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37. Letters and Enclosures from the East India Company’s Residents at Bussorah
- Description:
- Abstract: Copies of letters and enclosures from the East India Company’s (EIC) Residents at Bussorah [Basra], William Digges Latouche and then later, Samuel Manesty, respectively, to the Court of Directors of the Company. The correspondence covers the following matters:Latouche reporting on settling the Company’s accounts with the Bacha of Bagdat [Pāshā of Baghdad, also spelled as Pashaw]; the Basha’s request of musquets [muskets] and gunpowder; and the Company’s trade status in Bagdat and BussorahLatouche appointing Samuel Manesty to be in charge of the Company’s affairs at Bussorah, and his instructions on how to manage the Company’s affairs, its accounts, and wool tradeReports of the activities of the Monteficka Arabs [al-Muntafiq Arab tribal confederation, also spelled as Montificka]Correspondence with Soliman Bacha [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā] of Bagdat regarding the debt the Turks had to pay to the CompanyA translation of imperial commands dated 1784, from the Sublime Porte to Soliman Bacha in relation to the debt (ff 184-187)Correspondence with local woollen goods contractors and merchants including Coja Yacoob Aron [Khwaja Hagop Aharon, also spelled as Aroon], Coja Petrus Mellick [Khwaja Petros Malik], and Coja Marcar [Khwaja Markar Aviyat] at Bagdat regarding the settling of their accountsThe arrival and departure of ships and trade activities in the region.Physical description: 1 item (47 folios)
38. Letter from John Spencer Smith to Harford Jones
- Description:
- Abstract: A copy of a letter from John Spencer Smith, Minister Plenipotentiary in Constantinople [Istanbul], to Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], sent from Constantinople and dated 17 August 1799.The letter forwards a report on the movements of French and Spanish warships for the attention of Rear-Admiral John Blankett, Commander of the British naval squadron in the Red Sea (see below). It also forwards a proclamation from the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire] appealing to French troops to desert and offering safe passage home, which Spencer Smith recommends Blankett to distribute in Suez and Cosseir [Al Qusayr] (not enclosed).Attached is a letter from Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, sent from Mahone [Mahón] and dated 17 July 1799. The letter forwards reports from a Gibraltar privateer that the combined French and Spanish fleet has entered the Atlantic Ocean, pursued by Vice-Admiral George Keith Elphinstone.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
39. PERSIA FACTORY RECORDS: LETTERS FROM BASRA, 1753-1773, PT 2
- Description:
- Abstract: This item contains correspondence sent to and received from the East India Company Factory at Bussora [Basra] from 20 April 1765 to 24 August 1766. It contains correspondence relating to the following:The displeasure of Carim Caun [Karīm Khān Zand] with the Mussaleem [Mutasallim], Solliman Aga [Sulaymān Āghā], for the latter’s tardiness in joining his expedition against the Chaub [Banū Ka‘b], and Carim Caun’s ‘ungenteel reception’ of the envoys from Bussora and their dismissal without any presentsThe progress of the Mussaleem’s army, supported by the fleet of the Captain Bashaw [Kapūdān Pāshā] and the Company ship The Fanny, down the Shatt al-Arab and their skirmishes with the ChaubThe complaints of Shaik Soliman Chaub [Shaikh Salmān bin Sulṭān al-Ka‘bī] against Mr Shaw for taking his date trees at Magyl [Al-Ma‘qil] and Silik [al-Sikk?] and keeping many of his subjects as ‘Hamalls’ [porters]The surrender of Souja Dowla [Jalāl al-Dīn Ḥaydar Khān Shujā‘ al-Dawlah Nishāpurī, Nawwāb of Awadh] to Lord [Robert] Clive [1st Baron Clive of Plassey] near AllahabadThe defeat of the fleet dispatched by Shaik Sadoon [Shaikh Sa‘dūn bin Madhkūr Abū Muhayrī of Bushehr] and the Dutch from Karreck [Kharg] by the men of Meer Mahanna [Mīr Muḥannā, also written as Meer Manna] ‘clothed with Coats of Mail’ on the Island of Corgo [Khargu]The negotiations conducted by Siad Mahomed [Sayyid Muḥammad] and Abdulla Beg [‘Abd Allāh Beg] with Shaik Soliman on behalf of the Bashaw of Bagdat [Pāshā of Baghdad]Carim Cawn’s ‘disgust’ with the Company’s lack of assistance against Meer Mahanna, and reversal of his ‘High Opinion’ of the English, as a result of the Chaub’s capture of several English vesselsThe siege and capture of the fortress of Karreck by Meer Mahanna, the escape of the Dutch Resident to Bushire [Bushehr], and his request for assistance from the East India CompanyThe threats of the Company against Shaik Soliman to persuade him to enter negotiations towards the release of the captured English vesselsThe demand of the Mussaleem and Shaik Dervis [Shaikh Darvīsh] that the Company join them in their war against Shaik Soliman, on account of his deceitfulness and potential for undermining the reputation of the English with the Grand Signor at ConstantinopleThe victory of Captain Lesley Baillie against the fleet of the Chaub, and Benjamin Hollamby’s request from Carem Caun not to offer asylum to Shaik SolymanThe arrival of Zakey Caun [Zakī Khān Zand], brother of Carem Caun, with an army at Ginova [Bandar-i Ganaveh, also written as Ginouva], on a mission aimed at the ‘destruction’ of Meer MahannaThe proposal of Shaik Sadoon to the Company for a joint naval attack against Shaik Soliman, the success of Zaki Caun’s campaign against Meer Mahanna at Ginova, and the suggestion that Shaik Sadoon and the Company assist in transporting Carim Caun’s troops to KarrackA parley between Shaik Anum [Shaikh Ghānim bin Salmān al-Ka‘bī] and Captain Andrew Nesbitt, during which the latter, suspecting an ambush, decided to attack first, ‘dangerously’ wounding the Shaik, and killing three of his ‘Most Principal Men’.Physical description: 1 item (178 folios)
