Abstract: A memorandum written by Edmund] Neel, Political and Secret Department, India Office, in continuation of a previous memorandum [IOR/L/PS/18/B60], in which the Resident at Aden is urged to ascertain the present situation at Sheikh Said [Ra’s Shaykh Sa‘īd] following fears that the French Government planned to occupy the place.The memorandum reproduces a report written by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Vincent Stace, First Assistant to the Resident at Aden, which provides a sketch map (f 7) and a description of the geographical setting and principal buildings at Sheikh Said, and also raises the possibility that the French intend to dredge the lagoon there in order to create a basin for vessels of war.The memorandum goes on to reproduce correspondence in which the opinions of the Resident at Aden, the Director of Military Intelligence, and the Secretary of State for India are given; the memorandum further notes that assurances have been received from the Turkish Porte that the French Government will not be allowed to take over any part of the Arabian coast.However, as the French Government did not recognise Sheikh Said as Turkish, and since a Russian gunboat was known to have landed on the African shore of the Red Sea, the memorandum concludes that the British authorities should keep a close eye on French and Russian movements in the area.The sketch map at folio 7 shows a region around Ras Shekh Said and Perim Island at the south-western tip of the Arabian Peninsula, indicating hydrology, settlements, principal buildings and the routes of a telegraph line, a submarine cable and a suggested canal. Hachures are used to show relief, and a brief note explains the map's sources. The map was published in June 1893 by the Intelligence Division, War Office, sheet no. 985.Physical description: This item consists of 14 sections, with a map (f 7).
Abstract: The file opens with a memorandum by Edwin Samuel Montagu (Secretary of State for India) dated 4 November 1920 regarding the current situation of Assyrian and Armenian refugees in Mesopotamia, paying particular attention to the difficulties that they have faced in seeking repatriation. This memorandum seeks to provide an update to a previous memorandum of the same title which was issued by Montagu on 5 July 1920 (IOR/L/PS/18/B345). The memorandum is followed by an appendix in the form of a letter from the India Office to the Foreign Office on 2 November 1920 and its enclosure, 'note on the Christian communities in and around Mesopotamia'. The letter details the French and British spheres of influence in Mesopotamia and explains how the refugee crisis should be handled. The note details the different types of Christian groups in the area, and explains the initial reasons for the emigration of these communities from Urmia. The final folio is a copy of Montagu's initial memorandum dated 5 July 1920.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 151, and terminates at f 153, 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 present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This volume consists of an intelligence document issued by the Government of India, Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General's Department, which provides comprehensive descriptions of French possessions on the African coast of the Gulf of Aden, including the towns of Obok [Obock] and Jibouti [Djibouti]. The volume contains two maps held in a map pocket, and is divided into nine sections.The volume was compiled by Eric John Eagles Swayne, 16th Bengal Infantry. The printing statement reads, 'Simla: Printed at the Government Central Printing Office. 1895.'Two hand stamps appear on the front cover and on folio 5, which read, 'War Office Library 15 Jan 96' and 'Intelligence Division 15 Jan 1896'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 36; 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 file consists of a copy of the 'Syria and Mesopotamia: Anglo-French declaration of 8 November 1918'. It is written in French and expresses the wishes of Britain and France to liberate those they feel have been 'too long oppressed by the Turks' by helping them to install functional governments and 'indigenous administrations', and by contributing to their economic development.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 104, and terminates at f 104, 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 present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: A memorandum describing how it had emerged that the Sultan of Muskat had granted the French a concession to establish a coaling station on his territory, and stating that the Sultan had only produced the text of the concession upon threat of bombardment by the British. The memorandum goes on to describe the French Government's agreement to withdraw the concession, as it contravened a Treaty of 1862 in which the Sultan pledged not to lease any part of his territory to either Power, and notes the French Government's continuing desire to establish a coaling station on the same terms as the British. The memorandum concludes with a quotation from
The Timesnewspaper, reproducing a statement in the House of Commons regarding the events. The memorandum is written by Sir William Lee-Warner.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at folio 91 and terminates at folio 92, as it is part of a larger volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but one set is circled and crossed through, the other set is not circled.
Abstract: This file is a memorandum concerning the use of the French flag by dhows belonging to subjects of the Sultan of Maskat [Muscat].The memorandum is divided up as follows:Abstract of correspondence 1891-92;1894-96;1897-99;1900;1901;Summary;Extent to which French jurisdiction has been claimed and admitted in the past.Physical description: Foliation: the file's foliation commences at f 14, and terminates at f 18, 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This printed memorandum, compiled on 28 December 1889 by Sir Henry Rawlinson , refers to a Letter from the Foreign Office, dated 20 September 1889. The subject is the alleged cession of the Island of Kharg [Iran] from the Persian Government to France in 1836-37, which seemed improbable and, anyway, would have been annulled by the British conquest of the Island, in 1838.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 149, and terminates at f 149, 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 5-149; 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 memorandum was created based on the re-awakened interest on the part of the French for Sheikh Said [Shēk Seyd], and is a collection of information held in the Political and Secret Department of the India Office relating to the territory. It Includes a summary of: the acquisition of Sheikh Said by a French company; Turkish claims to sovereignty; the importance of Sheikh Said's location in terms of Perim [Jazīrat Mayyūn]; the extent of French occupation; and the erection of a Turkish fort at Torbeah.The file contains two extracts in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 55, and terminates at f 57, 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 present in parallel between ff 55-57; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: A memorandum on British relations with Muscat for the years 1895 to 1901. It was prepared by Colin George Campbell for the India Office on 7 June 1901.The document gives a history of British and French relations with the Sultans of Muscat, and to a lesser extent, Zanzibar. It opens with a brief historical outline from 1798, when the first agreement was signed between Britain and Sulṭān bin Aḥmad al-Sa‘īd, the Sultan of Muscat at the time, to 1895. It then goes into more detail for each year until 1901, covering the diplomatic activities of the two European powers. On folio 2 there is a genealogical table for the al-Sa‘īd dynasty covering the period in question. There are notes on sources in the margins throughout.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation for this description commences at f 2, and terminates at f 21, 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 2-6; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: Correspondence relating to French relations with Muscat. Included in the file:correspondence between Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India concerning French requests to communicate with the Sultan of Muscat about the visit of one of their cruisers
Jeanne d'Arc(folios 23-25)India Office Memorandum B. 438, P. Z. 6811/34, marked confidential, 'Question whether a Naval Station could be established for use by His Majesty's Ships at Khor Quwai or elsewhere in Muscat Territory compatibly with the existing International Engagements of His Majesty's Government' by John Gilbert Laithwaite, 2 November 1934, including sections on the French historical presence in and relations with Muscat (folios 17-22)correspondence between the Government of Bombay, the Government of India (External Affairs Department), the Political Agency at Muscat, and American Consulate in Bombay concerning the care of French consular interests in Muscat, including transfer of the consulate archive to the Government of Bombay and the question of ownership of the former French Consulate building in Muscat (folios 3-16).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 27; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.