This file contains correspondence relating to the islands of Bahrain, Tanb (also written as Tamb) [Greater and Lesser Tumb] and Abu Musa in the context of the Persian claim to these islands. The main correspondents are Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf; Political Resident Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle); H.M. Minister, Tehran (Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen); Under Secretary of State, Foreign Office (John Charles Walton); Sheikh Sultan bin Salim, ruler of Ras al Khaimah Topics of letters include:The attitude of Shaikh Sultan bin Salim, the ruler of Ras al Khaimah.The British approach to a possible Persian claim over Bahrain at the Council of League of Nations.Interception of letters from the Persian Governement to the local shaikh at Tanb.Account of a conversation between a French Admiral (Contre-Amiral Rivet) and the Shaikh of Ras al Khaimah.A firman contained in a envelope (folio 179a).The removal and replacement of the Ras al Khaimah flag on Tanb.1 volume (205 folios)The papers are arranged chronologically from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation. The foliation sequences runs from the front cover to last folio, and consists of small circled numbers, located in the top right corner of the recto of each folio.
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.
This volume is a printed report, published by the Government of India Press (Calcutta: 1926), constituting a collection of assurances, undertakings and agreements made by chiefs and Khans of Southern Persia with the British Government and trading companies between 1898 and 1922. The volume is marked 'Confidential' on the front cover and contains a table of contents (folios 4-5). The agreements, some appearing in both Persian and English, are ordered by serial number and they include:No. 1: Undertaking Given by Certain Notables of Luristan in regard to the Construction of Cart Road through Part of their Territory (8 June 1911);No. 2: Correspondence regarding Right of Option Granted to Persian Railway Syndicate by Persian Government for Construction of Certain Railway Lines (9 February 1913, 4 March 1913, and 10 January 1920);No. 3: Memorandum Regarding Concessions for Roads and Railways in South-West Persia up to 1917 (1917);No. 4: Persian Transport Company's Concession for the Construction of a Commercial Road Between Ahwaz and Tehran and the Establishment of a Transport Service thereon (5 August 1890);No. 5: Compensation for Loss of Pilotage Fees, Amounting to Ts. 2000 per annum to be paid to Haidar Khan, Hayat Daudi [Ḥaydar Khān Ḥayāt Dāwūdī], C I E (12 February 1920 and 26 February 1920);No. 6: Agreement Concluded between Messrs. Lynch Bros. and certain Bakhtiari Chiefs for the Construction and Maintenace of a Road from Ahwaz to Isfahan and Shushter [Shushtār] to Isfahan (3 March 1898);No. 7: D'Arcy Oil Concession (28 May 1901);No. 7(a): Translation of the D'Arcy Oil Concession (28 May 1901);No. 8: Agreement Between D'Arcy Syndicate and the Bakhtiari (15 November 1905);No. 8(a): Refusal of Persian Government to Recognize Agreement between the D'Arcy Syndicate and the Bakhriaris (12 January 1906);No. 8(b): Notes on the Bakhtiari Agreement of November 15 1905 (20 October 1906);No. 9: Agreement between Mr W[illiam] K[nox] D'Arcy and the Kili Sayyeds (1 October 1906);No. 10: Agreement between the Oil Company and H. E. Shahab-Es-Sultaneh, Ilbegi [Shihāb al-Sulṭānah Īlbagī] of the Bakhtiar (25 March 1907);No. 11: Land Agreement between the Oil Company and the Bakhtiari Khans (15 May 1911);No. 11(a): Power-of-Attorney Appointing Sardar Muhtesham [Sardār Muḥtasham] and Sardar Bahadur [Sardār Bahādur] as Agents of the Bakhtiari Khans (1910);No. 11(b): The Bakhtiari Khans' Orders to their Tribesmen Regarding the Oil Company's Employees (May 1911);No. 11(c): Undertaking made by the Bakhtiari Khans regarding the Kili Sayyeds (May 1911);No. 12: Agreement for Protection of Pipe-Line (28 April 1911);No. 13: Supplementary Agreement between Mr W K D'Arcy and the Kili Sayyeds (10 February 1911);No. 14: Agreement between the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and Parwiz Khan, Gunduzlu [Parvīz Khān Gunduzlū] (20 February 1911);No. 15: Agreement between the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Wali of Pusht-i-Kuh (19 September 1919);No. 16: Land Aquisition Agreement between Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Bakhiairi Khans (20 April 1921);No. 17: Agreement between the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and Haidar Khan, C I E, of Hayat Daud (6 October 1921, 22 October 1921, and 13 November 1921);No. 18: Agreement between the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Kashkuli [Kashkūlī] Khans (14 October 1921);No. 19: Agreement between Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Ilkhani of the Qashgais (20 May 1922).1 volume (52 folios)The assurances, agreements and undertakings compiled in this volume are arranged according to serial number from 1 to 18. These appear roughly in chronological order.Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Confidential notes of a journey made through Persia [Iran] from Shiraz to Jashk [Jāsk], via Fassa [Fasā], Dārāb, Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] and Mīnāb, by John Richard Preece, Assistant Superintendent of the Telegraph Department, Persia. The report was published by the Intelligence Branch, Office of the Quarter Master General in India, and printed by the Superintendent of Government Printing, India in Calcutta [Kolkata] in 1884.The report is diaristic in form, running from Preece’s departure from Shiraz on 29 January 1884, through to his arrival in Jashk on 19 March 1884. The report records: topography; settlements, including some descriptions of their size, population, condition; weather conditions on the route; the condition of roads; agricultural and industrial activity, including livestock numbers; water sources. Two tables of statistics follow the report, both dated 15 August 1884. The first contains temperature and barometer measurements taken by Preece throughout the course of his journey, the second is a list of stations along the route, and the distances between them in miles.Places referred to in the text are given their names in Persian script in the margin throughout.1 volume (26 folios)Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 28; 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.
