One photographic print: a full-length portrait of Sarhang (a rank equivalent to Colonel) Hajji Ibrahim Khán, Commandant of the Bakhtiari Horse. The title is printed above the photograph in Persian, and below the photograph in English. The Persian title also bears a date: Hijri year 1301 (c.1883).1 photographic printDimensions: 127 x 84 mm, on page 237 x 150 mm.Materials: Photographic print on paper.
This file consists of exchanges to do with events and personalities in or around Gwadur [Gwadar] on the Makran Coast of Baluchistan. The file includes a list of important personalities in Oman, and the 1882 administration report and trade returns. The end of the file consists of an extensive biographical sketch of Sultan Sayyid Sa`id ibn Sultan by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles.In between these items are letters on incidents of plunder and looting in Gwadur. They include subsequent applications to the Political Agency for countermeasures or compensation by British protected subjects and responses from the Sultan of Oman's governor (Wali) in Gwadur at the time, Sayyid bin Musallem.1 file (134 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 136; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The majority of this volume includes letters from the Secretary to the Government of Bombay to Lieutenant John MacLeod, Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire. They concern details of his appointment following the dismissal of Captain William Bruce and various instructions, including regarding the withdrawal from the island of Qishm; the salaries of the Native Agents; claims of Raḥmah bin Jābir and ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah, the ruler of Bahrain; and providing a pension to the family of Mahdī ‘Alī Khān. There is one letter from the Secretary to the Government of India to Lieutenant-Colonel Ephraim Gerrish Stannus following the death of MacLeod.1 volume, 17 items (145 folios)Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An original pagination sequence written in ink runs between ff. 1C-141, it can be found in the top right and the top left corners of the recto and verso sides respectively. Foliation errors: 1A, 1B and 1C.
The correspondence book consists of translations and substances of letters, with enclosures, addressed to Captain David Wilson, British Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, Mirza Hadayat Ullah [Mīrzā Hidāyatullāh] and Captain Samuel Hennell. The dates of the letters are given using the Gregorian calendar, but also the Hijri calendar (for example, folio 44r). Some of the letters include enclosures (for example, folios 3v and 15v). The originals are not present in the volume, but there are two notes in Persian (folios 30 and 42).The letters are sent from British Native Agents in the Persian Gulf and Persia, including:Asso [Asu], Agent at Buhrein [Bahrain] (folios 2r, 4r, 13v, 21v, 25r, 29r, 37v, 42r, 45v, 46v, 53v, 54r, 56v, 57r, 59r, 69r, 72r, 74v, 76r, 77v, 83r, 89r);Goolab [Gulab Anandas], Agent at Muscat (folios 2r, 2v, 13r, 24v, 33r, 42r, 52v, 53r, 56r, 68v, 69v, 70r, 71v, 74r, 75r, 81v, 86v, 88v);Mirza Ally Akbar [Mīrzā ‘Alī Akbār], Agent at Shiraz (folios 4v, 14r, 17r, 17v, 19r, 19v, 23r, 28v, 29v, 34r, 35r, 36r, 41r, 42v, 45r, 51v, 52r, 55r, 57v, 60r, 70r, 76v, 86r, 87r, 87v);Moullah Salh [Ṣāliḥ], Agent at Mogoo [Moguyeh] (folios 5r, 5v, 12r, 24v, 29r, 32r, 33r, 36v, 38v. 40v, 50v, 54r, 57v, 58v, 63r, 76v, 77v);Moullah Houssein [Mullā Ḥusayn], Agent at Sharjah (folios 7r, 10r, 18v, 20v, 25v, 28r, 38r, 38v, 40v, 49v, 50v, 58r, 60v, 61r, 62r, 63r, 66r, 67r, 68v, 70v, 72v, 74r, 78r, 81v, 84r, 88r);Hajee Meer Baker [Ḥājjī Mīr Bakr], Agent at Isfahan (folios 21r, 32r, 32v, 34v, 35v, 54v);Hajee Salih [Ḥājjī Ṣāliḥ], Agent at Lingah (folios 46v, 64r, 69r, 86v, 87r, 88r).And local rulers, officials, notables and rulers on both littorals of the Persian Gulf:Juleel Mirza [Jalīl Mīrzā] (folios 14r, 22v, 42v);H R H the Prince of Fars [Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mīrzā Farmānfarmā] (folios 14r, 22r, 59v, 60v);Mahomed Ally [Muḥammad ‘Alī Khān] Wauzeer [Wazīr] of Fars (folios 15r, 22r, 33v, 58r);Eel [?] Khan (folios 19v, 34r, 60r);Shaik Sooltan bin Suggur [Sulṭān bin