Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes relating to ownership of Bubiyan Island [Jazīrat Būbiyān] and Warba Island [Jazīrat Warbah]. The discussion in the volume relates to:a military post on Bubiyan Island;proposal to include right of pre-emption of Warba in 1907 Agreement;evidence of Kuwaiti ownership of Warba and Bubiyan. The evidence was acquired by conducting a survey (ff 26-45) with various questions.Principal correspondents include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Percy Zachariah Cox; the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department; First Assistant Resident, Bushire; the Secretary of State for India; the Viceroy, Simla; the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 46; 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 16-28; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 4-436 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.Pagination: the volume also contains a hand written pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file contains copies of various telegrams on railways between the Director of Military Intelligence, the Commander-in-Chief India, the General Officer Commanding Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus Military Agent during the period July-November 1917.Principal subjects of discussion are: the extension of the Baghdad railway east of Nisibin [Nusaybin] towards Mosul; reports of the process of construction and the transportation of material, with some concerns raised as to the accuracy of the reports; cities on the railway’s route; the movements of Turkish [Ottoman] troops; the movements of Falkenhayn’s [General Erich von Falkenhayn] army; and reports of attacks on trains.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 30; 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 between ff 2-29.
Abstract: The note was written by Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel for the India Office, 30 Nov 1918, and consists of remarks on three points drawn out from the Foreign Office memorandum:The Trucial System - disputing the assumptions made in the original memo that Great Britain effectively kept the peace over a large part of the Arabian Peninsula; and that no treaties had been made with Chief's of inland tribes, that all had been coastal tribes. Stating that the object of the treaties was maritime peace; that His Majesty's Government had always been firmly against interference in the interior of Arabia; the terms of the existing treaty with Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, Ibn Saud]; and the India Office's opinion that there would be no benefit to extending the trucial system to the interior of Arabia.The Hejaz - detailing the India Office's thoughts on what a treaty with the King of Hejaz should consist of and how diplomatic relations should be handled.Syria - regarding what the alternative approach to Syria should be if the French refuse to give it up, and citing the opinions of Captain Wilson and Gertrude Bell that the French should be persuaded to give up some areas of Syria within their control for Armenia.Mention is also given to the Baghdad Railway and the importance of ensuring that it is British controlled.The appendix to the note contains further details on the British Government's agreement with Bin Saud, setting out the full history of events leading up to the signing of the agreement; later modifications to it; and the definition of the term 'foreign power' within the treaty.Physical description: Foliation: The sequence commences at the first folio and concludes on the last folio. It consists of pencil numbers, enclosed in a circle, located in the top right hand corner of the recto of each folio.Pagination: The booklet also has an original typed pagination sequence, with numbers printed at the centre of the top of each page, excepting page 1.
Abstract: This printed memorandum is a copy of an article reprinted for private circulation from the
The Quarterly Reviewof October 1917 concerning the Baghdad Railway negotiations. The purpose of the article is to trace the development of railway interests in Turkey and seek to focus the situation in which the later negotiations concerning the Baghdad Railway took place, and ultimately resulted in a draft agreement. The article is divided into the following chronological periods which are dealt with in corresponding sections of the article: 'The First Period' (ending 1888), 'The Second Period' (ending 1903) and 'The Final Period' (ending June 1914). These sections are followed by a 'Conclusion'. Each section is referenced with footnotes.There is one map accompanying the article on folio 71 entitled 'Map of Railways in Asiatic Turkey representing their condition in July 1914' with the following railway systems represented: 'Turkish Railways (European and Hejaz)', 'Anatolian Railway', 'Baghdad Railway System, Working', 'Baghdad Railways System, Projected', 'Baghdad Railway System, Branches', 'Other German Projected Lines', 'Smyrna-'Aidin Railway (British)', 'Smyrna-'Aidin Railway Projected', 'French Railways', 'French Railways Projected', 'Egyptian State Railway', 'Russian Railways', and 'Navigation Concessions under British Management'.