This part contains drafts and counter-drafts of the Anglo-German Convention regarding the Bagdad Railway [Baghdad] and cognate matters, and of the proposed Agreement between the Bagdad Railway Company and the Ottoman Government. These are written in English, German and French, and found at folios 149, 160, 167, 178-179, 201-203, 217-223, 225-230, 235-240, 247, 257-269, and 281-284.The file also contains correspondence between the Foreign Office, the India Office Political Department, the German Ambassador to London (Karl Max Fürst von Lichnowsky), the Councillor of the German Embassy (Richard von Kühlmann), and the Ottoman Finance Minister (Mehmed Cavid Bey). The correspondence concerns negotiations over the following points:the construction and naming of the line;options for British capital investment in the Bagdad Railway Company;options for British representation on the Railway Board;oversight of the project, the safeguarding of commercial interests, and arrangements for arbitration proceedings;shares in the River Navigation Company;navigation of the Shatt el Arab [Shatt al Arab];the formation of a Shatt el Arab Conservancy Commission;the potential impact on the Anatolian Railway, and the prospects of the Smyrna-Aidin Railway Company;and German wishes that no railway should be in direct competition with the Bagdad line from the western terminus at Konia [Konya] to the eastern terminus at Basra.1 item (142 folios)
This file contains reports and correspondence relating to the mining of iron ore on the island of Abu Musa and Hassan Samayeh's involvements with the Germans. The correspondents include the Political Resident Persian Gulf (Major Percy Cox), Residency Agent Sharjah; Lieutenant-Commander W. Hose, H.M.S.
Redbreast, Bushire; H. Listermann, Consul for the Imperial German Government; Sheikh Sagar bin Khalid, Chief of Sharjah; Foreign Office, Government of India.Topics include:The erection of the Qawasim flag on Abu Musa.Views of the Foreign Office on Abu Musa.German Consul talks with Shaikh of Sharjah about the Wonckhaus company.Informing the German Consul that the Trucial chiefs are under British protection.Provision of guards for Abu Musa.Complaint of Nejef bin Ali against Hassan bin Samaiyeh.Persian claim to the islandThe Trucial chiefs were warned not to grant concessions without consulting the Resident.Wonckhaus agent prevented from landing at Abu Musa and to be allowed to remove all oxide already accumulated.There are many letters in Arabic including letters in Arabic from the German Consul to the Sheikh of Sharjah with translations. Also a hand written letter in English from the German Consul in Bushire to the Political Resident; and a Persian newspaper,
Nedai-e-Watan.1 volume (255 folios)The papers are arranged chronologically from the front to the rear of the file.There are two foliation sequences. The first foliation sequence which should be used for referencing, begins on the first folio of writing, on number 1. After number 3 there is a blank folio, which is not numbered. The sequence then resumes on the next folio, on number 4 and runs through to number 255, which is the last folio of writing. This sequence is written in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio.The second foliation sequence begins on the third folio of writing and runs from number 1 through to number 248A, ending on the last folio of writing. The second sequence is written in blue crayon, in the top right corner of each folio.
This volume is a diary of Sir Arthur Hirtzel (then Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for India) for the year 1909. Entries start at 1 January and end at 24 December (some dates in between these dates do not have any entries). The entries are usually brief (although entries for some dates run over into the space for the entry for the next date).There are brief references to the weather and what Hirtzel did on particular days, such as his attendance at church services, but Hirtzel’s diary entries largely concern John Morley (Viscount Morley of Blackburn, Secretary of State for India, referred to as ‘J.M.’ throughout).The entries mostly record the following:The views and opinions expressed by Morley on India and India Office business, including the Indian Councils Act of 1909 (entries including: 12 February, folio 22 recto; 25 March, folio 28 recto; and 27 and 28 July, folio 45 verso), and possible candidates to be the next Viceroy of India (30 March, folio 28 verso; 9 May, folio 35 recto; and 21 July, folios 44 verso to 45 recto).The views and opinions expressed by Morley on various individuals.Meetings between Morley and various individuals, including King Edward VII (10 January, folio 17; 5 February, folio 21 recto; and 21 July, folio 44 verso to 45 recto), and the Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith (3 February, folio 20 verso).Cabinet and meetings and other events attended by Morley.Morley’s health.Before the entry for 1 January on folio 16 recto, there are five lines in German, including an (inaccurate) quotation of the second verse of
O Gott, du frommer Gottby Johann Heermann.The volume itself is a
Letts’s No. 35 Rough Diaryfor 1909, published for Letts’s Diary Company, Limited by Cassell & Company, Limited. It includes printed information at the front of the volume, such as information about Inland Revenue duties, commercial stamp duties, and postal rates and regulations, a list of colonial governors of the British Empire, and a list of London banks. There are also various advertisements at the front and back of the volume.1 volume (75 folios)Diary entries are chronological from the front to the rear of the volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 77; 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.
