Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, extracts from a Bombay [Mumbai] Political Consultation, 4 June 1845. The papers contained in this item are partial enclosures to a Political Letter sent from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 10 June 1845. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2122/100076, alongside details of further enclosures.The item contains a letter, dated 3 April 1845, written by Captain Atkins Hamerton, HM Consul and the Company’s Agent in the Dominions of the Imam of Muskat [Muscat], to the Government of Bombay. He confirms that, as per his instructions, he has passed on the message to the Imam that, at the port of Curachee [Karachi] since February 1843, duty is now charged at the same rate on vessels from the Imam's territories as it is on ‘British Bottoms’ [goods carried on British ships].The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5061, Draft 29/46, Coll[ection]: 23, Vol: 11’, ‘Collection No. 10 of No. 62’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 507, and terminates at f 509, 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 file concerns the effects of the implementation of controls on the import and export of food and other commodities in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast during the Second World War (1939-45).The main correspondents are the Political Agent, Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); the Government of India; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Residency Agent, Sharjah; the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); the Food Controller, Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier); and the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain (also deGrenier).The papers include: Food Controller's report for the year 1941 (folios 2-9); correspondence between Petroleum Concessions (Qatar) Limited, and the Political Agent, Bahrain concerning difficulties caused by the curtailment of the company's supplies by the Food Controller, Bahrain (folios 10-29); the legal implications of hoarding, and related matters (folios 31-33); report by the Food Controller on stocks of food in Bahrain (folio 42); report on control of exports from Bahrain (folios 51-52); statistics of average monthly consumption of staple commodities in Bahrain, and minimum annual requirements of foodstuffs and textiles (folios 61-63); copy of regulation making all exports dependent on the permission of the Food Controller (folios 68-70); the support of the Political Agent, Bahrain for a petition from a group of merchants to allow the re-export of piece goods (folios 75-77); correspondence from the Residency Agent, Sharjah detailing commodities required for consumption on the Trucial Coast; correspondence concerning acute shortages of wheat and flour in Bahrain; correspondence concerning 'famine' conditions on the coast of Persia (e.g. folios 96-98); an estimate of the wartime increase in the cost of living in Bahrain (folio 107); the difficulties faced by Bahrain merchants in exporting goods to India, including an allegation that they needed to give bribes to customs officials at Karachi (folios 158-159, 163-165); a confidential memorandum critical of the Food Controller, Bahrain (folio 169); the use of Bahrein Petroleum Company (BAPCO) tankers for the transportation of foodstuffs (e.g. folios 185-186); and the effect on Bahrain of food shortages in India (folio 220).The Arabic language content of the volume consists of a single letter (with English translation) on folio 90.The date range gives the covering dates of the correspondence; the last addition to the file is an entry in the notes on folio 279 dated 9 August 1942.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 280; 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 1-279; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence relating to the shipment and transhipment of cargo (chiefly rice, sugar, spices, piece goods) from India (Karachi) to the ports of the Persian Gulf, chiefly Dubai, Katar [Qatar, also spelt Gutter, Quatter in the file] and Bahrain. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 12/7 I Shipping. Arrival of Sailing Crafts at Qatar and other places with Cargo.’ (IOR/R/15/2/1375). The file’s principal correspondents are: the Collector (and Assistant Collector) of Customs at Karachi; staff at the Political Agency in Bahrain; the Director of Customs at Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis DeGrenier; George William Reginald Smith); the Ruler of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī); the Ruler of Dubai (Shaikh Sa‘id bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm).The correspondence chiefly concerns routine enquires made about specific vessels travelling from India to the ports of the Persian Gulf, and involves the delivery and return of export manifests. The enquiries begin with letters from the Collector (or Assistant Collector) of Customs, or other administrators, at Indian ports (Karachi, Bombay, Veraval) informing the Political Agent at Bahrain of named vessels travelling to ports in the Persian Gulf, with details of their cargo and cargo markings, and requesting confirmation of their arrival and the landing of their cargo. These letters are followed by enquiries made by the Political Agent to the Director of Customs at Bahrain (for vessels travelling to Bahrain), the Residency Agent at Sharjah (for vessels travelling to the ports of the Trucial Coast), and the Ruler of Qatar (for vessels travelling to Qatar), with further correspondence, including replies from the Residency Agent at Sharjah (in English and Arabic) and letters from the Rulers of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ajman, and replies from the Ruler of Qatar. Correspondence is concluded with a letter from the Political Agent at Bahrain, back to the Collector of Customs at Karachi, confirming the arrival (and sometimes non-arrival) of named vessels.Other papers in the file include:correspondence in response to an enquiry made by P N Candavarkar, Collector of Customs at Bombay, to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated October 1938, relating to the status of the customs administration at the port of Dofar [Dhofar], prompting broader questions, answered by the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Residency Agent at Sharjah, of how certificates for the landing of cargoes are managed in the ports of the Persian Gulf. This correspondence includes copies of earlier papers, dating from 1924 (ff 95-110);a copy of an export general manifest, dated 1941 (f 237).