This volume is a glossary of Persian military terms and was published in Lucknow by the Newul Kishore Press. The terms are listed in alphabetical order in English and the Persian translation appears next to each term.There are two appendices at the end of the volume: the first contains a list of ranks in the Persian army, the second provides a list of musketry terms.1 volume (22 folios)The information in this volume is arranged alphabetically.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 24; 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 contains manuscript draft biographical notes on Persian statesmen and notables compiled by George Percy Churchill.Many of the notes are accompanied by imprints of the subject's seal and signature (in Persian); some by typescript pages, extracts from published works and newspaper cuttings; and a few (folio 114v, folio 163v) by portrait photographs. The notes give the subject's name as heading, and various information including dates of birth and death, office and career history, family details (including members of the Shah's family), pay and financial details, interests, linguistic abilities, and some personal comments.The introductory page (folio 4v), which is signed by Churchill and dated 1904, is inscribed 'Strictly Confidential and for the Use of His Majesty's Government Officials Only'. A manuscript note states that the volume had been compiled from a variety of sources, and embodied the bulk of Colonel H Picot's biographical note of 1897, which Churchill had endeavoured 'to bring up to date and amplify'. The volume also contains a printed extract containing a list of words used in the composition of Persian titles, with a glossary of their meaning, including both the Persian forms and English transliterations; a manuscript genealogical tree of the Royal Kajar House; a manuscript list entitled 'Principal Persian Diplomatic and Consular Representation'; a manuscript list of Persian cabinet minsters and other politicians, dated 1901; list of ministers, provincial governors, etc in Persia dated 1904; and grouped cuttings of printed seals and coloured impressions of crests (folios 2v, 3r, 29v).1 volume (302 folios)The volume contains an alphabetical index of names between ff. 5-28. These refer to the main body of entries by means of pagination numbers.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 2 on the first folio after the front cover and terminates at 303, on the inside back cover. These numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Foliation anomaly: ff. 4, 4A. The following folios need to be folded out to be read: f. 31, ff. 34-35.Pagination: there is an incomplete printed pagination sequence, running from 1-489 (ff. 36v-299v) which appears in the top right hand corner of each recto page, and the top left hand corner of each verso page of the main (ruled) portion of the volume. Some of the preceding pages in the volume have been numbered in pencil, but these numbers do not appear to be part of any discernible sequence.
The file comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), Political Agent at Bahrain (Reginald George Evelin Alban, Edward Birkbeck Wakefield), the Sub-Postmaster at Bahrain, Secretary to the External Affairs Department of the Government of India (William Rupert Hay, Hugh Weightman), His Majesty’s Minister at Tehran (Sir Reader Bullard), and the Iranian Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Iranian Government’s decision in 1939 to refuse to accept mail and telegrams sent from Bahrain as international mail owing to their claims to Bahrain as part of Iran and that all mail should be sent as Iranian internal mail.The correspondence discusses the various forms used to send mail on from Bahrain to Iranian ports; various procedures tested between 1939 and 1942 in an attempt to find a process which the post offices at Iranian ports would accept; and the alternative routes for mail and telegrams via Basra and Muscat owing to the ongoing difficulties. Also included are the negotiations with the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the eventual resolution of the situation in 1942.Also mentioned in the file is the temporary problem in April and May 1941 of the newly established Iraqi Censorship Office in Basra opening all mail being sent through there and the need to ensure confidential mail was not opened by them.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 194-204. These file notes relate only to the correspondence from folio 62 onwards, the correspondence on folios 2-16, and possibly also folios 17-61 appear to have been placed in the file at a later date after the file notes were compiled.1 file (203 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Circled serial numbers (red for received correspondence; blue/black for issued correspondence) refer to entries in the notes at the rear of the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 205; 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 incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-16 and a mixed foliation/pagination sequence between ff 17-193; these numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 17-193) have been paginated using pencil.