Correspondence exchanged between the German Consulate at Buschär [Bushire] (Helmuth Listemann) and others: the Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] representative of the German firm Robert Wönckhaus and Company (Herr H Rosenfeld; Herr Krumpeter); the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Percy Zachariah Cox); German Government officials at the Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Office) in Berlin; the German Embassy in London.The correspondence refers to a dispute relating to concession rights for the mining and shipment of red oxide at Abū Mūsá, originally awarded to a number of Arab merchants by Shaikh Sālim bin Sulṭān Āl Qāsimī of Sharjah in 1898, and part of which was subsequently acquired by Wönckhaus and Company in 1906. The dispute was sparked by the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qāsimī’s cancellation of the concession in 1907, and subsequent claims by Wönckhaus and Company and the German Government, over financial losses arising from the cancellation of the concession.The majority of the file’s correspondence is in German. Letters exchanged between the German Consul at Bushire and the British Political Resident are in French. In most cases, German correspondence is preceded by undated pencil notes written in English, giving a précis of the letter that follows.1 file (402 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.The subject 4949 (Abu Musa oxide) consists of six volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/318-323. The volumes are divided into six parts, with each part comprising one volume. Part 6 (IOR/L/PS/10/323) is missing.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 403; these numbers are printed, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
This file consists entirely of correspondence received by George Nathaniel Curzon, mainly on the subject of his recently completed book,
Persia and the Persian Question.The letters are from friends, acquaintances and other correspondents, including a number of senior political figures, army officers, diplomats, writers and travellers with an interest in Persia, most of whom compliment Curzon on his new book and, in some cases, offer suggested revisions or corrections.Notable correspondents include the following: Albert Houtum-Schindler of the Imperial Bank of Persia and the Persian Bank Mining Rights Corporation Limited, William Ewart Gladstone, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury), Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Ármin Vámbéry, Sven Hedin, Katherine Lucy Graham Smith, Edward Granville Browne, Henry Lake Wells, Guy le Strange, Sir Edgar Vincent, and a number of British consuls and consul generals, including those at Isfahan and Meshed.The German language material consists of one letter, which is from Sven Hedin to Curzon.1 file (105 folios)The papers proceed in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 67, and terminates at the inside back cover with 173, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 67-173; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Correspondence, chiefly received from but also sent to, the Director of Customs in Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis DeGrenier). The majority of the correspondence is official, and relates to miscellaneous trade and customs matters in Bahrain. Aside from general correspondence, memoranda and notices (for example, announcing trade regulations, customs house opening hours), other correspondence in the file includes:a letter from the French pearl merchant David Bienenfeld, dated 1928, requesting permission to bring a wireless radio into Bahrain (ff 7-8);a letter and statement on rice imports into Bahrain for the period May 1927 to May 1928 (ff 15-16);correspondence dated 1929, with a copy of an invoice in German, relating to the import into Bahrain of matches from the Berlin branch of the Handelsvertretung der Udssr in Deutschland (Mercantile Department of the Soviet Government in Germany, ff 23-27);statistical tables detailing the numbers and total tonnage of steamers entering and leaving the port of Bahrain for the years 1928 and 1929 (ff 37-39);a summary of the numbers of packages landed at various Persian Gulf ports for the months August to November 1931 (f 52) and November 1931 to January 1932 (f 61);correspondence dated 1932 relating to changes to the system for
khanchia(a customs tax collected on imports), including a petition signed by many of Bahrain’s merchants, objecting to these changes (ff 54-56, f 63);details of the British India Steam Navigation Company’s ‘engagements’ at various ports in the Persian Gulf for the months February to June 1932 (expressed in numbers of packages discharged, ff 65-69, f 74);a 1932 letter (in Arabic with English translation) from prominent Njdy [Nejdi] merchants in Bahrain, requesting a definition of the territorial limits of Bahrain Port (ff 70-72).1 file (76 folios)The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end.Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 80; 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 4-78; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