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 500; 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 3-331 and between ff 427-462; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 463-492; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence relating to the shipment and transhipment of cargo from India (chiefly Karachi but also Veraval) to the ports of the Persian Gulf, principally Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar (often spelt Quattar) and Bahrain. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 12/7 II Arrival of country craft from India’ (IOR/R/15/2/1376) The file’s principal correspondents are: the Collector of Customs at Karachi; staff at the Political Agency in Bahrain; the Residency Agent at Sharjah; the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast; the Director of Customs at Bahrain (George William Reginald Smith).The correspondence relates to routine enquiries made concerning cargo on specific vessels travelling from Karachi (and Veraval) to the ports of the Persian Gulf, and involves the exchange of export manifests detailing goods landed at different ports. The enquiries begin with letters from the Collector of Customs at Karachi (or Veraval) informing the Political Agent at Bahrain of named vessels travelling to ports in the Persian Gulf, with extracts of their export manifest, and requesting confirmation of their arrival and the verification of the landing of their cargo. These letters are followed by enquiries made by the Political Agent (enclosing export manifests) to the Director of Customs at Bahrain (for vessels travelling to Bahrain), the Residency Agent at Sharjah (for vessels travelling to the ports of the Trucial Coast), and the Ruler of Qatar (for vessels travelling to Qatar), requesting verification of the export manifests. Replies from the Director of Customs at Bahrain, the Residency Agent at Sharjah (in English and Arabic) and the Ruler of Qatar, confirm if vessels have arrived in port or not. Further correspondence includes letters from the Political Agent at Bahrain to the Collector of Customs at Karachi (or Veraval) confirming the arrival (and sometimes non-arrival) of named vessels, enclosing verified (or unverified) export manifests.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 199; 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 2-149; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of statistical reports on the imports and exports of important commodities into and out of Bahrain and Sharjah and Dubai on the Trucial Coast, as part of the wider export licence controls and
Navicertsystem of trade and contraband control during the Second World War. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Tom Hickinbotham); the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd al-Razzaq until February 1945; Jasim ibn Muhammad Kadmari thereafter); the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast (Captain Maurice O’Connor Tandy until April 1944; Reginald Michael Hadow until October 1944; Captain Richard Ernest Bird thereafter); and the Director of Customs at Bahrain (G W R Smith). The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 28/5 (a) I War. Proposed extension of export licensing system’ (IOR/R/15/2/684). The mispelt title of the file refers to the proposed extension of the license export system.The file contains:monthly submissions from the Customs Director at Bahrain of imports and exports of commodities at Bahrain, running from January 1943 through to March 1945;monthly submissions from the Residency Agent at Sharjah, or the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast, for imports and exports of commodities at Sharjah and Dubai, running from March 1943 through to March 1945;statistics for the import and export of commodities at Bahrain, Sharjah and Dubai, collated by the Political Agent from the reports received by the Customs Director at Bahrain, the Residency Agent at Sharjah, and the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast, and forwarded to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for India at the India Office, the Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. The imports tables include columns for: commodity; source; quantity (measured in long tons for commodities into Bahrain; measured in hundredweights, bales, cases, tins, etc. for commodities into Sharjah/Dubai). The exports tables include columns for: commodity; destination; and quantity.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 257; 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 2-224; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. and are located in the same position as the main sequence.Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 251-256) have been paginated using pencil.
