Abstract: This volume contains correspondence between British officials concerning agreements between the British and Persian governments related to the suppression of the slave trade in the Persian Gulf. Much of the correspondence is between officials at the Foreign Office, the India Office and the British Legation in Tehran.Specifically, the correspondence relates to discussions concerning the drafting of an article relating to slavery in a proposed Anglo-Persian Treaty and the revision of the Anglo-Persian Slavery Convention of 1882. Specific incidents regarding slavery in the region are also discussed intermittently throughout the volume.In addition to this correspondence, the volume contains several extracts and drafts of agreements (most of which are in French) and the following documents:Foreign Policy memorandum entitled 'Anglo-Persian Slavery Convention of 1882' (folios 134-139)'Law forbidding the Purchase and Sale of Slaves on Persian Territory and according them Freedom on their Arrival in Persia (Passed by the Majlis on 18th Bahman, 1307 (February 7, 1929).)' (folio 151)India Office memorandum entitled 'Slavery in the Persian Gulf' (folios 270-271)'Treaty between Her Majesty and His Majesty the King of Italy for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade. Signed at London, September 14, 1889 - Ratifications exchanged at London, October 24, 1889' (folios 328-330)'Convention between Her Majesty and His Majesty the Shah of Persia for the Suppression of the Traffic in Slaves. Signed in the English and Persian Languages at Tehran, March 2, 1882. (Ratifications exchanged at Tehran, June 14, 1882.)' (folios 331-333).The volume includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.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 340; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: A copy of a dispatch from Brigadier-General John Malcolm, Envoy of the Supreme Government of India to Persia [Iran], to Lord Minto, Governor-General of Bengal, sent from Bagdad [Baghdad] and dated 6 October 1810. The dispatch concerns Malcolm’s views on the state of Persia. It includes discussion of the following: population and tribes; government; the army; state revenues; the character of the King [Shah] of Persia [Fath-‘Ali Shāh Qājār], his Court and his family; political relations between the United Kingdom and Persia, and British policy towards Persia.Included is a copy of a letter from Malcolm to the Secret Committee of the Court of the Directors of the East India Company, sent from Bombay [Mumbai] and dated 10 February 1811, enclosing a copy of a dispatch to the Secret Committee (which is not included in this item), which he states he had previously forwarded from Bagdad by Lieutenant MacDonald, who he goes on to state had been plundered within a few miles of Bagdad.Physical description: 1 item (47 folios)
Abstract: Copy of dispatch No. 11 from HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, in Tehran, to HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, George Canning, of 15 June 1825. The letter concerns relations between Russia and Persia, including:The ongoing negotiations for the demarcation of the frontier between Russia and Persia, including the determination of the Prince Royal (Crown Prince of Persia, 'Abbās Mīrzā Qājār) to continue negotiationsThe recall of the Russian Consul General, Vazenco, from TehranPoor relations between the Russian Chargé d’Affaires to Persia, Mazarowich [Semyon Mazarovich] and the Prince RoyalThe Prince Royal’s attempts to impress on the Shah (Fath-‘Ali Shāh Qājār) a belief that Russia seeks to disturb amicable relations between Russia and Persia.The letter also originally enclosed the definition of the frontier originally agreed, the definition of a new line of demarcation proposed by the Prince Royal, and a letter from the Prince Royal to the Governor-General of Georgia, General Yermoloff [Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov] (now catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/70/30-32).This document was originally enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 3 July 1825 (IOR/L/PS/9/70/25).Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: Copy of Dispatch No. 12 from HM Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia, Edward Cromwell Disbrowe, in St Petersburgh [St Petersburg], to HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Earl of Dudley, of 27 January 1828 [Old Style]/ 8 February 1828 [New Style]. Disbrowe reports the intention of the former HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, to travel to Persia to transmit a communication from the Emperor of Russia to the Persian Government as soon as the winter weather permits, following delays to his setting out at the request of the Emperor. He also reports that Willock’s prolonged residence in St Petersburgh has been ‘decidedly useful’, allowing Disbrowe to communicate with the Russian Foreign Minister, Count [Karl Robert] Nesselrode, with ‘more firmness’.This document was originally enclosed, numbered 2, in Willock’s letter to the Secretary to the East India Company, Joseph Dart, of 10 March 1828 (IOR/L/PS/9/71/195).