Abstract: The file contains correspondence, circulars and other papers relating to visits by the Viceroy and Governor-General of India (the Marquis of Willingdon, Major Freeman Freeman-Thomas) and his wife Lady Willingdon (Marie Freeman-Thomas) to Bahrain and Sharjah in May 1934, while travelling by Imperial Airways from Karachi to Basra, and their return to both of these places on the return flight back to Karachi in August 1934. Correspondents in the file include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle, the Political Agent at Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, and the Residency Agent at Sharjah, Khan Bahadur ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif.The file includes:correspondence concerning the arrangements made for the Viceroy and Lady Willingdon’s overnight stay at the RAF rest house at Sharjah, on the night of 16 May 1934, and their meeting with the Residency Agent and the Sheikhs of Sharjah (Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī) and Dubai (Sa‘id bin Maktum Āl Maktum);correspondence concerning the arrangements made for the Viceroy and Lady Willingdon to visit Bahrain on 17 May 1934, including: arrangements for the Ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, to hold a coffee reception in a tent at the aerodrome; the presentation of a speech and gift to the Viceroy by Sheikh Ḥamad; the presentation of invited Arab and European/American guests to the reception, including a lists of invitees (ff 64-65), an invitation to (f 44) and responses from European and American guests (ff 159-167), which includes representatives of the Government of Bahrain, Bahrain Petroleum Company, and the American Mission at Bahrain; appropriate hot weather dress for the occasion;correspondence covering both visits, including: security arrangements; the organisation of gun salutes; gifts for the Viceroy;following the visits in May 1934: newspaper cuttings from the
Iraq Timesand
The Timesreporting on the visits to Bahrain (ff 101-102); correspondence regarding appropriate gifts to be given by the Viceroy to the Sheikhs of Bahrain and Sharjah; the Political Agent’s report on the Viceroy’s visit to Bahrain (ff 84-85), and the Residency Agent’s report on the visit to Sharjah (Arabic and English, ff 87-92); letters of thanks and appreciation from the Sheikhs;arrangements for stopovers by the Viceroy and Lady Willingdon at Bahrain and Sharjah in August 1934, which are to be private visits, including, at Bahrain, a visit to the house of Sheikh ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah for refreshments;following the visits in August 1934: reports of the respective visits by the Political Agent at Bahrain (ff 143-144) and the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Arabic and English, ff 145-148); arrangements for a gift of a pair of binoculars to the Sheikh of Sharjah;at the beginning of the file there is some correspondence relating to a visit to Bahrain in July 1933 by Lady Willingdon, who is passing through on an Imperial Airways flight (ff 2-7).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 foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-167; 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 consists primarily of summaries of letters, memoranda, and reports dated between 1 and 30 November 1919; the subject matter concerns Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic movements in Central Asia, Persia, and Afghanistan.The following titles are abbreviated in the file as indicated: Chief of the [Imperial] General Staff (CGS); Foreign Secretary (FS) — most likely — to the Government of India; and Viceroy of India (V).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 326 and terminates at f 333, 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.
Abstract: This file concerns arms traffic outside of the Persian Gulf. Specifically, the document discusses what it refers to as the 'spasmodic' illicit traffic of arms (as opposed to 'systematic' traffic) which has been carried out by masters of dhows carrying other merchandise. Most of the file is concerned with the traffic of arms from Jibuti [Djibouti] – which is referred to as '
thedistributing centre [original italics]' for the arms trade outside of the Persian Gulf – to ports in the Gulf of Aden.The document provides a brief history (from a British perspective) of traffic from Jibuti in the years since the signing of the Brussels Convention in 1890. It summarises, and provides references to, letters and despatches from a number of British authorities, which discuss various issues relating to the arms trade out of Jibuti, including: the extent to which traffic at Jibuti has been regulated; the possible threat that the traffic poses to the Aden garrison; the effects of measures taken by the French to curtail the traffic from Jibuti; other possible ports of supply, such as Zanzibar, Muscat and the Aden Protectorate ports.Also discussed are the attitudes of the maritime chiefs to the arms traffic, the various preventive measures available to the Resident at Aden for dealing with the effects of the traffic at Aden, an account of measures taken both by the British Somaliland authorities and by the Italian authorities, and an evaluation of the naval measures taken by the British since 1901. The file concludes by noting that one possible solution to the problem could be the deployment of armed dhows, a measure which previously has been advocated by the naval authorities, the Viceroy and the Resident at Aden.The document is attributed to P H D [P H Dumbell, Reading Clerk to the Council, India Office].