captain Thomas Perronet Thompson. Many of the letters to Bombay concern the routine sending of bills and receipts relating to expenses (the most common of which being supplies for East India Company ships) incurred by the Residency. Other subjects covered in the volume include: William Bruce joining HMS
Edenon her voyage along the Arab coast in search of Wahhābī boats; news and speculation regarding Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mīrzā's plans to launch an attack against Bahrain; relations between Arab chieftains following the General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf of 1820; details of the Residency complying with requests for funds or supplies for the British troops stationed at Ra's al-Khaymah, and later, at Qeshm; details of a treaty between the Imam of Muscat (Sa‘īd bin Sultān Āl Sa‘īd) and the Shaikhs of Bahrain, as relayed to Bruce by Rahma bin Jabir; the death of a crew member of the
Elizacountry ship and the subsequent investigation into the treatment received on board that ship; presents sent by His Highness Ebrāhim Khan, Governor of Kermān, to Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay; the death, on 10 November 1821, of Dr Andrew Jukes, Political Agent in Persia.Physical description: Pagination: There is a pagination sequence, which is written in pencil in the top right corners of the rectos and in the top left corners of the versos. It runs from 1 to 175.Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which 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 95. This is the sequence used by this catalogue to reference items within the file.
Abstract: This volume consists of contemporaneous copies of outward letters from the Bushire Residency. Most of the letters are written by the Resident in the Persian Gulf, Ephraim Gerrish Stannus. A small number of letters are written by the Assistant Surgeon at Bushire, James Pringle Riach, who was temporarily in charge of the Residency during Stannus's absence. Most of the letters are addressed to East India Company officials at Bombay, of which the most prominent recipients are the following: William Newnham, Chief Secretary to Government, Bombay; John Wedderburn, Accountant General, Bombay; and Mountstuart Elphinstone, President and Governor in Council, Bombay. Many of the letters to William Newnham contain copies of the Resident's correspondence with a number of local rulers, including: Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Sharjah and Ra's al-Khaymah; Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān, Governor of Bushire; His Royal Highness Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mīrzā, Prince of Shiraz; and the Imam of Muscat, Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Sa‘īd. Other recipients include a number of commanders of East India Company ships as well as Henry Willock, His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of Persia, and his brother, George Willock, Secretary in Charge of the British Mission, Tabrīz. The letters in this volume cover a range of topics, including the following: the accounts and expenses of the Bushire Residency; trade, both at Bushire and at other Persian ports; relations between Rahma bin Jabir and the ruler of Bahrain; the estate of the former Governor of Bushire, Muhammad Nabi Khan; a dispute between Tahnun bin Shakhbut, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, and his brother, Muhammad bin Shakhbut Al Nahayan, former Shaikh of Abu Dhabi; speculations on the intentions of Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī; the Resident's concerns about the reduced scale of the marine establishment; the costs involved in carrying out alterations and repairs on the Residency building; updates from Stannus regarding an act of piracy, which is reported to have been committed to the south of Muscat by two boats from Sharjah.Physical description: Pagination: There is a pagination sequence, which is written in pencil, in the top right corners of the rectos and the top left corners of the versos. Not every verso has been numbered, but the sequence is consistent. The sequence begins with the first item of correspondence, on number 1, and ends on the last page of writing, on number 144.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 76. This is the sequence which has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the volume.Condition: The folios in this volume have suffered from insect damage. Parts of the bottom edges of the front cover are missing, as are parts of the bottom edges of the first dozen or so folios within the volume.