This bundle consists of summaries of letters received from HM Minister to Persia [Iran], Charles Augustus Murray (17 September 1857, Number 96; 20 September 1857, Number 97; 25 September 1857, Number 98; 2 October 1857, Numbers 101-102; 3 October 1857, Number 104; 5 October 1857, Numbers 109 and 111-113).The summaries relate to matters including: the punishment of a Persian regiment for running away at Mohamra [Mohammerah, now Khorramshahr]; the Persian troops all being withdrawn from Afghanistan, and a large Persian force being prepared to march around 22 October 1857 against the Turcomans [Turkmens] of Serekhs, under the command of Prince Sultan Morad, and Prince Sultan Morad soliciting British assistance against the Turcomans; and the Jewish prisoners from Herat.1 item (4 folios)
Correspondence and other papers relating to the Soviet Union’s demand, made to the Iranian Government during the Anglo-Soviet occupation of the country in the Second World War, for an oil concession agreement in northern Persia [Iran]. The file, which is chiefly comprised of correspondence between the British Ambassador at Tehran, Reader William Bullard, and the Foreign Office, covers: the deterioration in relations between the Soviet Union and the Iranian Governments, in the wake of the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Sa’ed’s consideration and subsequent refusal to grant the Soviet Government oil concessions in Persia; the activities of the Soviet Assistant Commissar in Tehran, Sergey Kavtaradze, and his efforts to persuade the Sa’ed Government to grant Soviet Russia oil concessions in northern Persia; Sa’ed’s resignation in November 1944, and the subsequent political crisis in Iranian Government that ensued; descriptions of reports in the Iranian press, Soviet press, and pro-Soviet newspapers affiliated to the Tudeh Party of Iran. The file also includes a report entitled ‘An Account of the Kavir-i-Khourian Oil Concession North Persia’, prepared by the Research Department at the Foreign Office in September 1945, and illustrated with map and photographs (ff 10-21).The file includes a small amount of text in French (extracts of Iranian newspaper articles and Iranian Government laws).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.1 file (325 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front 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 327; 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 between ff 135-145, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Part 2 consists of correspondence relating to the deployment of a consular guard at Ahwaz to protect British subjects working in the region. The correspondence is between the Government of India, Foreign Office, India Office, and representatives of Concessions Syndicate Ltd (later Anglo-Persian Oil Company). Included as enclosures are letters, telegrams, and memoranda from the following:British Minister to Persia;George B Reynolds, geologist for Concessions Syndicate Ltd;Lieutenant-Colonel David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer, Vice-Consul in Arabistan, at Ahwaz;Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary;British Treasury;Percy Cox, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, at Bushire;William Knox D'Arcy, petroleum entrepreneur.The papers cover several matters, including:the size of the guard and length of the period of deployment;the question of who will bear the cost of the guard and its accommodation;pay and allowances of staff;relations between the Bakhtiari tribes and the Syndicate;an increase to the guard at Isfahan;the proposal to replace Government of India guards with local Bakhtiari men.1 item (239 folios)
The file concerns the claim of the Government of Iran (generally referred to as the Government of Persia) to territorial sovereignty over Bahrein [Bahrain].The papers include: the Iranian claim in the light of the Bahrain oil concession; representations by the Government of Iran to the League of Nations, and the involvement of League in the dispute; summary of diplomatic correspondence, 1927-29 (folios 506-511); India Office 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 14 July 1934 - a historical summary of the political status of Bahrain, and Persian claims to sovereignty; the submission of the question by the India Office to the Law Officers of the Crown, 1934 (folios 466-472), and the report of the Law Officers of the Crown (folios 400-403), stating their opinion that Persia had no rights of sovereignty or suzerainty over Bahrain; the view of the Foreign Office (subsequently adopted) that references in public pronouncements to the independence of Bahrain needed to be qualified by the statement that the ruler was 'in special treaty relations with His Majesty's Government' (folios 378-380); the status of Tamb and Abu Musa (folio 361); the imposition of Iranian import duty on aviation oil supplied to Bahrain (folios 315-316); the views of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf on the dangers of submitting the question to international arbitration (folios 308-314); similarities to the dispute between the United States of America (USA) and the Netherlands over Palmas Island [Miangas or Palmas, Indonesia] (e.g. folios 306-307); the views of the Government of Saudi Arabia (folios 268-270); the issue of passports and visas; transcripts of articles in support of the Iranian position in the Iranian and Arabic language press; the effect of the Bahrain nationality and property laws; Italian propaganda in support of the Iranian claim (folio 243); comparison with the Falkland Islands (folio 210); the