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This memorandum continues on from IOR/L/PS/18/C29/1. It includes transcripts of select telegrams sent by the Viceroy of India (Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton) to the India Office between 1 January and 13 March 1880 on the subject of Persia and Herat. These telegrams convey the Viceroy's opinions concerning the cession of Herat and Seistan [Sīstān] to Persian control, and its impact on the settlement for Afghanistan.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio, and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Enclosures no. 2-7 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Bombay [Mumbai] Castle, dated 1 January 1848. The enclosures are dated 18-31 December 1847. The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in Aden, particularly the succession of Ahmed M Houssain Fudthel [Sultan Muhsin bin Fadl al-'Abdali] as Sultan of Lahedge [Lahej], and a visit by James Broun-Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie, on his way to take up his post as Governor-General of India. The primary correspondents are the Political Agent, Aden, and the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (9 folios)
Abstract: The volume, stamped ‘Secret’ on the front cover and frontispiece, is a précis of British Government correspondence relating to international rivalry and British policy in the Persian Gulf between 1872 and 1905. It was prepared by Judge Jerome Antony Saldanha of the Bombay Provincial Civil Service, and published in 1906 by the Government of India Foreign Department, Simla, India.Saldanha’s preface to the volume, dated 29 January 1906, lists other volumes of the Persian Gulf Précis where materials relating to British policy in the Gulf may be found, and summarises the change in British policy in the Gulf under Lord Curzon’s [Viceroy of India, 1899 to 1903) administration (from ‘“spirited” active policy’ to ‘passive vigilance’). The contents of the volume’s chapters (with chapter titles shown in italics) run as follows:1.
Evidences of Foreign activity in the Persian Gulf, covering: the increase in Russian influence in the Gulf (movements of Russian individuals and the appearance in the Gulf of Russian merchant vessels); French and German activity in the Gulf, including the Frenchman Hyacinthe Chapuy; the activity of other foreign powers (chiefly the United States); and a tabulated list of foreign naval vessels known to have visited the Gulf;2.
Colonel Pelly’s proposal for establishing the Political Residency main Telegraph Station and Coal Depot near Cape Mussandim[Musandam, Oman]
, 1863;3.
Suggestions for improving British interests in Persia and the Persian Gulf, 1885-86;4.
General policy in the Gulf, 1899-1903,including: Lord Curzon’s despatches on foreign activity in the Persian Gulf and measures to be taken to maintain British interests; Lord Curzon’s despatch, dated 9 November 1901, on Russia’s intentions to construct a railway line through Persia, and Russia’s designs on the Persian Gulf; a minute, written by Lord Curzon, on Russian ambitions in eastern Persia and the Persian Gulf; important pronouncements and declarations of policy by the Marquess of Lansdowne (Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, then British Secretary of State for War), 1902-03;5.
Lord Curzon’s tour in the Persian Gulf, November to December 1903;6.
Selection of a naval basis in the Persian Gulf. Question of control and jurisdiction over the coast of Khor Kalba[Kalbā]
, on the Batinah coast to Tibbat near Khor-as-Shem[Khor ash Shamm], including: movements of the Russian cruiser
Gilyakin the Persian Gulf, 1900; the question of control of the entrance to the Persian Gulf, and jurisdiction over the coast from Kalba to Tibbat; the political and strategic value of Kishm [Qeshm] and Hormuz, and the question of the telegraphic connection with Bassidore, 1902; reoccupation of the old telegraph buildings at Elphinstone inlet and the erection of flag staffs at certain points near Mussandim [Musandam]; the Fajeira [Fujairah] dispute;7.
Telegraphic communications with Maskat[Muscat]
, Henjam[Jazīreh-ye Hengām]
and Bandar Abbas[Bandar-e ʻAbbās]
, 1899-1905, including: telegraphic connections with Maskat, and proposals for the extension of the line to Bandar Abbas, reestablishment of the telegraph station at Henjam; extension of the telegraph line to Bandar Abbas; encroachment of Persian customs officials on telegraph station ground at Henjam, and the erection of Persian and customs flag staffs on the island; Persian customs interference with Henjam mail bags, 1904-05;8.
Our position at Bassidore[on Qeshm island], including: the alleged intention of Russians to take possession of Kishm [Qeshm], and the British position at Bassidore; the extent of Bassidore territory; proposed emigration of the Bu Smeit tribe from Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] to Bassidore, 1987-1901; the desire of Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Mether of Jezirat Shaikh Shuaib to emigrate to Bassidore, 1902; proposed British trading settlement at Bassidore, 1902; immigration of Persian subjects to Bassidore, 1905; refusal of the Persian merchant Moin-ut-Tujjar’s request to be allowed to store red ochre at Bassidore, 1905;9.
