Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Governments of Bombay and Bengal. The principal correspondent is the Government of Bombay.The main event discussed is the consolidation of the Political Residency at Muscat and the Commercial Residency at Bushire [Būshehr] in the person of Nicholas Hankey Smith following the death of the previous Resident at Muscat, William Chichely Bunce. Stephen Babington and James Williams have been appointed as his assistants, and the assistant to the Civil Auditor and the Deputy Accountant-General have provided the accounts of Muscat 1805-09. The proposed salaries and expenses for the new appointments are mentioned.The title page of this item contains the following references: ‘Political No. 14, Draft 33, Season 1812/3, Examiner’s Office February 1811’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 96, and terminates at f 127, 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of a memorandum, dated 23 July 1819, concerning British attempts to persuade the Prince-Governor of Fars to release from prison Mahomed Nebee Khan [Muḥammad Nabī Khān Shirāzī], the former Persian [Iranian] Ambassador to the Government of India. The memorandum provides background to his confinement and gives details of the financial manoeuvring carried out by William Bruce, Resident at Bushire [Bushehr], and Sir Gore Ousely, Ambassador to Persia, in order to cover Mahomed Nebee Khan’s debts and ensure the promise of his release is fulfilled.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: The item consists of an India Board [Board of Control] memorandum relating to Persia [Iran] and concerning the contents of a dispatch from Claudius James Rich, Resident at Bagdad [Baghdad], to the Chairman of the Court of Directors (dated 10 June 1817). The memorandum discusses the danger to British interests in Persia and the threat to its territories in India because of Russian diplomatic and political efforts there, as well as the employment of French officers in the Persian Army. Rich’s recommendations to counteract these influences are also discussed.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: A petition in Arabic to the Bacha [‘Alī Pāshā al-Kahyah, Governor of Baghdad] from inhabitants of Bussora [Basra]. The petition complains of the conduct of Samuel Manesty, Resident in Bussora, in particular regarding the affair of an Egyptian woman living with a British sailor.An English version of the petition can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/299.Physical description: 1 item (1 folio)
Abstract: Translations of three Persian letters received by Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad]:1. A letter from Meerza Bozurg [Mīrzā ‘Īsá Khān Farāhānī], Persian [Iranian] Minister, concerning the mission of Meerza Mehedi Ally Khan [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān Bahadūr, Resident in Bushehr] to the Persian Court.2. An extract of a letter from a merchant at Yezd [Yazd] dated 1 Zulhajee [Dhū al-Hijjah]/5 May 1799. The letter reports rumours that Zeman Shah [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Ruler of Afghanistan] engaged in combat with the Mahrattas [Marathas] and was defeated, and that Zeman Khan [Zamān Khān], former Governor of Herat, has returned to that city.3. A letter from Hajee Hossein Kerem Ali [Ḥājjī Ḥusayn Karīm ‘Alī], a Persian merchant charged by Jones to collect information from Candahar [Kandahar]. The letter reports that several people have arrived in Tabbas [Tabas] claiming to have taken part in combat between Zeman Shah and the Mahrattas, in which Zeman Shah was defeated and forced to flee.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: This item contains three documents:1. A copy of a letter from Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay [Mumbai], to Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], sent from Bombay Castle and dated 4 May 1799.In response to Jones’s letter of 25 March (IOR/L/PS/9/76/60) concerning an embassy rumoured to be travelling across Persia [Iran] to the Court of Baba Khan [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār], Duncan discusses the mission of Meerza Mehedi Ally Khan [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān Bahadūr], Resident in Bushire [Bushehr] in Persia.2. An extract of a letter from Yezd [Yazd] dated c. 1 July 1799, translated by Harford Jones. The letter reports that Shah Zeman [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Ruler of Afghanistan] has returned from India. It also reports that Baba Khan is said to be in Meshed [Mashhad], has summoned the son and brother of Shah Zadeh Mahmood [Mahmūd Durrānī] who are in exile in Tabbas [Tabas], and has dispatched troops towards Herat.3. An extract from a letter from Jones to the President (Governor) of Bombay dated 13 February 1799. The letter reports that firearms and sabres from Turkey [Ottoman Empire] and the Crimea are being exported to Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (3 folios)