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of dispatch No. 5 from HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, in Tehran, to HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, George Canning, of 12 February 1825. The letter gives a review of the policies of Britain and Russia towards Persia during the preceding ten years, and the question of the succession to the Persian throne. The letter discusses various aspects of these topics, including:The reduction of British influence in Persia following the cessation of military and financial assistance and the reduction of its diplomatic presenceThe Russian diplomatic missions of the Governor-General of Georgia, General Yermoloff [General Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov], and the Russian Chargé d'Affaires to Persia, Mazarovich [Semyon Mazarovich]The respective influence of Britain and Russia with the Crown Prince of Persia, Abbas Meerza ['Abbās Mīrzā Qājār]Abbas Meerza’s position and influence in PersiaThe Russian commitment and efforts to support the succession of Abbas Meerza to the throneThe role of the Shah of Persia [Fath-‘Ali Shāh Qājār] in the positions of Britain and Russia in Persia.Willock concludes with the recommendation that Britain should support Abbas Meerza in succeeding to the throne without the assistance of Russia, to counteract the spread of Russian influence in Persia.This document was originally enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 16 February 1825 (IOR/L/PS/9/70/1).Physical description: 1 item (20 folios)
Abstract: Copy of dispatch No. 65 from the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir, at the Royal Camp at Seraab [Sirab?], to the Chief Secretary to the Government of India, George Swinton, of 20 September 1827. Macdonald Kinneir details a disagreement between Abbas Meerza [ʿAbbās Mīrzā Qājār, Crown Prince of Persia] and the Shah of Persia [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār] concerning the ongoing war between Russia and Persia [Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828], resulting in the determination of the Shah to send Meerza Abul Hassan Khan [Mīrzā Abū al-Ḥasan Khān Shīrāzī, Foreign Minister of Persia] to London as an ambassador to discuss peace. Macdonald Kinneir discusses his audiences with the Shah and meetings with the Shah’s ministers on this subject, during which he sought to discourage the Shah from sending an envoy to London and made an agreement for a mission to be sent to Petersburgh [St Petersburg] instead. Macdonald Kinneir also discusses the Shah’s ‘ardent desire’ for peace and the financial and territorial concessions he might be willing to make to Russia, and the designs of and rivalry between the Shah’s ministers.The letter originally enclosed related correspondence between Macdonald Kinneir and members of the Persian Government (now catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/71/52-58).This document was originally enclosed in Macdonald Kinneir’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 22 September 1827 (IOR/L/PS/9/71/50).Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: Copy of dispatch No. 78 from the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir, in Deckargan [Azarshahr], to the Chief Secretary to the Government of India, George Swinton, of 10 January 1828. The letter reports Macdonald Kinneir’s receipt of a secret packet from the Secret Committee of the East India Company, and includes an annexed list of the contents of this packet (these letters are not included in this item). Macdonald Kinneir also refers to his previous correspondence with the Chairman of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, in which he recommended ‘endeavouring to purchase the redemption of our engagements so stipulated in the 3d and 4th Articles of our Treaty with this Court [Persia]’ (see IOR/L/PS/9/71/64). He indicates that to do this will cost 350,000 to 400,000 Tomauns [tomans, Persian currency].This document was originally enclosed in Macdonald Kinneir’s letter to the Secret Committee of 21 January 1828 (IOR/L/PS/9/71/154).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of dispatch No. 82 from the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir, in Tabriz, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of India, George Swinton, of 21 January 1828. Macdonald Kinneir reports his communications with Prince Abbas Mirza [ʿAbbās Mīrzā Qājār, Crown Prince of Persia] concerning a proposal made by the former for the abrogation of the third and fourth articles of the current Anglo-Persian treaty [Definitive Treaty of 1814], which provide for a subsidy from Britain to Persia in times of war, in return for a compensation payment (see IOR/L/PS/9/71/155). He details the discussion and indicates his belief that a sum of at least 350,000 tomauns [tomans] will be required for Abbas Mirza to agree to the proposal.This document was originally enclosed in Macdonald Kinneir’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 21 January 1828 (IOR/L/PS/9/71/154).