Ṣaqr Āl Qāsimī], ruler of Sharjah (folios 22r, 26v, 39r, 40r, 48r, 49r, 55v, 62v, 67v, 82v, 87v);Shaik Tahnoon [Ṭaḥanūn bin Shakhbūṭ Āl Nahyān], ruler of Abu Dhabi (folios 26v, 38r, 48v, 73v, 84r);Shaik Rashed bin Humeed [Rāshid bin Ḥumayd Āl Nu‘aymī], chief of Ejman [Ajman] (folios 27r, 39r, 47v, 63v, 68v);Shaik Abdoolah bin Ahmed [‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], chief of Bahrein [Bahrain] (folios 45v, 75v, 87v);Mahomed bin Quzeeb [Muḥammad bin Qaḍīb?], Shaik of Lingah (folio 46r);Shaik Salih bin Suggur [Ṣāliḥ bin Ṣaqr] (folios 49r, 73v, 87v);Jabir [Jābir bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Ṣabāḥ], Shaikh of Grain [al-Qurayn?], Kuwait (folios 51, 64v);Shaik Abdool Russool [‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān], Shaikh of Bushire (folios 65r, 65v, 79r, 80r);His Royal Highness the Imaum [Imam of Muscat, Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd] (folios 69v, 77r);Abdoulla bin Rashid [‘Abdullāh bin Rāshid Āl Mu‘allā], Shaik of Umulgavine [Umm al-Qaywayn] (folio 72v).Topics and themes of the correspondence include: British relations with Persia, the Imam of Muscat and rulers on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf; relations and conflicts between local rulers; the arrival and departure of ships; trade and piracy; maintaining the Maritime Peace; petitions and claims; slavery; and issues concerning the work of the native agents and instructions sent to them by the Residency.1 volume (96 folios)The correspondence is arranged in approximate chronological order.Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the title page and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequence runs between ff 2-11; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio. A third (original) foliation sequence appears uncircled at the top folio 9v, starting at number 24 and continuing on the recto and verso of each folio to number 189 on folio 89v.Physical Conditon: Insect damage, water damage and tears causing missing text on folios 2-58 and 83-89.
The file contains letters received by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire.The majority of letters are naval patrol reports submitted to the Resident by the following British officers in the Persian Gulf Squadron of the Indian Navy: Captain William Lowe, Commodore Thomas Grere Carless and Lieutenant Alan Hyde Gardner, all reporting from the Honourable Company (HC) sloop of war
Elphinstoneand Commodore John Croft Hawkins, reporting from the HC sloop of war
Clive. There is also a naval patrol report made by Lieutenant James Rennie, commanding the HC schooner
Constance, to Commodore Thomas Grere Carless, commanding the Persian Gulf Squadron.The naval patrol reports describe the state of relations between the Arab Chiefs of the Trucial Coast Sheikhdoms and any violations of the Maritime Truce, based on observation, enquiry, meetings and other communications while on patrol along the Arabian and Persian coasts of the Persian Gulf.The file also contains letters received from Lieutenant Colonel Francis Farrant, British Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of the Shah of Persia, Tehran regarding Persian affairs. This correspondence includes Persian transcripts of two firmans (royal decrees) issued by the Shah of Persia to the Governors of Fars and Persian Arabia respectively, prohibiting any future importation by sea of African slaves into Persia.1 file (51 folios)The letters are arranged more or less chronologically. Most letters are either followed by copies or extracts from earlier letters that were enclosed with them.Foliation: the contents are numbered 2 to 51, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front cover of the file is numbered 1. The inside of the back cover is numbered 52. This is the main numbering system and should be used for referencing this file.As a result of earlier, mainly foliation sequences, the contents are also numbered in the range 2 to 346, with many gaps, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in ink, usually on the recto only, in the top right corner.Condition: imperfections in the margins and along the outer edges of many folios have caused a slight loss of the text of some documents.
