Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 30 September 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the thirtieth in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item relates to a report from the Native Agent at Bahrein [Bahrain], to Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 24 August 1847. The Native Agent reports on the outcomes of the recent negotiations at Nedjd [Najd] between Shaik Busheer bin Ramah [Shaikh Bashīr bin Raḥmah], (on behalf of Shaik Mahomed bin Khuleefa of Bahrein [Shaikh Muḥammad bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah, Shaikh of Bahrain]) and Ameer Fysul, the Wahabee ruler [Amīr Fayṣal bin Turkī bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Sa‘ūd, leader of the Wahhābī]. Hennell forwards the report on to the Government of Bombay along with his comments on the negotiations. In particular, Hennell mentions the fate of the previous Shaik of Bahrein, Shaik Abdoollah bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], as well as Ameer Fysul’s weakened influence in the wake of the invasion of Bin Aoon [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn, Sharīf of Mecca] and Ameer Khalid [Amīr Khālid bin Sa‘ūd].Hennell also provides a brief update on the relations between the shaiks of: Debaye [Dubai]; Shargah [Sharjah]; Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi]; and Amulgavine [Umm al-Qaywayn].The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48’, ‘Collection No. 2 of No. 118, Vol: 30.’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 415, and terminates at f 420, 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 item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 30 September 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the twenty-third in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item contains a letter from Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the Government of Bombay, dated 19 July 1847. Hennell reports that peace has been concluded between Ameer Fysul, the Wahabee Chief [Amīr Fayṣal bin Turkī bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Sa‘ūd, leader of the Wahhābī], and Ben Aoon, the Shureef of Mecca [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn, Sharīf of Mecca]. He includes brief details of the terms of the peace and comments that the favourable terms for Ben Aoon suggest that earlier reports of the success of Ameer Fysul’s attack on Ben Aoon’s forces must have been exaggerated.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48’, ‘Collection No. 2 of No. 118, Vol: 23.’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 378, and terminates at f 380, 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 item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 30 September 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the twentieth in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item contains a letter from Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the Government of Bombay, dated 8 June 1847. Hennell reports intelligence that a force under command of Bin Aoon the Shureef of Mecca [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn, Sharīf of Mecca] and Ameer Khaled ben Saood [Amīr Khālid bin Sa‘ūd] has advanced into Nedjd [Najd] and communicated to Ameer Fysul the Wahabee Chief [Amīr Fayṣal bin Turkī bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Sa‘ūd, leader of the Wahhābī] that if he wishes to continue governing Nedjd he must pay an annual tribute to the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire]. Hennell further reports that Ameer Fysul replied he was authorised to govern the region by Mahomed Ally Pasha [Muḥammad ‘Alī Pāshā] and would resist any further advances until he had heard from his superior. Hennell states that the ‘general impression’ is that Ameer Fysul would not be able to successfully resist the invading force.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48’, ‘Collection No. 2 of No. 118, Vol: 20.’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 366, and terminates at f 368, 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 item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 30 September 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the twenty-second in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item contains a report from the Agent at Bahrein [Bahrain, also rendered in text as Bahreen] to Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 9 July 1847. The Agent reports that Ameer Fysul, head of the Wahabees [Amīr Fayṣal bin Turkī bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Sa‘ūd, leader of the Wahhābī], led a successful attack against the forces of Ben Aoon, Sheriff of Mecca [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn, Sharīf of Mecca] at Nedjd [Najd]. This took place after Ameer Fysul received confirmation from Abbas Pasha [ʿAbbās Pāshā] at Alexandria that Ben Aoon’s expedition had not been authorised by the Turkish [Ottoman Empire] Government. Hennell forwards this report to the Government of Bombay, conveying his doubts that Ben Aoon would have undertaken such a sizeable expedition without prior authorisation.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48’, ‘Collection No. 2 of No. 118, Vol: 22.’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 374, and terminates at f 377, 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 item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The statement gives the following information for each tribe listed:Name of the tribeName of its ChiefIts place of headquartersNumber of subdivisionsPopulationAmount of tribute paid to Amir Faisul ibn Turki al-Sa'udNumber of horses procurable by each tribeRemarksThe remarks relate to the expectation that the Chief of each tribe would each year give horses to Amir Faisul. The amount of horses is determined by the number of Jama (subdivisions) the tribe had; in return the chief would receive clothes, weapons and dates from the Amir. A further remark notes that those tribes who pay no tribute are expected to protect the Nejd [Najd] frontiers and to go on any expeditions that the Amir wishes them to.Physical description: The folio has to be folded out in order to be read.