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 56. and terminates at folio 71, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 also present in parallel between folio 11-158; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The report, printed for the use of the Foreign Office, was compiled by Captain Edward Willoughby Sandys Mahon, Royal Engineer on 24 July 1905 to identify places suitable as termini of the Baghdad Railway. He advises Bussorah [Basra] as the best place, for strategic and commercial reasons.The report contains two maps:'Sketch Map of the Mouth of the Shatt-El-Arab' (f 15);'Koweit Harbour' (f 16).Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 13, and terminates at f 17, since it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 also present in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto of each folio. These numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: This section of the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Foreign Office report, marked Secret and dated 24 July 1909, authored by R P Maxwell, R Ritchie, George J Stanley, W Tyrrell, Percy Ashley and R C Lindsay of the Mesopotamia Railways Committee. The report concerns the options being considered by Government for the concession of the Bagdad [Baghdad] railway’s extension to Bussorah [Basra], under proposal with the Turkish Government. Following the report is an appendix (folios 88-91) which is a memorandum on the commercial possibilities of three railway proposals in Mesopotamia, prepared by the Commercial Department of the Board of Trade in 1909. The memorandum includes a map (folio 90), dated September 1908, indicating the proposed railways in Asiatic Turkey, and the chief economic value (e.g. agricultural, oil, coal) of different parts of the region.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 87, and terminates at f 91, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 also present in parallel between ff 87-91; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and won't be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The report was printed for the Committee of Imperial Defence, November 1911, and approved on 14 December 1911. It concerns the situation in the Persian Gulf regarding the extent to which Turkish claims aligned with British interests, and engagements already made with the Sheikh of Koweit [Kuwait] and other chiefs.It includes the following:Report - The Standing Sub-Committee advise on the terminus of the Baghdad Railway, control of the navigation of the Shat-Al-Arab [Shatt al Arab], and the limits of Turkish sovereignty in the Shat-Al-Arab and on the shores of the Gulf.Proceedings - minutes of the First Meeting, 24 May 1911; and minutes of the Second Meeting, 15 June 1911.The following appendices are also contained in the report:I. Memorandum on Turkish aggression in the Persian Gulf, by the Foreign Office.II. Memorandum on local action in the Persian Gulf, by the General Staff, War Office.III. Letter on the Shat-Al-Arab and Koweit, from the Naval Commander-in-chief, East Indies, to the Government of India.IV. Report of the Inter-Departmental Conference on the Baghdad Railway terminus, by the Foreign Office, 1907.V. Foreign Office correspondence on the frontier of Muhamrah (Mohammerah)[Khorramshahr].VI. Memorandum on the Turco-Persian boundary question 1833-1906, by the Foreign Office.VII. Foreign Office correspondence on the frontier of Mohammerah, 1906-1911.Some treaty extracts and agreements are in French.Also contains three maps:f 25: 'MAP OF MOHAMMERAH AND DISTRICT PREPARED IN 1850'f 43: 'Sketch of APPROACHES TO KUWEIT HARBOUR AND SHATT AL ARAB'f 44: 'PERSIAN GULF AND ADJACENT COUNTRIES'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 45; 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 file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The map shows a region encompassing parts of Russia, Persia, Arabia and the Ottoman Empire, indicating the routes of proposed and existing railway lines. The map also shows hydrology, topography and major cities and towns.The map is Plate 2 in 'Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman' (Naval Intelligence Department No. 694), 1903, and bears the printing statement, 'Weller & Graham, Ltd. Litho, London.'.Physical description: Materials: Printed on paperDimensions: 196 x 240mm, on sheet 244 x 405mm