This file contains letters and enclosures inwards from William Newnham, Secretary to the Governor of Bombay, to Captain Ephraim Gerrish Stannus, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire between 1826 and 1827. There are letters relating to Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān, the former Governor of Bushire; relations with Persia and the Imam of Muscat; East Africa, including Mombasa and Seeuee [Siyu]; and the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf.1 file, 9 items (33 folios)Pagination: There is a pagination sequence, which is written in ink, in the top right corners of the rectos and in the top left corners of the versos.Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The sequence begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 33. This is the sequence which has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the volume.
The volume's correspondence and other papers document British officials' attempts to suppress the slave trade in the Gulf, and their procedures for dealing with liberated slaves. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain (James) Felix Jones), Henry Lacon Anderson, Secretary to the Government in Bombay, and representatives of the Persian Gulf Squadron of the Indian Navy, primarily Commodore Griffith Jenkins, Commanding Officer of the Persian Gulf Squadron. Correspondence is grouped under subject numbers as follows:Subject no.1:Two reports on the slave trade in the Persian Gulf, written by the Residency Assistant Lieutenant Herbert Frederick Disbrowe, covering the period 1 January 1852 to 30 June 1859 (4 items, folios 3-67);2: Correspondence relating to two slaves taken kidnapped from a Sharjah boat by the Sheikh of Al Bidda (a town on the Qatar coast) the subsequent punishment of one-hundred dollars made against the Sheikh of Bahrain, who was held responsible for actions of the inhabitants of the Qatar coast, and dissent shown by the Sheikh of Bahrain towards British officials and representatives (8 items, folios 73-86a);3: Correspondence relating to a kidnapped Somali girl, and news of the departure of a Muscat boat from Keelwa [Kilwa], with fifty-four slaves on board (5 items, folios 89-96);4. Correspondence between Jones and the Honourable Company's Agent at Zanzibar, Captain Christopher Rigby, on the extent of the maritime slave trade between Zanzibar and the Persian Gulf, and the seizure of letters bound for Muscat from one slave boat, the contents of which describe the extent of the involvement of Muscat in the slave trade (7 items, folios 100-16);5: Correspondence relating to an incident in which a slave from Bahrain took refuge on the Persian Gulf Naval Squadron flagship, moored off the coast of the islands. Commodore Jenkins and Captain Jones held differing views of the incident, with the former wanting to recognise the absconded slave as free while the latter, conscious of the implications of freeing slaves under such circumstances, wished to send the slave back to Bahrain. The Advocate General of the Government of Bombay ruled in favour of Jones's proposed actions (4 items, folios 120-34);6: Correspondence concerning an Indian woman rescued from slavery in Turkish Arabia, and arrangements, in spite of her reluctance, to repatriate her to India (7 items, folios 138-45);7: Correspondence from 1861 related to an apparent change in the sea routes and ports where slaves were landed from Zanzibar, notably at Muculla [Al Makalla] (6 items, folios 149a-59);8: Letter relating to the arrival of Her Majesty's schooner
Mahiat Bushire, and news of three crew from a slave boat who have escaped Her Majesty's sloop
Falkland(1 item, folios 163-64);9: Correspondence relating to the capture of an Indian vessel flying Muscat colours, which was carrying a slave girl who had been purchased at Hodeida, and was being transported to Muscat (14 items, folios 168-91). Initial correspondence relates to the unseaworthy state of the captured boat, and the practicalities of sailing it to the nearest British Vice Admiralty Court (folios 168-69). Further correspondence between Jones and officials in the Government of India discuss whether the case is covered by existing treaties, owing to the fact that slaves could be legally exported from Hodeida (folio 185);10: Correspondence concerning the return to Bushire in 1857 of the Persian Commissioner for the Suppression of the Slave Trade, Meerza Mahmood Khan (9 items, folios 195-213). Later correspondence from 1861 refers to British concerns over Khan's mental health, and discussions over the need to find a suitable replacement.1 volume (237 folios)The contents of the volume have been divided into ten subjects, numbered 1 through to 10. Each subject has one or two types of cover pages, on which is written a description of its contents. The first of the two cover sheets are blue pieces of paper, many of which are folded sheets which entirely enclose the subject correspondence inside. These sheets have paper tabs on their outside edges, which have been damaged or torn over time. The second of these cover sheets, where they appear, are smaller sheets of white or blue paper, with the title written in ink and various pencil annotations, the meaning of which is unclear.Within each subject, the correspondence has been arranged in approximate chronological order, starting with the earliest items and finishing with the latest. Enclosures to letters are grouped together with the letters they were sent or received with.Foliation: Foliation starts on the front cover of the volume and continues until the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 1c, 33a-33m, 86a-86c, 97a, 97b, 117a, 117b, 135a, 135b, 147a, 147b, 149a, 149b, 161a, 161b, 166a, 166b, 209a, 209b, 212a, 212b. Folio 106 is a fold-out.