40. Pol Ext 8078/49 'Visit of Royal Indian Navy ships to East African ports, Seychelles, Mauritius and Aden'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains papers relating to visits by the Royal Indian Navy to ports in East Africa and the Indian Ocean. The majority of the papers are exchanges between the Colonial Office in London and British officials in East Africa. The bulk of the papers convey serious British concerns about Indian ambitions across the region, particularly in places such as Mauritius where there is a sizable Indian majority. Many of the folios discuss the reception accorded to visiting Indian officers and naval staff in East African port cities as a measure of loyalty to Britain.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 55; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
41. Tehran Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 74 of 1853, dated 24 December 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-5 and are dated 12 October to 2 December 1853.The enclosures contain copies of despatches from the Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran including correspondence with the Sedr Azim [Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam] and discussion of naval forces in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: 1 item (252 folios)
42. Affairs at Aden and Within its Vicinity
- Description:
- Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 20 of 1853, dated 14 March 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-8. Enclosure numbers 3-5 are dated 28 February to 11 March 1853.Enclosure number 3 is a letter (with enclosures) from the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet, regarding the state of affairs at Aden and within its vicinity, including:Secret information Haines has received, corroborated by an enclosed translation of a letter from the Chief of Lahidge, Ali M Houssain Foudthel El Abdali [the Sultan of Lahej, ‘Alī I bin Muḥsin al-‘Abdalī], that the Foutheli [Fadhli] Sultan had instructed certain men to try to kill any men practising their guns on the Isthmus, or any of those who accompany the artillery unarmed to watch their practice; Haines states that the intention of the Foutheli Chief is ‘no doubt to annoy the Chief of Lahidge by if possible, involving him in difficulty with the English in Aden’News received in a letter from Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] of a ‘skirmish’ between ‘the Turks’ and Arabs of the Beni Yam [Banī Yām] tribe, resulting in the defeat of the latter, but leaving the inhabitants of Mocha and Hodeida still in fear of an attack from ‘the Arabs’, and their trade at a standstill due to the roads to the interior being closedThe arrival of the French man of war steamer the Caimanat Aden, which is awaiting the arrival of the French Admiral ‘Jaines’ in the frigate Jeanne D’Arc, who it is believed intends to visit Suez, Judda [Jeddah], Mussowa [Massawa], Hodeida, and Mocha.The arrival of the Caimanat Aden is also reported in a letter from the Commander in Chief of the Indian Navy, Henry John Leeke, to the President and Governor in Council, Bombay, Lord Viscount Falkland (enclosure No. 4, which includes an extract of a letter from the Senior Indian Naval Officer at Aden).Enclosure number 5 is a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay to the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India, forwarding copies of the above letters from the Political Agent at Aden and the Commander in Chief of the Indian Navy, for submission to the Governor-General of India in Council.Numbers 6-8, listed in the abstract of contents as copies of the Bombay Timesoverland newspaper, the Bombay Telegraph and Courier,and the Bombay Gazette, all dated 14 March 1853, are noted as missing.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-8, on folios 452-453. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
43. Coll 30/10 'Persian Gulf - Reduction in Number of Subsidised Vessels in as a Measure of Economy'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding a proposal to reduce the number of British naval vessels stationed permanently in the Persian Gulf.The correspondence is between officials in Iraq, India and the Political Residency in Bushire. It discusses the political impact of the suggested reduction taking place, the economic rationale and how such a decision would be perceived locally.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.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 26; 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 also present in parallel between ff 4-12, and ff 17-22; these numbers are also written in pencil or crayon, but are not circled.