refusal of the Iranian postal authorities to accept mails from Bahrain (folio 186); the involvement of the United Nations Organisation; Foreign Office 'Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 13 January 1947, substantially based on the India Office 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein' of 1934 (folios 97-126); Soviet propaganda over Bahrain (folio 57); the presence in Tehran of a person claiming to represent the Bahrain National Party (folios 50-54); and correspondence dated 1948 concerning the size and position of the Persian community in Bahrain, including a letter on the subject from Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (folios 25-37).The file contains significant correspondence from the Foreign Office, HM Minister, Tehran (later the British Ambassador to Tehran), and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The French language content of the file consists of approximately thirty folios of diplomatic correspondence and newspaper extracts.The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence, dated 1927-31.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.1 file in 3 parts (519 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: this file consists of three physical parts. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of part one with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover of part three with 525; 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 2-524; these numbers are printed, but are not circled.
The file contains reports, predominantly in the form of telegrams, by British diplomatic and consular staff on political and social developments in Persia; the content of the reports reflect British Government interests during the Iran-Azerbaijan Crisis of 1946. The reports cover developments within the Central Government, developments in the provinces, and the activities of the Democratic Party and the Tudeh Party. This includes accounts of meetings held by the British and United States Ambassadors – John Le Rougetel and George V Allen – with Ahmad Qavam (Prime Minister and Leader of the Democratic Party) and the Shah – Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The file also covers strikes and labour disputes, with those affecting the operations of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company being particularly predominant.The strikes of oil workers in Agha Jari and Abadan in July 1946 are covered in the reports, as is a threatened revolt by the Bakhtiari and Kashgai tribes. Reports from the British Ambassador to the Soviet Union (Sir Maurice Drummond Peterson) cover Soviet press reporting of developments in Persia. A small amount of content 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.1 file (596 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 597; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
This bundle consists of summaries of letters received from HM Minister to Persia, Charles Augustus Murray (12 August 1857, Number 73; 15 August 1857, Number 75; 17 August, Numbers 77-78; 19 August, Number 79; 20 August 1857, Number 82).The summaries mostly relate to Herat. One of the summaries (19 August 1857, Number 79) concerns the announcement in the
Teheran Gazetteof the intended proclamation of the new heir apparent of the Shah of Persia [Iran].1 item (4 folios)
Correspondence and other papers relating to the efforts of the Soviet Union to sign an oil concession agreement with Persia [Iran] covering northern Iran. The papers cover: the Iranian Prime Minister Ahmad Qavam’s involvement in the carrying of a bill for a joint Iranian-Soviet oil company to the Iranian majlis; details of the negotiations for an oil concession in northern Persia, and the geographic area under consideration, with map (f 156); Prime Minister Qavam’s presentation of his report on the oil concession to the Iranian majlis in October 1947; the Iranian Government’s rejection of Qavam’s bill, as outlined in an official text published in the Iranian press (English translation, f 37); telegraphic correspondence from the British Embassy in Moscow, reporting on articles appearing in the Soviet press (
Pravda,
Izvestiya) commenting on the oil concession, the Iranian Government’s actions, and a perceived growth in American [United States of America] influence in Iranian Government policy.The file’s principal correspondents are: the British Ambassador in Tehran, Reader William Bullard, succeeded in 1946 by John Helier Le Rougetel; the British Chargé d’Affaires in Moscow, Frank Kenyon Roberts; the British Ambassador in Moscow, Maurice Drummond Peterson; and the Foreign Office.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.1 file (186 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front 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 188; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to administration of the estate of Mr W N Sequeira, a British citizen who had gone bankrupt.The discussion in the volume relates to the situation with the creditors in Khuzistan and legal position with the Iranian government.The principal correspondents in the volume include: HBM Minister, British Legation, Tehran, Herbert Thompson Knatchbull-Huggeson; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and HM Consul, Ahwaz.1 volume (43 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.This is part of a physical volume which contains multiple files. Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 3, and terminates at f 48, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 5-48; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are circled.