The volume's correspondence and other papers document British officials' attempts to suppress the slave trade in the Gulf, and their procedures for dealing with liberated slaves. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Felix Jones), Henry Lacon Anderson, Secretary to the Government in Bombay, and representatives of the Persian Gulf Squadron of the Indian Navy, primarily Commodore Griffith Jenkins, Commanding Officer of the Persian Gulf Squadron. Correspondence is grouped under subject numbers as follows:Subject no. 11 (folios 3-43) contains correspondence relating to the apparent inaction of the Persian slave commissioner at Bushire, over the importation from Sharjah of twenty slaves, and the reluctance of British naval officials to stop and search vessels suspected of carrying slaves at Bushire, for fear that they would be contravening international law (folios 18-19). In his covering letter to the Secretary to the Government in Bombay, dated 17 November 1858, Jones expresses his opinion that the various slave trade suppression treaties need greater clarification in order to be properly effected (folios 3-8);12: Seizure of a 'Joasmee [Qasimi] vessel' carrying one male slave and five female slaves, in the Bushire roads (folios 47-54);13: Miscellaneous papers relating to the slave trade in Persia (folios 58-80), including the appointment of Persian assistants to accompany British vessels (folios 58, 60), and a report from Lieutenant P W Tendall, the British slave agent at the Bassidore [Bāsa‘īdū] slave depot (folios 63-66);14: Correspondence relating to Commodore Jenkins's opinion that the Persian authorities are not fulfilling their obligations with regard to the Anglo-Persian slave trade suppression treaty (folios 84-111). In a letter to the Secretary to the Government in Bombay, dated 24 August 1859, Jones writes that he believes the port at Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] has become the entrepôt for slaves brought from Africa (folios 87-88);15: Correspondence concerning the apparent lack of co-operation from the Persian slave commissioner's assistant, in a case of a slave found on a Persian boat (folios 115-61). A letter dated 16 May 1859, from Lieutenant Chester of Her Majesty's sloop
Falklandwritten to Commodore Jenkins, reports the incident (folios 119-20), leading to the incident being taken up by British officials at the Court of Persia;16: Correspondence from the Secretary of State for India related to the slave trade, forwarded to the Residency by the British Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Persia, Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson (folios 165-70). The enclosed letter, written by C Wood of the India Office, dated 15 December 1859, contains an overview of recent correspondence concerning the suppression of the slave trade, between the Persian Gulf Resident, British officials in Persia, and Indian naval authorities (folios 167-70);17: Female attendant for female slaves at Bassidore (folios 173-77);18: Suspension of the post of European slave agent at Bassidore (folios 181-87). In a letter dated 25 July 1859, Jones writes to Commodore Jenkins, stating that he is abolishing the appointment of a European slave agent at the slave depot in Bassidore, in light of there being too few slaves and no one with sufficient time to keep the post. The post at Bassidore will instead be filled by a native agent (folios 181-82);19: The chief of Debaye [Dubai] implicated in, then acquitted of, the kidnap of Somalee [Somalian] slaves (folios 192-95);20: Correspondence relating to a boat carrying slaves from Somalia, belonging to the Sheikh of Amulgavine [Umm al-Qaywayn]. The boat was captured off the Aden coast by Her Majesty's Steamer