Abstract: The file comprises requests made by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) for licences to export petroleum products from Bahrain, sent by the Chief Local Representative for Bahrain (J O Fifer during 1945; R M Brown during 1946) to the Political Agency.Each of the export licence requests, which are numbered, detail: the assignee of the export; the name of the vessel and its place of registration; the date for loading at Bahrain; the quantity and type of petroleum products to be loaded; the destination of the export; the consignee (a significant proportion of which is marked as ‘US Navy’; the tonnage of diesel fuel in the ship’s bunkers. On some requests the destination and consignee is not specified, and is marked instead as ‘sailing under sealed orders’. Included amongst the licence requests are some export licences which were cancelled and sent back to the Political Agency. These licences typically have the word ‘cancelled’ written across them in blue or red pen, or bear a stamp marking them as cancelled. The file also contains some letters from representatives of Gray, Mackenzie and Company, relating to requests made for licences by BAPCO.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 394; 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 2-75; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains post-war correspondence related to the export of petroleum coke (also referred to as ‘Bahrain smalls’) produced by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) from Bahrain. A telegram from the Washington Coal Committee to the London Coal Committee, dated 5 March 1946, states that the 200,000 tons of petroleum coke at Bahrain have been purchased by the Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, and that the Corporation wishes to move ‘all of the coke in a westward direction’.The file notes at the end of the file (ff 5-6) record a discussion held between the Political Agent (Cornelius James Pelly) and the Assistant Political Agent at Bahrain in October 1945, in which the Political Agent asks his Assistant how many bags of coke does he think he would need for a fire during the winter. The Assistant Political Agent suggests forty bags, which the Political Agent requests be sent to him with a separate bill.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 7; 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 2-4 and between ff 5-6; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the acquisition of oil industry equipment and supplies from the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), for use by British military headquarters at Basra, Iraq (later referred to as PAIFORCE: Persia and Iraq Force), the Defence Department of the Government of India, or by other oil interests, including the Office of the Petroleum Division at the British Embassy in Baghdad (represented by H S Bowlby), and the Assam Oil Company in India. Principal correspondents in the file include: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); representatives of CASOC (chiefly Floyd William Ohliger and Charles E Davis); the Chief Local Representative of BAPCO (chiefly Milton H Lipp and Ward P Anderson).The file includes:correspondence dated May 1942 relating to the arrival in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia of Major W H C Travers of the Royal Engineers, who is charged with inspecting, and has the authorisation to purchase, any oil industry equipment required for military operations at Basra (ff 2-7);subsequent correspondence relating to requests for specific equipment, such as motor vehicles, tractors, cranes, wagons, motor spares, piping, welding machines, etc.;correspondence relating to the purchase or rent of such equipment, including: copies of statements of order; purchase orders; invoices from either CASOC and BAPCO; requests for money transfer, requisition; conditions of sale;correspondence relating to the movement of purchased or hired equipment, including: arrangements for collection, including correspondence relating to the permission required from the Saudi Arabian Government to export equipment belonging to CASOC, in use in Saudi Arabia; arrangements for shipping; confirmation of receipt;correspondence dated January 1942 relating to an enquiry made by Major S Hill of the Royal Engineers, of the practicalities of constructing fifty pontoons at the BAPCO facilities in Bahrain (ff 72-74);an assessment, written by Major S Hills, dated June 1942, of the practicalities of extracting 10,000 tonnes of coral at Bahrain for export to Basra (f 81-83).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 307; 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 2-306; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the export of foodstuffs from Pakistan to the sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf, as part of the Civil Requirements Programme. Principal correspondents in the file include: Political Agency staff at Bahrain; the Director (or Acting Director) of Customs at Bahrain (George William Reginald Smith; Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); various officials of the Government of Pakistan (including representatives of the Ministry of Food, and the Assistant Chief Controller of Imports and Exports at Karachi).The file includes:correspondence dated December 1947 and January 1948, intimating that the Civil Requirements Programme in operation before the partition (i.e. the creation of an independent Pakistan after the partition of India) will continue, and that the sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf should indicate their food requirements to the Government of Pakistan, which will be forwarded to the Ministry of Food for the setting of export quotas (ff 2-3);correspondence dated January and February 1948, from the Director of Customs at Bahrain, specifying requirements for commodities at Bahrain and Qatar, in the form of lists of commodities and required tonnage (ff 4-5, ff 6-7), and from the Political Resident, specifying commodity requirements for Kuwait, Muscat and Gwadar (ff 9-11);correspondence dated July 1948, relating to the request from the Government of Bahrain for the Government of Pakistan to allow the export of a small quota of bran to Bahrain for use as cattle feed (ff 17-20, f 26, f 28);two letters from the Assistant Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Karachi, dated 18 October 1948 and 23/25 July 1949 respectively, detailing foodstuffs (with quantities) permitted for export, with details of their allocation to the Persian Gulf sheikhdoms (f 29, f 43);correspondence from the Government of Pakistan, dated June 1949, relating to the surrender of export licenses due to unfavourable market conditions in the Gulf and increased market prices in Pakistan (f 35);correspondence from the Director of Customs at Bahrain, and the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast, dated October and November 1949, providing details of the firms to whom export licenses may be granted (ff 51-53, f 54).