Abstract: The file contains correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain, the British Embassy at Tehran and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, concerning allegations of illegal trade between Bahrain and Iran by a merchant from Bushire, who was responsible for smuggling sugar, tea and opium into Bahrain, and who is believed to be employed by the Agency as an 'informer'.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 18; 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 3-13; 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 A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.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: The file concerns complaints made by Hirjimal Dhamanmal, and other Bahrain merchants, about the Food Controller, Bahrain (Captain Arthur Charles Byard; later Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier), who was responsible for implementing food control policies (e.g. rationing and import controls) in Bahrain during the wartime conditions created by the Second World War (1939-45).The principal correspondents are the Food Controller, Bahrain; the Political Agent, Bahrain; Hirjimal Dhamanmal & Company, Bahrain; Goverdhandas Dharamdas & Company, Bahrain; Haridas Janimal & Company, Bahrein [Bahrain]; other Bahrain merchants; the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain (deGrenier); and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave).The papers include a complaint over the Food Controller's role in the import, at the Food Controller's own request, by Hirjimal Dhamanmal and seven other Bahrain merchants of 2000 bags of sugar from Karachi, which remained unsold, and which the merchants claimed would cause them a 'ruinous loss' if sold at a reduced rate; and various complaints about the working of the food control system in Bahrain, including the issuing of export permits, corruption amongst officials, and allegations of discrimination in favour of some merchants. The commodities discussed include (Rangooni) rice, Mangalore coffee, fruit and vegetables, and sugar.The Persian language content of the file consists of a petition (with English translation), dated 27 May 1944, on folio 119.The covering dates of the main run of correspondence (folios 2-113) are 3 October 1940 - 26 January 1943. The date range gives the covering dates of all the correspondence, including enclosures dated 1939-40 (folios 79-82) and the petition at the end of the file (folios 119-120).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 121; 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.
Abstract: The file concerns the availability of food supplies in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast, at a time when rationing and a quota system for imports had been introduced as a result of 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 (Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd Al Razzaq); 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: correspondence with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) concerning a request by the company for additional rations to be made available for their passengers and crews; correspondence from individual merchants concerning food shortages and import licences; lists of sanctioned quotas (including re-exports to Saudi Arabia); lists of established importers and shippers; correspondence and papers concerning the main imported commodities (rice, wheat, flour, sugar, and bran); an intervention by the Government of Bahrain to adjust the amount of profit allowed to merchants under the quota system (folios 82-85); the import of barley and millet for camels and horses of the Bahrain police (folios 89 and 106); a memorandum by the Political Agent, Bahrain to the Political Resident, dated 24 September 1942, entitled 'Import into Bahrain of essential foodstuffs', drawing attention to the serious political and economic consequences of food shortages in Bahrain as a result of the quota system (folios 179-185); and a suggestion by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) that rice could be obtained for Bahrain from the United States (folios 274-275).The Gujerati language content of the file is confined to a letterhead.The date range gives the covering dates for the correspondence; the last dated addition to the file is an entry in the notes on folio 331 dated 2 November 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 332; 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 2-331; 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 Indian tea and sugar exports to Bahrain under the quota system and the export licensing restrictions imposed by the Government of India during the Second World War (1939-1945), when essential food commodities were in short supply. The file contains the correspondence of the Political Agent, Bahrain with the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire; the British Consuls in Persia (Iran) at Bandar Abbas, Kerman and Khorramshahr (also referred to by its former name of Mohammerah); the Tea Controller for India, Calcutta; the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain and the Food Controller for the Government of Bahrain. They discuss arrangements for the importation, payment and distribution of the Indian quota tea and sugar supplies that are shipped from Bombay, landed at Bahrain and then re-exported to British Consular staff in southern Persia. The file also contains a substantial amount of merchant correspondence, mainly with Indian exporter the Poojara Trading Company, Calcutta; importer Dhamanmal Isardas and shipping agent Gray, Mackenzie & Company, both Bahrain. Included in this correspondence are invoices, debit notes and bills of lading.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-192; these numbers are written in a combination of pencil and blue crayon/ink, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. Pagination: a short pagination sequence is also present between ff 225-245; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top outermost corners of each page. Condition: the front file cover is damaged.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and statistics about the monitoring and maintenance of adequate supplies of quota rice, wheat, sugar and also cotton piece goods, in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, in the years following the Second World War (1939-1945). These essential commodities continued to be subject to Government of India quota arrangements and other controls imposed on trade with the Persian Gulf shaikhdoms, due to wartime shortages.The main contents of the file are the monthly stock figures sent to the Political Agent, Bahrain by the Director of Customs, Bahrain. These figures show the quantities (in tons) of Bahrain Government imports, stocks and exports (mainly to Qatar) of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton piece goods. There are similar monthly stock figures for Dubai, Sharjah and the other Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, submitted by both the Residency Agent and the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast, Sharjah. There are also file copies of the monthly consolidated stock figures sent by the Political Agent, Bahrain to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. Included in the file is a small amount of correspondence between the Political Agent, Bahrain and his officials at Sharjah, about wheat and sugar prices in Dubai and Sharjah, following the abolition of controls and a return to normal market conditions for these food commodities.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding imports of sugar, tea and other commodities from Mozambique to Muscat, and their onward export to Persia. The file covers considerations of increased restrictions on such imports and potential withholding of tea from India in order to uphold rationing. The primary correspondents are: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Geoffrey Prior, Political Resident, Persian Gulf; India Office; Ministry of Food.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 19; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file concerns proposals for the economic development of the Persian Gulf states that were under British supervision, particularly in terms of fisheries, agriculture, and water supply. The proposals are discussed in the light of expected increases in oil revenue in all the states, and the comparatively undeveloped nature of most of them.The papers cover: the arrangements for a visit in January-February 1948 by Dr George Colin Lawder Bertram of St John's College, Cambridge to Muscat to prepare a report on fisheries development there on behalf of the Sultan of Muscat; correspondence concerning the disposal of the huge projected rise in oil revenues in Kuwait; the pressing need for an adequate water supply in Kuwait; 'Notes on a Visit to Kuwait in March 1947' by E W Noonan [attached to the British Middle East Office], (folios 127-128); a brief note on economic development in the Gulf States by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Rupert Hay, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 31 May 1947, covering Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial Coast, and Muscat (folios 120-122); the possibilities for sugar cane development in Dhofar, and the arrangements for an advisory visit there by Brian Joseph Hartley, Director of Agriculture, Aden; the possibilities for a shark fishing industry in Muscat; correspondence concerning a water scheme for Muscat (folios 73-76); and a letter from the Commonwealth Relations Office to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf concerning the question of the participation of the Gulf states in a United Nations-proposed Economic Commission for the Middle East (folios 25-26).The file includes correspondence from Dr George Colin Lawder Bertram.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 first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 140; these numbers are printed, 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.