The volume contains correspondence and notes by British government officials about the Italian Government’s support for proposals by the British company Marconi, initially in association with the German company Telefunken, to establish a network of wireless (radio) telegraph stations in Persia. The main correspondents are ministers and senior officials at the Foreign Office and the India Office in London, the Director-in-Chief of the Indo-European Telegraph Department headquarters in London, the Viceroy and Governor-General of India at Calcutta, the British Minister to Persia at Tehran (also spelt Teheran) and the British Ambassador to Russia at Petrograd [Saint Petersburg]. The correspondents discuss the harm that would be caused to the British monopoly on telegraphic installations and communications between India, Southern Persia (referred to as the British zone) and the Persian Gulf, in the event that the Marconi Company was successful in obtaining a concession (licence) from the Persian Government, with the concurrence of the Russian Government. Included in the volume is a copy of the Marconi proposals, written in French and presented by the Italian Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran to the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1914. At the end of the volume is a copy of the General Post Office publication ‘Cable communication: further print of Concessions Granted in Foreign Countries accompanying memorandum of 13th October 1899, comparing General Forms of License for landing cables in the United Kingdom and various Licenses or Concessions for landing cables in British Possessions or Foreign Countries’, printed in October 1905.1 volume (316 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 3632 (Telegraphs – Wireless in Persia) consists of one volume.The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 318; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The volume concerns diplomatic tensions between Persian, Ottoman, British and Russian Governments, at the outset of the First World War (Anglo-German war in the file), including the attack made at Urmia on Russian troops by Kurdish forces.The papers cover:Attitude of Persian towards Anglo-German war and towards the Government of India.Russian policy towards Persia.Proposal to induce Persia to join the Allies.Persian neutrality in the hostilities between Turkey and Russia, and request for withdrawal of Russian troops.Turco-Persian frontier: Kurdish attacks on Russian troops at Urumia [Urmia, Iran]; Shuja-ed-Dowleh, the Agha of Maragha's [Maragheh, Iran] conquest of Tabriz, resisting the advance of Turks.Anti-British actions in Mesopotamia.Anglo-Turkish war: events following Ottoman Ruler Sultan Mehmed V’s declaration of war on Britain, France and Russia on 11 November 1914; Persian neutrality.Russian troops in Persia, and their withdrawal from Khorasan and Mazandera [Mazandaran Province, Iran] on the Turco-Persian frontier in December 1914.Persian Government's protest against the presence of a British gunboat on the Karun River.Anglo-Russian relations.There are some letters in French, from the Russian Vice Consul at Urmia, from the Russian Embassy in London and from the Consul General for Persia at Calcutta.The volume’s principal correspondents are: Louis du Pan Mallet, Foreign Office; Walter Beaupre Townley, British Minister at Tehran; Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; George William Buchanan, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Russia.1 volume (164 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 164; these numbers are written in pencil, 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.