44. Coll 6/20 'Red Sea: Reports of proceedings of H.M. Ships.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file consists of copies of extracts from (approximately) monthly reports of the proceedings of His Majesty's ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden during the years 1931-1945, which have been forwarded by the Admiralty to the Under-Secretary of State, India Office.Most of the extracts are attributed to the Senior Officer of the Red Sea Sloops, the Commander-in-Chief of Mediterranean Station, or commanding officers of particular British ships. Prominently featured ships include the following: HMS Lupin, HMS Penzance, HMS Londonderry, and HMS Weston.The extracts vary in their range of subject matter. Some of the extracts are largely concerned with local affairs along the Yemeni coast; others report on matters relating to the region as a whole, such as Saudi-Yemeni relations.Matters discussed in the extracts include the following:The slave trade.The transportation of a British medical mission to Yemen in December 1931, headed by a female doctor named P W R Petrie, for the purpose of treating the Imam of Yemen's [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn's] granddaughter.The passage of pilgrims through Kamaran.A visit by the Chief Commissioner of Aden [Bernard Rawdon Reilly] to Abd el Kuri [Abd al Kuri] and Socotra, on board HMS Penzance, in 1933.The presence of Saudi forces in Asir.Relations between Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the Imam of Yemen.The Saudi-Yemeni conflict of 1934, including details of the evacuation of Yemeni troops from Hodeida [Al Ḩudaydah] and the subsequent entry of Saudi troops.Italian naval posts in the Red Sea.Yemeni concerns that Italy, following on from events in Abyssinia, might also become aggressive towards Yemen.The importance of Kamaran as a Red Sea trading port.Details of a special arms patrol carried out by HMS Westonin the Gulf of Akaba [Aqaba] in 1938.The correspondence concludes with a copy of an intelligence report of the Red Sea area, dated 17 October 1945 and produced by the Naval Intelligence Centre, Levant and East Mediterranean.In addition to report extracts, the file includes a small sketch map of the Aden Protectorate and the surrounding area.The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 246; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An external leather cover wraps around the documents, the front inside of which has been foliated as folio 1. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-245; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.
45. Coll 30/13 'Persian Gulf: Henjam Naval Base; Question of Transfer to Bahrein [Bahrain]; Survey of Khor Kaliyeh Bay'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials concerning the removal of a British naval depot on Henjam Island and its relocation to Bahrain. The correspondence includes a broader discussion of Britain's position in Persia and its impact on the country's role in the Persian Gulf generally. The early correspondence in the file on folios 159-179 is related to a survey of Khor Kaliya Bay in Bahrain.In addition to correspondence, the file contains the following:'Memorandum by Admiralty and Foreign Office, dated 23rd February, 1932 on the subject of the British Naval Depot at Henjam' (folios15-26)Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East: Minutes of a Meeting held December 17th 1931. (folios 34-48)'Admiralty Memorandum on the Question of the Removal of the British Naval Depot at Henjam and the Practicability of an Alternative Base' (folios 55-65)Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East: Minutes of a Meeting held August 18th 1931. (folios 95-105)'Minutes of an Interdepartmental Conference held at the India Office on Monday, 20th July, 1931' concerning question of transferring naval base in Persian Gulf from Henjam to Bahrain (folios 112-116)'Minutes of an Interdepartmental Conference held at the India Office on Wednesday 29th July, 1931' concerning question of transferring naval base in Persian Gulf from Henjam to Bahrain (folios 125-131)India Office Memorandum entitled 'Position and Rights of His Majesty's Government in Basidu' (folios 142-144)India Office Memorandum entitled 'Position and Rights of His Majesty's Government in the Island of Henjam. The Sheikh of Henjam and his Affairs' (folios 145-148)India Office Memorandum entitled 'Muscat 1908-1928' (folios 149-157).The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 180; 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.