This volume is a diary of Sir Arthur Hirtzel (then Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for India) for the year 1908. Entries start from 1 January and end at 31 December (some dates in between these dates do not have any entries). The entries are usually brief (although entries for some dates run over into the space for the entry for the next date).There are brief references to Hirtzel’s health, the weather, Hirtzel’s attendance at church services, and the birth of Hirtzel’s daughter Miriam (17 February, folio 39 verso). However, the diary entries largely concern John Morley (Viscount Morley of Blackburn, Secretary of State for India, referred to as ‘J.M.’ throughout). The entries mostly record the following:The views and opinions expressed by Morley on India and India Office business, including the Zakka Khel Expedition [or Zakha Khel Expedition, also known as the Bazar Valley Campaign] of 14 February to 1 March 1908, and the imprisonment of the Indian nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak (28 and 29 July, folio 85 verso).The views and opinions of Morley on domestic British politics, including the Sweated Industries Bill of 1908 (19 February, folio 39 verso) and on various individuals (as recorded by Hirtzel).Meetings between Morley and various individuals, including Winston Churchill (27 January, folio 33 verso; 14 February, folio 39 verso), the Prince of Wales (the future King George V) (10 February, folio 37 verso), King Edward VII (27 February, folio 43 recto), George Nathaniel Curzon (17 March, folio 47 verso; 26 and 27 March, folio 67 verso), Herbert Henry Asquith (17 March, folio 47 verso), James Keir Hardie (7 June, folio 73 recto), and Gopal Krishna Gokhale (3 December, folio 123 verso).Cabinet and Council meetings and other events attended by Morley.Conversations between Hirtzel and Morley.Morley’s health.Before the entry for 1 January on folio 25 verso, there are four lines in German, which quote the second verse of
O Gott, du frommer Gottby Johann Heermann.The volume itself is an
Army & Navy Octavo Scribbling Diaryfor 1908, published by the Army & Navy Co-operative Society, Limited, London. It includes printed information at the front of the volume, such as a list of London bankers, postal information, and a calendar of lessons for Sundays and holy days throughout the year. There are also various advertisements at the front and back of the volume.Pages (not folios) in the diary which relate to press cuttings in the Sir Arthur Hirtzel Press Cuttings volume [Mss Eur D1090/6], are noted in the Press Cuttings volume.1 volume (149 folios)Diary entries are chronological from the front to the rear of the volume.There is an alphabetical index to the diary with entries for places, subjects and persons [Mss Eur D1090/5].Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 151; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Correspondence exchanged between the German Consulate at Buschär [Bushire] (Helmuth Listemann) and others: the Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] representative of the German firm Robert Wönckhaus and Company (Herr H Rosenfeld; Herr Krumpeter); the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox); German Government officials at the Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Office) in Berlin, the German Chargé d’Affaires in Tehran (Hartmann Oswald Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen).The correspondence refers to a dispute over a concession for the mining and shipment of red oxide at Abū Mūsá, originally awarded to Arab merchants by Shaikh Sālim bin Sulṭān Āl Qāsimī of Sharjah in 1898, and part of which was subsequently acquired by Wönckhaus and Company in 1906. The dispute was sparked by the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qāsimī’s cancellation of the concession in 1907, and subsequent claims by Wönckhaus and Company and the German Government, over financial losses arising from the cancellation of the concession.Amongst the papers are copies of correspondence, agreements and other papers dating between 1892 and 1907, relating to the original contract to mine red oxide at Abū Mūsá. Many of these agreements are in Arabic, with most accompanied by English translations.The majority of the file’s correspondence is in German. Official letters exchanged between the German Consul at Bushire and the British Political Resident are in French.1 file (263 folios)The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end.The subject 4949 (Abu Musa oxide) consists of six volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/318-323. The volumes are divided into six parts, with each part comprising one volume. Part 6 (IOR/L/PS/10/323) is missing.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 263; these numbers are printed, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Correspondence and other papers relating to the Persian Government’s annulment of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) concession in December 1932, and the ensuing diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The papers include: diplomatic exchanges between the British and Persian Governments and APOC, as reported by HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare; correspondence between the Foreign Office and India Office; parliamentary notices reporting questions on the crisis raised in the House of Commons; the response of the British press to the annulment, with a large number of newspaper cuttings from British newspapers (chiefly
