This part of the volume contains telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, notes, printed reports and two press-cuttings relating to the arms traffic in Muscat and arrangements for its regulation.Issues discussed include:new regulations to prevent the sale of arms in Muscat without the knowledge of the end-user;French schemes to evade the Sultan of Muscat's regulations by trans-shipment;proposals for the compensation of French arms dealers and the different views of the Treasury, Government of India and the Foreign Office thereon;Anglo-French diplomacy and proposed purchase of stocks at Muscat and Jibuti;value of weapons stock held in the Warehouse and disposals of the stocks after compilation of inventory.The principal correspondents in the volume include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Percy Zachariah Cox; the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf; the Political Agent at Muscat; the Viceroy; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey; the Under Secretary of State, Foreign Office; the Ambassador to France, Sir Francis Bertie; the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty; Commander-in-Chief, East Indies; the Board of Trade; the Colonial Office.The volume includes two statistical tables, 'Inventory of arms and ammunition in French Private Warehouses in Maskat' (ff 230-232; 236-237).The volume is part 6 of 7. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.1 volume (278 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 868 (Arms Traffic - Muscat) consists of 6 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/235-240. The volumes are divided into 7 parts with parts 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 comprising one volume each and parts 4 and 5 comprising a volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 278; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, 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.
The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Olaf Caroe), the Political Agent at Muscat (Ralph Ponsonby Watts), the India Office (Maurice Clauson, John Charles Walton), the Secretary of State for India (Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland), Petroleum Concessions Limited (Frank Holmes, Stephen Hemsley Lonrgigg, Frederick Lewisohn) and the Sultan of Muscat (Said bin Taimur Al Bu Said) regarding negotiations for the granting of two oil concessions for Dhofar and Muscat territory, which were concluded by Basil Henry Lermitte of Petroleum Concessions Limited, with the concession agreements being signed on 24 June 1937.Also discussed in the volume are arrangements for a meeting between Stephen Hemsley Longrigg of Petroleum Concessions Limited and the Sultan of Muscat, which was to take place in India, in order to discuss how they might go about exploring the South East Muscat Coast and also how to gain access to the hinterland under the control of the Imam of Muscat. Also included is a request by the Sultan of Muscat for the Political Agent at Muscat, Ralph Ponsonby Watts, to be present not only at the meeting with Longrigg but also at later meetings in Delhi where the British treaty with Muscat was likely to be discussed.Further discussion relating to exploration is included between the India Office and Petroleum Concessions Limited regarding the Company’s interest in exploring the South East Coast of Muscat and parts of the interior controlled by the Imam of Muscat and the difficulties they would be likely to encounter in attempting to do so; along with the area west of the Oman Mountain Range which Petroleum Concessions Limited were interested in ascertaining any known boundaries for, and otherwise how best to approach exploration there.Another matter of discussion within the volume is Count Byron de Prorok and his wife who had travelled to Muscat to undertake archaeological exploration, but had been refused permission to explore the interior of the country by the Sultan of Muscat. The correspondence goes on to discuss allegations made by a number of individuals and organisations that the he was not entitled to hold the rank of Count; that he had been discredited in the scientific community and could not be considered to be an archaeologist; and that a number of institutions he claimed to have the support and backing of for his explorations had issued statements refuting any involvement with him. Later correspondence discusses an application made by him for permission to travel into the Rub-el-Khali in an attempt to discover an ancient city believed to be there and the India Office’s intention of declining the request. Also included with this correspondence is discussion of a visit made by an Italian, Tullio Pastori, to Muscat and Bandar Abbas and giving Mr Pastori’s background and intentions in visiting the region to recruit labourers to construct roads in Eritrea.Other matters of interest in the volume include:discussion surrounding ongoing communication between the Sultan of Muscat and the California Arabian Standard Oil Company, who wished to undertake examinations in Muscat territory for the potential development of Petroleum resources there, and regarding such correspondence being in opposition to conditions imposed in the Sultan’s treaty with the British Government.correspondence regarding proposed amendments to the Political Agreement to be signed by Petroleum Concessions Limited and the India Office in relation to the Muscat concession.the proposed itinerary for a tour to be undertaken by the Sultan of Muscat in 1937 to India, Singapore, Japan, USA, Britain, France and Italy.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 175-184.1 volume (187 folios)The volume contains a table of contents on folio 4 comprising of subject headings and page references. The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-174; these numbers are also written in pencil, are 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.