Abstract: The statements were originally intended to form Appendix 12 of Colonel Pelly's Riyadh report No.57 dated 15 May 1866 and were produced following a request from the British Government for Pelly to go through William Gifford Palgrave's book and verify the truth, or otherwise, of accusations, assertions and claims made by Palgrave about the places he visited and people he met.The principal statements that Pelly addressed were as follows:That the native agent at Shargah [Sharjah], an Armenian named Hajee Yacoob, was encouraging the slave trade whilst operating as a representative of the British Government. This claim was refuted by Pelly firstly as Hajee Yacoob was a musselman, secondly as he had recovered more slaves than 'any other man in the Gulf' and thirdly as succesive residents considered him to be a most energetic and reliable man who was not as Palgrave supposed responsible for the suppression of slavery in Shargeh but was in fact the arbitrator of the maritime truce there.That Palgrave and his companion had travelled openly as Christians and been welcomed as such. Whereas Pelly had witness testimonies, including from his agent at Muscat, that Palgrave had disguised himself as a mussulman and used assumed names in order to travel and had even been seen worshipping in mosques.Claims as to the extent of the territories of Oman, that Bahrein and Qatar (amongst other places) paid tribute to Oman, that Said Saeed [Thuwaini bin Said] divided his territories up between his three sons in his will, alleged tensions between these sons and claims relating to Said Soulem [Salim II bin Thuwaini], son of Said Saeed, being a young boy. Several of these claims such as the extent of Oman's territories and the way in which they were divided up following Said Saeed's death were refuted through treaties and agreements that already existed such as Lord Canning's of 1861 which separated Muscat and Zanzibar, and a loan agreement of 1856 in which Persia agreed to lease some places to Oman. The remaining claims were refuted by Pelly's personal and detailed knowledge of Muscat and through Said Torki [Turki bin Said],son of Said Saeed who was a guest of Pelly's in Bushire at the time of his writing the responses to the statements, including that Said Soulem was actually a grown man, not a young boy, and had recently been accused of murdering his father,Also included in the file are a draft version of the statements and a copy of the witness statement of Mr Rozario, agent at Muscat, regarding Mr Palgrave passing himself off there as a mussulman called Aboo Mahmood and that he had observed him attending mosques and outwardly observing the fast.Physical description: Foliation: The file has been foliated in the front top right corner of each folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle.