The Times,
The Daily Herald,
The Morning Post); the British Government’s referral of the dispute to the Council of the League of Nations; the British Government’s despatch of Royal Naval vessels to Abadan; papers from the Council of the League of Nations reporting on negotiations towards a settlement, including notes, session minutes, and correspondence from the Czech representative to the League, Edvard Beneš, who acted as mediator between the two parties; the settlement of the dispute, culminating in a new agreement between the Persian Government and APOC, dated 29 April 1933 (ff 26-35).The volume includes numerous items in French (Persian Government correspondence and some press cuttings from the Persian Press) and a single item in German (a transcript of an article originally appearing the
Deutsche Bergwerks Zeitung).1 volume (541 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 537; 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, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.A number of pages have been bound into the volume upside down (ff 345-358).
The file contains numerous courtesy letters expressing friendship, congratulations and thanks, which are exchanged mainly between the Political Agent, Bahrain and the Shaikhs of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The majority of courtesy letters received by the Political Agent, Bahrain are from the Dubai shaikhs, particularly from Shaikh Mani bin Rashid Maktum [Āl Maktūm, Shaikh Mana bin Rashid] who is the cousin of the Ruler Shaikh Sai’d bin Maktum [Āl Maktūm, Shaikh Saʻīd bin Maktūm bin Hasher]. Several of the letters from Shaikh Mani bin Rashid Maktum contain complaints against Sayid Abdul Razaq the Residency Agent at Sharjah.The file also contains a small amount of claims correspondence relating mainly to debt repayment. This correspondence includes petitions received from local merchants and other inhabitants of Bahrain, Dubai and Sharjah, as well as letters from the Residency Agent, Sharjah to the Political Agent, Bahrain reporting his investigations into some of the claims made and any settlements reached. The majority of letters are in Arabic and are also translated into English. Included in the file are two merchant letters in Persian and a short extract from a German ornithological report in 1937, together with an English translation, about white storks.Finally, there is a small amount of correspondence in 1937 between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Government of India regarding legal opinion on the service of summonses in the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms.1 file (202 folios)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 with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 204; 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 2-157; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Correspondence concerning the transfer of Omani subjects to other nationalities and registration of dhows. The file concerns the request of Musallim bin Juma to be registered under the laws of the East African Protectorate. Correspondents include the Government of India, Foreign Department; Political Agent, Muscat; Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; East African Protectorate Port Office; Sultan Taimur bin Faisal [Taymūr bin Fayṣal]. The file includes printed reports and a certificate to fly the German flag (folio 24).1 volume (97 folios)An index is given in the front of the file.The foliation system in use is the sequence of numbers appearing in a circle in the top right hand corner of each folio. The file also bears a former foliation system comprising uncircled numbers.
The volume contains correspondence regarding the movements and activities of the Central Powers in Persia [Iran], India and Afghanistan between April 1915 and January 1918. The correspondence is particularly concerned with information gained from German papers left behind in Kerman, Persia, and with German propaganda sent to the Amir of Afghanistan, the Maharaja of Nepal and various Indian rulers.The primary correspondents are: Government of the German Empire; War Office; British Consul General, Ispahan; British Resident, Nepal; Government of India.The volume contains several items in German (ff 48-49 and 178-98), copies of some of the documents captured in Kerman. The full list of documents captured is at ff 167-75.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.1 volume (244 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.The subject 3443 (German War/Persia) consists of six volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/472-477. The volumes are divided into six parts, with each part comprising one volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 246; 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.