Abstract: A report concerning a series of meetings held at the Foreign Office in April/May 1913 between Ottoman diplomat Hakki Pasha [Ibrahim Hakki Pasha] and two British officials, Sir Louis du Pan Mallet and Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel.The negotiations concerned the construction of the Gulf section of the Baghdad Railway and broader discussions regarding Ottoman and British interests in the region. Specifically, the report discusses Hakki's responses to various articles contained within in the British Memorandum of 18 July 1912 which the Foreign Office had presented to the Ottoman Ambassador.The file contains a small amount of French quoted within the text, it appears that this is the language in which the negotiations took place.Physical description: The file is contained within a bound volume that contains a number of other files.Foliation: The foliation for this report commences at f 87, and terminates at f 88, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 also present in parallel between ff 7-89; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence, reports and memoranda relating to the Baghdad Railway, and papers relating to Britain’s relations with Persia [Iran], and to a lesser extent, the Persian Gulf.Papers relating to the Baghdad Railway include the following memoranda: ‘Memorandum on the Baghdad Railway, and possible British participation therein’; ‘Memoranda containing a Brief Account of the Negotiations relating to the Baghdad Railway, 1898-1905’; and ‘Report (with Maps) on the country adjacent to the Khor Abdullah, and places suitable as Termini of the proposed Baghdad Railway’ (which includes two maps: Mss Eur F111/360, f 32 and Mss Eur F111/360, f 33).The file also includes:Copies of printed despatches from the Marquess of Lansdowne (Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to Sir Charles Louis des Graz, Secretary of the British Legation, Tehran, dated August 1902, reporting conversations between himself and the Shah of Persia and the Atabeg-i-Azam (also spelled Atabek-i-Azam) concerning Britain’s relations with Persia, including the increase in the Persian Customs TariffHandwritten notes by George Nathaniel Curzon relating to Persia (folios 43 to 50)Newspaper extracts from
The Times, dated January 1902 and May 1903, relating to British interests in Persia and the Persian Gulf, and Russian relations with Persia (folios 54 to 63).The file includes a copy of a letter from Sir Nicholas Roderick O’Conor, British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, to the Marquess of Lansdowne, enclosing an extract from the
Moniteur Orientalof 15 August 1905, regarding the working of the recently completed section of the Baghdad Railway from Konia to Eregli and Boulgourlou, which is in French. The file also includes a copy of a letter from Joseph Naus to Sir Arthur Hardinge, HM Minister to Persia, 3 May 1903, relating to the export of cereals, which is also in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 64; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Printed confidential memorandum (B 160), written by Major Lindsay Sherwood Newmarch, Political Resident in Turkish Arabia, dated 18 December 1906. The memorandum addresses the associated risks and benefits to be incurred and gained from not being involved in the construction of the Baghdad railway. Newmarch refers to: imperial competition over the line and the region more broadly, chiefly from Russia, France and Germany; the alternative prospect of gaining a monopoly on river traffic south of Baghdad (on the Tigris and Euphrates) if the railway were extended to Baghdad; the prospect of negotiating a concession for a steam ship monopoly south of Baghdad with the Turks, and German competition for any such concession; the difficulties that would be faced in attempting to construct a railway line south of Baghdad, to the Persian Gulf, and the easier prospects for a line from Baghdad to Urfa [Şanlıurfa; al-Ruhā] or Mosul; economic advantages to other branches of the line, in terms of transporting pilgrims, goods; his own recommendations for British involvement and control of railway construction and steam ship routes, and his conclusion that Britain should ‘secure the waterways’ south of Baghdad, at the cost of involvement in construction of the railway line to the north.Physical description: Foliation: The file comprises two separated folded sheets, foliated from 1 to 4. The memorandum also has its own original pagination, running 2 to 7 from ff 2v-4.
Abstract: This printed report by the General Staff, War Office, concerns Great Britain's railway policy in relation to general military policy in the Middle East, covering projects in Mesopotamia, Persia, India, Syria and Palestine. There are also details concerning the question of track gauge and general conclusions. There are three appendices which include printed related correspondence and a map of 'The Middle East, Showing Railways Gauges, 1918' which is not present in this volume.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence for this file commences at folio 21, and terminates at folio 25, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 also present in parallel between folios 7-153; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.