Marine survey of the Persian Gulf of certain naval harbours in the Gulf, including: surveys of Bahrain waters, Bushire and Koweit [Kuwait] harbours and Khor Abdulla; survey of Khor Kaliya, Bahrain; report on Khor Musa; report on Charbar Bay;10.
Protection from foreign enterprise the rights of Arab tribes in the pearl fisheries of the Persian Gulf.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside 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.Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence, with page numbers located top and centre of each page.Condition: There is a small amount of insect damage, in the form of small holes, to most pages. This damage is restricted to the margins of the pages, and therefore does not affect any text.
Abstract: The memorandum outlines the development of proposals for railways in Persia between 1872 and 1911. This includes discussion of the potential advantages/disadvantages (both commercial and political) for the British in the construction of railways in Southern Persia, and the potential threat posed by the expansion of Russian railways in Northern Persia towards British India, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf. Proposals for various schemes are included, from those limited to internal routes within Persia, to schemes designed to link the rail networks of India and Russia via a Trans-Persian link. Consideration is also given to British and Russian efforts to maintain their spheres of influence in Persia, and their joint desire to resist any encroachment by Germany.The memorandum is signed by John Edward Ferard, India Office.The appendix (folios 123-132) contains supporting extracts from various papers (aide-mémoires, correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and published writings). This includes the following:an extract from a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, dated 4 September 1899, respecting the importance of Seistan [Sīstān] to the maintenance of British influence in Southern Persia (ff 123-124);an extract from a minute by the Viceroy of India, dated 28 October 1901, respecting the potential threat of increasing Russian influence in Persia to Britain's strategic and commercial interests in the Persian Gulf (ff 124-125v);an extract from the Anglo-Persian Agreement (31 August 1907) respecting Persia (ff 125v-126);various communications between British, Persian, and Russian authorities on the topic of railway construction in Persia (ff 126-130);extracts from various published sources on the subject of railways in Persia (ff 130-132).An index to the memorandum can be found on folios 134-136. Some extracts in the main body of the memorandum, and some papers included in the appendix are in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 95, and terminates at f 136, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: A memorandum explaining that Lord Canning, Viceroy and Governor General of India, had arbitrated between the two sons of Sultan Syud Saeed [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd]upon his death. The two sons agreed the division of their inheritance between them as Sultans of Zanzibar and Muscat respectively, and the memorandum reproduces an Anglo-French declaration recognising the independence of the two sultans. The memorandum goes on to give the opinion of Sir E C Ross, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, regarding how Gwadar had originally fallen under the dominions of Muscat. The memorandum was written by Richard William Brant, Foreign Office.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at folio 86 and terminates at folio 90, 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 consists of a note which concerns Sir Percy Sykes's position as commander of the South Persian Rifles [South Persia Rifles]. The note, written by the Secretary to the Political Department, India Office [Sir Arthur Hirtzel], is written in response to a telegram, dated 28 February 1917 and attributed to the Viceroy of India [Frederic John Napier Thesiger].The note responds to points made in the telegram, particularly those which discuss Sykes's judgement as a commander and the circumstances in which Kazerun and Dashtarjin [Dashtestan] were captured by rebel forces in December 1917.The note also refers to the Viceroy's estimations for the South Persian Rifles' budget for 1917-18; it concludes that a great deal too much money is being spent, and that Sykes's accounts ought to be audited.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 75, and terminates at f 76, 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This file contains papers relating to the visit of the Viceroy (Viscount Wavell) to Riyadh and his meeting with Ibn Saud in 1945. Most of the papers relate to the costs of the trip, but some are brief overviews of the meeting of the two leaders in Riyadh. The letters are primarily exchanges between the Government of India and the Foreign Office.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 22; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: A letter from HM Chargé d'Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, in Tehran, to the Secret Committee of the East India Company, of 24 March 1819, which was received on 15 June 1819. The letter encloses a letter from the Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William, the Marquess of Hastings [Francis Rawdon-Hastings, the Earl of Moira], of 31 October 1818 (not included in this item, see IOR/L/PS/9/68/187), praising Willock for his conduct.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 50 of 1841, dated 17 June 1841. The enclosures are dated 3 May to 15 June 1841.The enclosures consist of:Copies of correspondence between the Secretary to the Government of Bombay (John Pollard Willoughby), the Secretary to the Government of India (Thomas Herbert Maddock), and the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Samuel Hennell), regarding the views of the Governor-General in Council on various matters related to Persian Gulf affairs, including proposed repairs to the Fort at Karrack [Kharg]A copy of a letter to Willoughby from the Secretary to the Bombay Mint Committee (M T Hays), forwarding a report from the Bombay Mint Assay Master on specimens of gold and silver coins (Mahomed Shah Rupees and Gold Tomans), showing a depreciation in their intrinsic value.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-7, on folio 40. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.