Abstract: This file is divided into two sections. The first section (folios 2-21) consists of fourteen letters from Bushire to Tehran, two letters from Bushire to Baghdad and two letters from Tehran to Bushire. The letters from Bushire are written by Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to one of the following: His Excellency Colonel Justin Sheil CB, Her Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Persia, Tehran; William Taylour Thomson, Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at the Court of Persia, Tehran; Colonel Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, Baghdad. In addition, there are two letters from William Taylour Thomson to Arnold Burrowes Kemball. Subjects covered in the first section include: British relations with the Persian Government; the state of affairs in Tangestān and Bandar-e 'Abbās; the retrieval of consignments of indigo, which formed part of the plundered cargo of the
Centaur. The second section (folios 24-59) consists of fourteen letters from Commodore George Robinson, Commander of the Persian Gulf Squadron, to Kemball and eight letters addressed by Kemball to Robinson. Many of Robinson's letters include enclosed copies of letters from various officers of the Naval Squadron (namely Lieutenants James Tronson, Robert Anstice Stradling, Charles Golding Constable and David Rose Dakers), which include not only accounts of duties carried out in the lower end of the Gulf but also reports of intelligence received from the native agents at Sharjah and Bandar-e Lengeh respectively. Subjects covered include: attempts made by Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Āl Sa‘ūd, ruler of the Second Saudi State, to obtain a tribute from the Governor of Muscat, Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘id al-Sa‘id, for the Al-Bāṭinah coast; the various duties carried out by officers of the Squadron, such as seizing boats that have imported slaves into ports along the Arab coast.Physical description: Pagination: There is an original pagination sequence which is written in ink, in the top right corners of the rectos and in the top left corners of the versos. The sequence is consistent, although not all of the pages have been paginated.Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is written in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. This sequence begins on the third folio after the front cover, on number 1A, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 62. It should be noted that the sequence begins on f 1A and is followed by f 1B and f 2. This is the sequence used by this catalogue to reference items within this file.
Abstract: Handwritten report, in Lewis Pelly's handwriting about the history of the Shat el Arab [Shatt al Arab] watercourse from the point where it commences at the uniting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through to where it flows into the Persian Gulf.The reports goes on to describe the agriculture along the watercourse; the deserts beyond; and information about Basrah [Basra] including architectural descriptions and the ruined city of Zobeir [Zubayr].The report also includes accounts of attacks on the area by nomadic Bedouins who travel the area in winter searching for pastures; the development of a settlement, trade and a Government at Khote [Kuwait], including a description of Pelly's visit there en-route to Riadh [Riyadh]; and giving detailed descriptions of the Sheikh, conversations about Pelly's proposed trip and details of the hospitality Pelly received there.The report concludes by recounting a story told by Sheikh Sabba [Sabah II bin Jabir Al-Sabah] of two slave girls and their families' efforts to find and be reunited with them.The report itself is undated, but would have been written sometime after Lewis Pelly's trip to Riyadh which took place February to March 1865.Physical description: 40 folios
Abstract: Two draft copies of a report written by Lewis Pelly of the coastline from Al Katif [Al Qatif] to Koweit [Kuwait] and his journey onwards from there to Riyath [Riyath]. The report contains names and descriptions of key geographic areas and features travelled through en-route.The contents of this draft report were included as part of Lewis Pelly's full report on his journey to Riyadh to meet with Amir Faysul [Faisal ibn Turki al-Sa'ud].Both draft copies contain crossings out and corrections.Physical description: 7 folios
Abstract: Incomplete memorandum, written in pencil, regarding the tribute that Amir Faisaul ibn Turki al Sa'ud of the Wahabees [Wahhabi] pays to the Porte and the revenues he receives both in terms of money and horses as well as in military aid.The memorandum also refers to agreements with other tribes who can travel unmolested through Nejd [Najd] territory.The verso of folio 74 contains the first line of a memorandum regarding writing to someone.The memorandum itself is undated, however the information contained within it would have been acquired by Lewis Pelly during his visit to Riyadh, February to March 1865.Physical description: 2 folios
Abstract: Letter requesting that Lewis Pelly submit a detailed account of all he saw, heard and did in the course of his visit to Riadh [Riyadh] for the Governor-General in Council as requested as it had not yet been received.Physical description: 2 folios
Abstract: Letter forwarding some correspondence between the Political Agent, Muscat and the Sultan of Muscat (Thuwaini bin Said Al-Said) for Pelly's information and requesting a report from him on his opinion of the differences between the Sultans of Muscat and the Wahabees [Wahhabi] (Faisal ibn Turki al Sa'ud).The letter also informs Pelly that he may offer to act as a mediator between the two parties but that he should make it clear to the Sultan of Muscat that the British Government has no intention of interfering in the matter.The letter also contains a note by Lewis Pelly dated 9 January 1865.Physical description: 1 folio