This volume contains part 1 of the subject 'Persia Gulf'. It concerns Britain's relations with Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] following the latter's occupation of Ottoman-ruled El Hassa [Al Hasa] and Nejd [Najd]. Much of the correspondence is concerned with how Bin Saud's occupation of Nejd and El Hassa will affect the continuing Anglo-Turkish negotiations [for the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, which was never ratified] and British foreign policy in the region more generally.Also discussed in the volume are the following: whether the British should allow the transhipment of Ottoman troops in Bahrein waters; a visit (regarded after the event as 'ill-advised' by the Secretary of State for India) paid by the Political Agent, Koweit [Kuwait], Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, to Bin Saud, at Majma'a [Al Majma], six weeks before Bin Saud occupied El Hassa; the death of Sheikh Jasim-bin-thani [Shaikh Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī, Ruler of Qatar]; British hopes of securing the early withdrawal of the Turkish garrison from El Katr [Qatar]; reports that the Turkish Government intends to respond to the events in Nejd by appointing Bin Saud as Mutessarif [Mutasarrif] of the district.The following principal correspondents appear in the volume: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Sir Percy Zachariah Cox; the Viceroy of India [Charles Hardinge]; the Secretary of State for India, the Marquess of Crewe [Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes]; the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, Thomas William Holderness; His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople, Gerard Augustus Lowther; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey; the Political Agent, Koweit; Bin Saud.The part includes a divider that gives the subject and part number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in the part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.1 volume (155 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.The subject 2182 (Persia Gulf) consists of 8 volumes: IOR/L/PS/10/384-391. The volumes are divided into 12 parts with part 1 comprising the first volume, part 2 comprising the second volume, part 3 comprising the third volume, parts 4-5 comprising the fourth volume, part 6 comprising the fifth volume, parts 7-8 comprising the sixth volume, parts 9-10 comprising the seventh volume, and parts 11-12 comprising the eighth volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 155; 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.
The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, maps and notes, relating to negotiations over the proposed Berlin to Baghdad Railway in the period 1910-1912.The discussion in the volume relates to the economic, commercial, political and military considerations impinging on British strategy for the international negotiations over the development of a railway to Baghdad.Further discussion surrounds the motivations and strategies of British competitors in the area; included in the volume is a copy of the Russo-German agreement.The principal correspondents in the volume include Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Sir Gerard Augustus Lowther, Ambassador to Constantinople.1 volume (268 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.The subject 2764 (Bagdad Railway) consists of five volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/56-60. The volumes are divided into five parts with each part comprising one volume.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 269; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. Pagination: a pagination sequence in red crayon is present between ff 244-252.
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.