46. Coll 30/16 'Persian Gulf: Surveys: Survey by HMS Ormonde, etc'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding a number of naval surveys of the coastline and islands of the Persian Gulf that were completed by Royal Navy vessels including HMS Challengerand HMS Ormonde.In addition to the logistical and technical aspects of these surveys, the political context and reception of them locally is also frequently discussed. On folio 228, the file contains a large Admiralty map of the Eastern Persian Gulf.The majority of the correspondence in the file is between British officials at the Admiralty, Foreign Office, India Office, Persian Gulf Residency and the British Legation in Tehran, but the file contains a small selection of correspondence with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some of which is in French.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file 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 last folio with 229; 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.
47. Coll 30/24 'Persia and Persian Gulf, Persian Navy. Visits to Arab Ports'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume contains correspondence regarding practicalities, relevant legislation and political considerations related to the movement of Persian shipping vessels around the Persian Gulf, notably regarding potential visits to Arab ports and British naval bases in Persian territory, at Henjam and Basidu.In addition to this correspondence, the volume also contains the following:'Memorandum on Certain Aspects of the Situation in the Persian Gulf as between His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, the Government of India, and the Persian Government', 1931 (folio 280)A draft in French of a general treaty between the Governments of Great Britain and Persia, 1930 (folios 342-345)'Minutes of an Interdepartmental Conference held at the India Office on Monday, 20th July 1931' (folios 410-418).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 first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 446; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
48. Correspondence Regarding the Naval Powers in the East Indies and the Gulph of Persia
- Description:
- Abstract: Home correspondence of the East India Company (EIC) related to the request of naval assistance for the Company in order to use against its maritime enemies in the Gulph [Gulf]. The correspondence includes:A ‘Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the Troubles in the Gulph of Persia [Iran].’ The narrative is about Chaub Shaik Soliman’s [Shaikh Sulaymān, Head of Banū Ka‘b] maritime force interrupting the trade of Bussorah [Basra]; Kerim Khan [Karīm Khān Zand, King of Persia] asking for the Company’s naval help to protect his port towns; and the commercial privileges the Company would receive in return of its help (ff 38-40)An ‘account of the Maritime Force of the several Indian maritime powers’ covering the Persian Gulph; Bunderick [Bandar-e Rig, also spelled as Bundereck] and Bushire [Bushehr, also spelled as Abooshehr]; Coasts of Scindy and Guzarat [Sindh and Gujarat]; and the Coast of Malabar (ff 43-44)The status of the EIC’s maritime force at Bombay [Mumbai]The memorial of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Company covering accounts of: the seize of Company ships in Bussorah, the status of the woollen goods trade sale, French military and naval activities, and an extract of a letter from the President and Select Committee at Bengal to the Company’s Court of Directors (ff 47-70)Intelligence report covering the war with Hyder Ally [Ḥaydar ‘Alī, Sulṭān of Mysore]; the Company’s acquisition of sailing frigates; and a petition of Francis Douglas, free merchant in Bengal, whose ship was attacked and detained by the Shaick [Shaikh] of Bunderick (ff 107-110).The main correspondents are Lord Viscount Weymouth [Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath], Secretary of State for the Northern Department, and Robert Wood, the Under-Secretary of State to Lord Weymouth.This part of the volume includes duplicates of correspondence that are part of IOR/G/29/25, ff 452-478. These are as follows: folios 38-40, 41-42, 43-44 and 51-53 corresponding to folios 469-472, 477-478, 475-476 and 453-455 respectively.Physical description: 1 item (80 folios)