The memorandum consists of printed papers on the subject of whether persons of Persian origin born in India are entitled to protection as British subjects. The question arose from the fact that Persia did not recognise British nationality in persons of Persian descent. In particular, it references the case of Agha Mehdee; a person of Persian descent who has enjoyed British subject status for a number of years. His status as a British subject is accepted by the Government of Persia, but they do not consider this to be a precedent to be conferred on others. The attitudes of France and Russia towards their subjects are considered in order to inform the British position on the matter. The papers included are outlined below.A letter (No. 1, folios 96-100) from William Taylor Thomson, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, to Edward Henry Stanley, Earl of Derby, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, dated Tehran 15 February 1876, with the following enclosures:1. Translation of a memorandum from Minister for Foreign Affairs, dated 19 January 1876 respecting the position of Agha Mehdee;2. Memorandum No. 920 of 1868 respecting Nazir Mohammed Mehedee, signed W Whinvail, Acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, dated Bombay Castle 16 May 1868;3. Memorandum No. 2740 of 1870 respecting Nazir Aga Ahmed bin Aga Ali, signed Herbert Henry Jacomb, Under Secretary to the Government of Bombay, dated Bombay Castle 11 November 1870;4. Letter from Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to E [Charles] Gonne, Secretary to the Political Department, Government of Bombay, dated Bushire 27 January 1872;5. Government Resolution No. 1905 regarding the position of persons of Persian parentage born in British territory, dated Bombay Castle, 27 March 1872;6. Opinion of J W [James Sewell] White, Advocate-General, Bombay, regarding the position of persons of Persian parentage born in British territory. It is dated Bombay Castle 5 March 1872;7. Telegram from Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to E [Charles] Gonne, Secretary to the Political Department, Government of Bombay, dated Bushire 27 May 1872;8. Telegram from E [Charles] Gonne, Secretary to the Political Department, Government of Bombay, to Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated Bombay 7 June 1872;9. Telegram from Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to E [Charles] Gonne, Secretary to the Political Department, Government of Bombay, dated Bushire 7 June 1872;10. Letter from Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to E [Charles] Gonne, Secretary to the Political Department, Government of Bombay, dated Bushire 26 June 1872;11. Government Resolution No. 5446 regarding the position of persons of Persian parentage born in British territory, dated Bombay Castle 14 December 1872;12. Opinion of C J Mayhew, Acting Advocate-General, Bombay (No. 34), regarding the position of persons of Persian parentage born in British territory, dated Bombay 2 September 1872;13. Letter from Charles Umpherston Aitchison, Secretary to the Government of India, to Colonel Ross, dated Fort William 5 September 1874;14. Letter from G C Paul, Assistant Advocate-General, Bengal, to Charles Umpherston Aitchison, Secretary to the Government of India, dated Fort William 21 August 1874;15. Telegram from the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Governor of Bushire, dated 22 Zuhejjeh 1292 (20 January 1876);16. Letter from William Taylor Thomson, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, to B Schimanovsky, Russian Chargé d'Affaires, dated Tehran 25 January 1876 (enclosure in French);17. Letter from B Schimanovsky, Russian Chargé d'Affaires, to William Taylor Thomson, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, dated 31 January 1876 (enclosure in French);18. Memorandum of a conversation between Mr Larcom and B Schimanovsky, Russian Chargé d'Affaires, respecting the laws regulating Nationality in Russia, dated Tehran 10 February 1876;19. Letter from William Taylor Thomson, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, to R de Balloy, French Chargé d'Affaires, dated Tehran 10 February 1876 (enclosure in French);20. Letter from R de Balloy, French Chargé d'Affaires, to William Taylor Thomson, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, dated Tehran 11 February 1876 (enclosure in French);21. Extract from "Les Codes Français" (enclosure in French);22. Extract from a law modified 7 February 1851 concerning persons born in France to foreign parents (enclosure in French).A memorandum (No. 2, folios 100-101) as to the protection to be granted to persons of Persian origin born in India, signed by A Walmisley, dated Foreign Office 20 April 1876. It considers a couple of cases; the case of 'Bagio', a Jew born to Ottoman parents; and 'Schlizzi', a man born in Ottoman territory, but who had resided for a time in England.1 file (6 folios)Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 96, and terminates at f 101, 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.
The file contains a telegram from the Government of India, External Affairs Department to presumably the HM Ambassador to Persia detailing an offer made by the Indian firm, Messrs Saapen and Company of Bombay to export 5000 tons of Persian barley to the Government of India, Food Department and the need for an export licence should the offer be accepted.1 file (1 folio)Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 3; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.