Correspondence, minute papers and reports relating to investigations by the League of Nations into Slavery. The papers concern requests for information on slavery in the Persian Gulf region made by Sir George Maxwell, British Representative on the Advisory Committee of Experts on Slavery, League of Nations. Responses from officials at the India Office, Foreign Office, and Political Residency in the Persian Gulf are contained within the file. Matters discussed within this correspondence include arrangements for meetings, the legal status of slavery in the different states in the region, and the treaty position with regard to slavery.This information was used in compiling an annual report on slavery by the Advisory Committee, three of which are included in the file (those for 1936, 1937, and 1938; folios 289-339, 144-185, and 23-88, respectively). These reports contain chapters on: the Slavery Convention of 1926; Slave-raids, Slave Trade, and Captured Slaves; Born Slaves; Other Institutions; Conclusions; Annexes. Each chapter is mostly ordered geographically.1 file (338 folios)The file is arranged in chronological order from the back to the front.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 340; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The file is concerned with the purchase of twenty second-hand Hawker Hind aircraft by the Afghan Government with associated accessories, weapons, and spares. The aircraft in question was purchased from the British Government by the Government of India for resale to Afghanistan. The file contains correspondence related to ordering and shipping the aircraft, and arrangements for financing and making payments. The supply of a number of replacement Kestrel V engines is also documented within the file, as a result of a number of supplied engines proving to be unserviceable; a report outlining possible reasons for the engine failures can be found on folio 141. See folios 32-38 for a copy of the final agreement governing the purchase.The file also contains a limited amount of correspondence related to the maintenance of the British aviation instructors employed at Kabul, as the continued employment of these instructors was a condition stipulated by the British Government for the sale of the aircraft. A report written by Edward George Honeywood Russell-Stracey on the work undertaken by these instructors during 1938 can be found on folios 520-525.The main correspondents are as follows: HM Minister at Kabul (William Kerr Fraser-Tytler), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, officials of the India Office (George Edmond Crombie and Roland Tennyson Peel), and officials of the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.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 (537 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 538; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
The file is comprised of a paper produced by the Political Intelligence Centre (Middle East Forces): 'Paper No. 80: Middle East Oil' dated 28 March 1946.The paper (ff 4-17) includes a précis and then lists the oil-producing countries of the Middle East with their oil concessions and assessment of their known oil reserves and future potential (Persia; Iraq; Egypt; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Qatar). Further analysis concerns the importance and potential of Middle East oil placed in a world context. The paper also includes a table 'World Oil Production and Reserves, 1944' listed by region.A further section list exploratory work being undertaken in non-producing areas (Syria and Lebanon; Palestine; Muscat, Oman and Dhofar; Trucial Coast; Turkey; Transjordan; Cyprus; Yemen; Aden Protectorate). The report also includes a map 'Middle East Oil - Secret' (folio 12) and a distribution list.Also included in the file is a copy of an article 'Big Oil Boom in Saudi Arabia' from the
New York Timesand
Statesman Special Service, 4 December 1946.The principal correspondents are: the Head of the Political Intelligence Centre, Middle East Forces, Cairo (Colonel J G Clarke); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the Political Agent, Muscat.1 file (17 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 19; 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.
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 telegrams and correspondence regarding arrangements for official visits of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to Bahrain and other Persian Gulf countries between 1937 and 1944.The file contains programmes of the visits, arrangements for meetings with ruling families, seating plans for official dinners, and notes on etiquette.The principal correspondents are: Imperial Airways Limited Station Superintendent at Baghdad; Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo; British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Station Superintendent at Bahrain; Petroleum Concessions Limited (Bahrain); the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain; Shaikh Hamad bin Isa al Khalifah and his successor, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad al Khalifah, rulers of Bahrain; the Residency Agent at Sharjah; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the Political Agent at Bahrain.Some of the correspondence with the Residency Agency in Sharjah and with the ruler of Bahrain is in English and Arabic.1 file (415 folios)The papers in the file are arranged chronologically. There are notes at the end of the file, on folios 390-416. The notes are arranged chronologically and refer to documents within the file; they give brief description of the correspondence with a number in blue and red crayon, which refers back to that correspondence in the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 417; 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 4-389; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
The file contains papers, mostly India Office minute papers and correspondence, relating to the deportation from the Hejaz of certain Indians for anti-British and pro-Turkish activities (as part of the silk letters movement), and their internment in Malta.The file includes correspondence between the India Office and the following: the Government of India Foreign and Political Department; the High Commissioner for Egypt, Sir (Arthur) Henry McMahon; the Foreign Office; the Colonial Office; and the War Office. The file also includes correspondence between the High Commissioner for Egypt, Sir (Arthur) Henry McMahon, and the Foreign Office, and between the High Commissioner for Egypt and the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department.The file includes photographic copies of the silk letters, which are written in Urdu (folios 63 to 66).1 volume (155 folios)The papers are arranged in chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 157; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
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.