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of dispatch No. 91 from the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir, in Tabreez [Tabriz], to the Chief Secretary to the Government of India, George Swinton, of 26 March 1828. The letter concerns the agreement between Macdonald Kinneir and Abbas Meerza [ʿAbbās Mīrzā Qājār, Crown Prince of Persia] for the abrogation of the third and fourth articles of the treaty existing between Britain and Persia [Definitive Treaty of 1814] (see IOR/L/PS/9/71/192-193). Macdonald Kinneir indicates that he offered Abbas Meerza the opportunity to reconsider the agreement and return the 200,000 tomauns [tomans] paid to him by the British ‘in case of repentance’, whereupon he received a reply from Abbas Meerza indicating that the money has already been paid to Russia for the evacuation of the Province [the Province of Azerbaijan].This document originally enclosed Macdonald Kinneir’s above communication with Abbas Meerza, and also correspondence between Macdonald Kinneir and the Shah of Persia [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār] (now catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/71/255-257).This document was originally enclosed in Macdonald Kinneir’s dispatch No. 34 to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 28 March 1828 (IOR/L/PS/9/71/253).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of Dispatch No. 93 from the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir, in Tabreez [Tabriz], to the Governor-General of India, Lord Amherst, of 28 March 1828. The letter originally enclosed an extract of Macdonald Kinneir’s private journal, detailing ‘the most remarkable transactions’ (now catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/71/261). Macdonald Kinneir reports the ‘far from prosperous’ state of affairs in the interior of Persia, detailing uprisings in Astrabad and Mazinderaun [Mazandaran], Yezd [Yazd] and Kermaun [Kerman], and arguing that the agreement of peace in the war between Russia and Persia [Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828] has averted ‘confusion, anarchy, and bloodshed’ in Persia. Macdonald Kinneir also indicates that he will endeavour to reduce the expenditure of HM Mission to Persia, but that he will not be able to do so without specific instructions, and that recalling the British soldiers in the service of Abbas Meerza [ʿAbbās Mīrzā Qājār, Crown Prince of Persia] might impact Britain’s ‘predominant’ influence in Persia, particularly as it would encourage Abbas Meerza to take up military assistance offered to him by Russia.This document was originally enclosed in Macdonald Kinneir’s dispatch No. 34 to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 28 March 1828 (IOR/L/PS/9/71/253).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Supreme Government of India, George Swinton, at Fort William, to the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel McDonald [Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir], of 18 March 1825. The letter indicates that McDonald’s mission will not be authorised to advance into Persia until approved by the British Government in England, unless explicitly authorised by the Shah of Persia. Instructions for HM Chargé d’Affaires in Persia, Henry Willock, to pursue regarding the question of the mission’s advance into Persia and the intentions of the Persians towards the mission are also outlined. The letter also repudiates some of McDonald’s suggestions in his letter of 22 February 1825 (catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/70/22) on the grounds that they would not be conducive to maintaining good relations with Russia, and indicates that policy concerning Russia’s position in Persia is the responsibility of the British Government in England.This document was originally enclosed Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 3 July 1825 (catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/70/20).Physical description: 1 item (12 folios)
Abstract: Dispatch No. 29 from the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir, to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, sent from Tabreez [Tabriz] and dated 27 December 1828.The letter covers:The plans of the Prince Royal [‘Abbās Mīrzā Qājār, Crown Prince of Persia] to travel to St Petersburgh [Saint Petersburg]The arrival in Persia of an agent of the Grand Signior [Sultan of the Ottoman Empire], asking for assistance and alleging that Russia, France, and Britain intend to partition the Turkish [Ottoman] EmpireMacdonald Kinneir’s efforts to dissuade the Persian Government from launching military action to acquire territory from TurkeyThe difficulties presented by Macdonald Kinneir’s lack of accreditation to the British Government.The letter also forwards various correspondence (not enclosed).Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)