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the 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: This is a correspondence file about Indian tea exports to the Trucial Coast ports of Dubai and Sharjah under the quota system and the export licensing restrictions imposed by the Government of India during the Second World War (1939-1945), when tea and other essential commodities were in short supply. The file contains the correspondence of the Political Agent, Bahrain with the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast and the Residency Agent, Sharjah; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire and the Tea Controller for India, Calcutta. Included in the file are several circular lists compiled by the Tea Controller for India and the Political Agent, Bahrain. These lists show the tea quotas for the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms and neighbouring Arab States, the names of the Indian merchants in Calcutta and Bombay licensed to export tea to the Trucial Coast, details of shipments of tea and its distribution among Bahrain and Dubai merchants on importation.The file also contains copies of official correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and others, mainly Government of India officials in the Department of External Affairs, New Delhi. They discuss reductions in the Indian tea quotas allowed for export to the Trucial Coast for the following purposes: local consumption, re-export to neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, as barter for fresh meat and other essential supplies from Iran, for consumption by the British Residency and Consulates of the Persian Gulf. The file also contains a small amount of merchant correspondence, mainly between the Chairman of the Persian Gulf States Pool (an association of Indian tea exporters), Calcutta and the Political Agent, Bahrain about the allocations of both regular quota tea and frustrated (spoiled) tea for export to the Trucial Coast.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 196; 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 2-178; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This is a correspondence file about the importation of essential food commodities and cotton piece goods from India to Bahrain and the Trucial Coast ports of Dubai and Sharjah, under the quota system and the export licensing restrictions imposed by the Government of India during the Second World War (1939-1945), due to wartime shortages. The file contains the correspondence of the Political Agent, Bahrain with the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast and the Residency Agent, both Sharjah; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire; the Director of Customs and Port Officer for the Government of Bahrain and the shipping agent Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited, Bahrain. They exchange information about existing stock levels of imported quota foodstuffs such as rice, wheat, flour, tea, coffee and sugar, as well as cotton piece goods for clothing. They also discuss arrangements for the timely shipment and distribution of new supplies, for local consumption in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, as well as re-exportation to Saudi Arabia in exchange for other essential commodities in short supply. Included in the file are numerous lists that were regularly compiled and circulated by the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain; the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast and the Residency Agent, both Sharjah and also Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited, acting as agent for the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation (Iraq) Limited. These lists show existing levels of essential food stocks in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, how long these were expected to last and details about shipments of new supplies from India, to maintain or replenish exhausted stocks.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 319; 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 2-299; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This is a correspondence file about the importation of essential food commodities and cotton piece goods from India to Bahrain and the Trucial Coast ports of Dubai and Sharjah, under the quota system and the export licensing restrictions imposed by the Government of India during the Second World War (1939-1945), due to wartime shortages. The file contains the correspondence of the Political Agent, Bahrain with the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast and the Residency Agent, both Sharjah; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire; the Director of Customs and Port Officer for the Government of Bahrain and the shipping agent Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited, Bahrain. They exchange information about existing stock levels of imported quota foodstuffs such as rice, wheat, flour, tea, coffee and sugar, as well as cotton piece goods for clothing. They also discuss arrangements for the timely shipment and distribution of new supplies, for local consumption in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, as well as re-exportation to Saudi Arabia in exchange for other essential commodities in short supply. Included in the file are numerous lists that were regularly compiled and circulated by the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain; the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast and the Residency Agent, both Sharjah and also Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited, acting as agent for the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation (Iraq) Limited. These lists show existing levels of essential food stocks in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, how long these were expected to last and details about shipments of new supplies from India, to maintain or replenish exhausted stocks.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 210; 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 2-194; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. Condition: the back file cover is lacking.