Abstract: This item contains copies of three letters:1. A letter from John Raymond, Conductor of Stores in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Samuel Manesty, Resident in Bussora [Basra], sent from Bagdad and dated 27 September 1804. Raymond describes a quarrel between himself and Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad, following an alleged threat to Coja Mookiel ibn Minas [Khawājah Mikaeil bin Minas], East India Company Linguist in Bagdad, from the Kia [Deputy Governor] of Bagdad.2. A letter on behalf of Manesty to Raymond, sent from a camp near Bagdad and dated 28 September 1804. Manesty recommends that Raymond continue to perform his duties as Conductor of Stores but obey orders from Jones.3. A letter from Raymond to Manesty, sent from Bagdad and dated 1 October 1801. Raymond transmits correspondence concerning his quarrel with Harford Jones and asks Manesty to forward this to India.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: Copies of five letters between Lord Elgin, HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad]:1. A letter from Elgin to Jones, sent from Constantinople [Istanbul] and dated 16 November 1799. The letter announces Elgin’s arrival in Constantinople and assumption of his duties, offers assistance, and asks for information regarding Bagdad and Persia [Iran]. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/103.2. A letter from Elgin to Jones, sent from Constantinople and dated 21 December 1799. The letter orders Jones not to open or read any letter addressed to Elgin from India. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/103.3. A letter from Elgin to Jones, sent from Constantinople and dated 21 December 1799. Elgin renounces the use of cyphers in his communications with India. A duplicate of this letter is catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/104.4. A letter from Jones to Elgin, sent from Bagdad and dated 17 January 1800. The letter reports the transit of Elgin’s dispatches to India via Bagdad and Bussora [Basra] and congratulates Elgin on his appointment as Ambassador. Jones also outlines the policy of the British Government in India towards Persia [Iran], reports on events in Afghanistan, and describes British interests in Bagdad. It also reports a rumour that the Shereef [Sharīf] of Mecca has offered to read the khutbeh [Friday prayer sermon] in the name of Baba Khan [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Persia] instead of the Grand Signior [Sulṭān of the Ottoman Empire] in exchange for money. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/105.5. A letter from Jones to Elgin, sent from Bagdad and dated 17 January 1800. Jones acknowledges the receipt of Elgin’s letter of 21 December and pledges not to open or read letters addressed to Elgin from India as instructed. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/107.Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Samuel Manesty, Resident in Bussora [Basra], to Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], sent from Bussora and dated 17 December 1803.Manesty reports that he intends to leave Bussora on a diplomatic mission to the Court of Persia [Iran] in Tehran, asking Jones to forward information on British policy towards Persia and his contacts in the country, and instructing Jones to direct future correspondence to Jonathan Henry Lovett, Resident in Bushire [Bushehr].Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: A letter in Farsi from the Bacha [‘Alī Pāshā al-Kahyah, Governor of Baghdad] to Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], received 9 July 1803. The letter concerns the detention of an Egyptian woman living with a British sailor in Bussora [Basra] (see IOR/L/PS/9/76/299) and complains of the conduct of Samuel Manesty, Resident in Bussora, in handling the affair.An English version of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/299.Physical description: 1 item (1 folio)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Sir Stephen Lushington, Chairman of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, sent from Bagdad and dated 12 April 1799.The letter concerns the mission of Meerza Mehedi Ally Khan [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān Bahadūr], Resident in Bushire [Bushehr], to the court of Baba Khan [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Persia] in Tehrian [Tehran]. It discusses a rumour current in Bagdad that the purpose of the mission is to incite Baba Khan to attack Zeman Shah [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Ruler of Afghanistan]. Jones instead recommends cultivating an alliance with Zeman Shah.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: A note from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to the Basha [‘Alī Pāshā al-Kahyah, Governor of Baghdad], delivered on 29 June 1803. The letter concerns the detention of an Egyptian woman living with a British sailor in Bussora [Basra] (see IOR/L/PS/9/76/299). Jones reports that Samuel Manesty, Resident in Bussora, intends to leave Bussora for India if the woman is not released.An English version of this note can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/299.Physical description: 1 item (1 folio)