LadyCanning, under the charge of Captain Playfair. Sixty-three slaves were liberated. (folios 199-210)The file is a continuation of 'Vol 259 Slave Trade' (IOR/15/1/171), which contains subjects 1-10. Further subjects (numbered 21-27) are contained in the file 'Vol 255 Slave Trade' (IOR/15/1/168).1 volume (225 folios)The contents of the volume have been divided into ten subjects, numbered 11 through to 20. Each subject has one or two types of cover pages, on which is written a description of its contents. The first of the two cover sheets are blue or white sheets of paper, many of which are folded sheets which entirely enclose the subject correspondence inside. Some of these sheets have paper tabs on their outside edges, which have been damaged or torn over time. The second of these cover sheets, where they appear, are smaller sheets of white or blue paper, with the title written in ink and various pencil annotations, the meaning of which is unclear.Within each subject, the correspondence has been arranged in approximate chronological order, starting with the earliest items and finishing with the latest. Enclosures to letters are grouped together with the letters they were sent or received with.Foliation: The file is foliated from the first to last page of writing with pencil numbers enclosed in circles in the top-right corner of the recto of each folio. Foliation anomalies: 20A, 45A, 55A, 69A, 109A, 162A, 164A, 164B, 178A, 196A.
The volume contains correspondence relating to plans and a proposal to build a British consulate at Ahwaz. The correspondents include: Percy Cox, Political Resident at Bushire; David Lorimer and Lieutenant James Gabriel Lancaster Ranking, Vice-Consul and Acting Vice-Consul for Arabistan at Ahwaz, respectively; William McDouall, Consul for Arabistan at Mohammerah [Korramshahr]; Arthur Hardinge, British Minister at Tehran; and the Foreign Department of the Government of India.The documents cover a prolonged discussion over the details of the plans for the site, including responsibility for the building and financing of the project, rent, and a claim by Moin ut-Tujjar that the land belongs to him. Also contained in the volume is the response to Sheikh Khazal's [Khaz‘al Āl Ka‘bī] request to purchase rifles from the British government.Folios 16 and 125a are sketch plans of the proposed site.1 volume (143 folios)The volume is arranged chronologically. At the beginning of the volume (folio 1c) is a subject index, in no particular order and with no folio references.Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers positioned in the top-right corner of each recto. An original pagination system runs through the volume, which uses blue/black pencil numbers in the top-left corners of versos and the top-right corners of rectos.The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 1c, 41a, 103a, 103b, 103c, 105a, 125a, 130a, 130b. Folio 110 is missing.Foldouts: folios 16, 26.
The volume contains correspondence pertaining to the relatives of the late Shaikh of Khuzestan, Khaz‘al Āl Ka‘bī. The correspondents include the Political Resident at Bahrain, Political Agent at Kuwait, Government of India, Foreign Office, India Office, British Ambassador in Tehran, British Ambassador in Baghdad, Middle East Office at Cairo, British Consul General at Ahwaz, Vice Consul at Korramshahr, and two of Khaz‘al's sons, Abdullah [‘Abdullah bin Khaz‘al Āl Ka‘bī] and Chassib [Jāsib bin Khaz‘al Āl Ka‘bī].The matters covered in the volume include:compensation to be paid to the heirs of Sheikh Ahmad of Kuwait and Sheikh Khaz‘al for taxes [
istiḥlāk] paid on estates that they should have been exempt from;the intrigues and actions of Khaz‘al's sons, ‘Abdullah and Jāsib, including small-scale incursions into Khuzistan [Khūzestān] from Iraq and attempts to garner Arab and British support for their return to power in Khuzistan;where to settle ‘Abdullah after his return from Persia.Folios 64-69 are letters in Arabic, signed by several of the heads of leading Arab families in the region, petitioning the Political Resident for help against Persian oppression.Folios 214-228 are internal office notes.1 volume (233 folios)The volume is arranged chronologically.Foliation: There is an incomplete foliation sequence and a complete foliation sequence. The complete sequence, which should be used for referencing, is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the title page, on number 1, and ends on the last folio of writing, on number 228. There are the following irregularities: folio 1 is followed by folio 1A. It should be noted that folio 67 is contained in an envelope which is attached to the verso of folio 66, and folios 71-72 are in an envelope which is attached to the verso of folio 70.
Correspondence in the volume is related to a number of manumission cases involving Kuwaiti subjects heard between 1907 and 1909, either in Kuwait, or in another of the Political Agencies in the Gulf. A significant proportion of the file comprises correspondence between the Political Resident (Major Percy Cox) and the Political Agent in Kuwait (Captain Stuart Knox), seeking to clarify how best to proceed with manumission requests from Kuwaiti subjects, in light of the absence of a formal slave trade treaty between the British Government and the Sheikh of Kuwait.In a letter of March 1908, Knox wrote to Cox (folios 21-22), stating that the shaikh agreed that, as “a matter of expediency, it would be better for all such [manumission] cases to be referred to himself and the Political Agent at Kuwait for disposal in consultation.” Knox further proposed that, where evidence of the ill-treatment of the slave existed, the slave should be returned to the care of Political Agent, but where no evidence of ill-treatment could be seen, the slave could appeal to the shaikh and Political Agent. Correspondence was exchanged through August and September 1908 between Cox and Woods, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, on the issue of the procedure of manumission (folios 39-42). Woods informed Cox that, for the present, “the Government of India would prefer to issue no general orders” on manumission cases, and would be content if “future cases may be dealt with satisfactorily on the merits as they arise” (folios 42).A manumission case heard at Kuwait in 1909 involved a pearl diver who claimed to be a slave, and was seeking manumission from his master (folios 49-63). In a translated statement, the master claimed that the man was not a slave, but simply owed him a diving debt. The slave and his dive master were reconciled after the intervention of Knox and shaikh Mubarak (folio 59).1 volume (66 folios)The correspondence contained in the file runs in approximate chronological order, from the earliest at the front, to the latest at the rear. The most recent item in the volume is a handwritten note, pasted onto the verso of folio 1c, which is dated on its reverse 18 Oct 1920. There is a typewritten index to the volume on folio 1b. It consists of eight subjects, for which page numbers (referring to the blue/red pencil numbering system) are given.Foliation: The volume has been foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, with circled numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. An earlier pagination system, which numbers each recto with writing on and uses larger blue or red pencil numbers in the top-right corner of pages, runs through the volume.Condition: There is a small amount of insect damage on some pages, but this does not impair the legibility or understanding of the correspondence.
The file concerns Persian claims to Bahrain (also spelled Bahrein).The correspondence is mainly between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Political Agent, Bahrain. Other correspondents include the British Consular Agent, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave). Enclosures to correspondence from the Political Resident include copies of correspondence from senior officials in the Foreign Office, the Government of India, the Colonial Office and the India Office, and other British officials in the region, including HBM's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia, Tehran (Sir Percy Lyham Loraine), the High Commissioner, Baghdad (Major-General Sir Percy Zachariah Cox), and the Consul at Shiraz (Herbert George Chick).The main topics covered in the papers are:reports by the Political Agent and Political Resident;discussion of the issue by the British Government and Government of India;the nature of the claims made by the Persian Government and the question of the British response to those claims;the issuing by the Persian authorities of passports and passes (
Ilm-o-Khabar) for Bahrain as though it were an inland port of Persia;use of British certificates of identity;anti-British agitation in Bahrain and support for a return to Persian rule;the need for the British Passport Office to make it clear to persons wishing to travel to Bahrain that they did not need a visa from the Persian Legation, London (folios 24-26);support for the Persian claim to Bahrain in the Persian press;proposal to give Bahrain the right to return a member to the Persian Madjliss [majlis] (folio 52);the question of British jurisdiction in Bahrain over foreigners;the history of Persian claims to sovereignty over Bahrain, including analysis of records held by the Government of India;attitude of the Bahrain ruling family;the treatment of Bahraini subjects in Persia, and the question of the protection of their interests by the British.The Arabic and Persian language content of the file consists of approximately ten letters, newspaper cuttings and associated items.1 volume (341 folios)The papers are filed in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file, except where enclosures of an earlier date are filed after the relevant covering letter.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 100-111; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. A third foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 7-116; these numbers are written in blue crayon, are circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.