Correspondence and papers relating to the Persian Government’s decision in 1935 to change the name of the country from Persia to Iran, and of the changes throughout the 1930s to the names of numerous provinces, towns and cities across the country. The papers include: translated copies of memoranda from the Persian Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announcing various name changes (some of which include place names written in Persian); correspondence amongst British officials over the implications of the changes, particularly that of Persia to Iran, for British interests such as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company; British Government instructions to replace Persia for Iran in maps and correspondence; the use of the term ‘Iranian Gulf’ in place of ‘Persian Gulf’ by some organisations, and instruction from British officials that the term ‘Persian Gulf’ should be reinstated; notification of name changes sent by the Foreign Office to the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (care of the Royal Geographical Society).1 file (155 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 inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 156; 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.
Correspondence and other papers concerning the drafting of an agreement between the Governments of Britain and Persia [Iran], concerning the withdrawal of the Indo-European Telegraph Department from Persia, and the subsequent taking over of cables and equipment in Persia by the Persian Government. The agreement covers: the costs of daily use of the cables; maintenance of the cable between Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām] and Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; transit dues for communications sent between Iraq and India; access to Gulf ports by cable ships. The papers include:Multiple drafts of the agreement, in French. A printed copy of the final agreement in French and English translation, dated 17 February 1932, is included (ff 141-144).Correspondence concerning difficulties in maintaining an import of supplies to telegraph stations in Persia.Registration of the Imperial and International Communications Company Limited (IICC) in Persia.Discussion amongst British officials over the merits of abandoning cable communication in the Gulf, and closing down the telegraph stations on the Persian coast of the Gulf, in favour of using wireless communications.Correspondence from 1932 concerning the costs of repairs to the Henjam-Bandar Abbas cable, incurred by IICC/Cable & Wireless Limited, and charged against the Persian Government.The volume’s principal correspondents are: the India Office (John Gilbert Laithwaite); the British Legation at Tehran (Robert Henry Clive; Charles Dodd; Reginald Hervey Hoare); the Indo-European Telegraph Department (Maurice George Simpson); the Indo-European Telegraph Company (which became the IICC, and from 1935, Cable & Wireless Limited (J O Stevens Perry; Ralph Lawson)).The volume contains a single item in Persian (f 82), being an order issued by the Shah of Persia, dated 28 Khordad 1311 (equivalent to 18 June 1932), ratifying the Indo-European Telegraph Department agreement.1 volume (407 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 inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 409; 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.
Correspondence, memoranda, maps and other papers relating to the establishment of a precise position of the frontier between Persia [Iran], British Baluchistan [in present-day Pakistan], and Afghanistan, arising in response to the proposed transfer to Persian ownership of the Mirjawa [Mīrjāveh] to Duzdap [Zahedan] stretch of the North Western Railway, and territorial claims made by the Khan of Kalat, Mir Mohammad Azam Jan Khan, and the Persian Government. The volume’s correspondents include: Foreign Office and India Office officials; the British Legation at Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare; Charles Dodd); the Government of India (Francis Verner Wylie); the Agent to Governor-General and Chief Commissioner for Baluchistan (Alexander Norman Ley Cater); the British Consul for Sīstān and Kain [Ka’īn] (Clive Kirkpatrick Daly).The correspondence covers:The historical basis for negotiations, being surveys carried out in the 1870s, and a demarcation agreement concluded on 24 March 1896 by Colonel Thomas Hungerford Holdich, later referred to as the Holdich Line. Papers include correspondence from the 1930s in response to uncertainties about the precise position of the line (including extracts of the agreement in Persian), and copies of correspondence from 1895-1896 relating to the conclusion of Holdich’s agreement.Arrangements in 1932 for a joint British and Persian survey party to map the frontier, with Captain Guy Bomford of the Survey of India leading the British party. The results of Bomford’s survey are summarised in a copy of a secret letter, dated 9 June 1932, with accompanying maps (ff 113-119).1 volume (323 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 first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 321; 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 two leading and two ending flyleaves.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Correspondence and other papers relating to the status of British Indian subjects and British-protected persons in Persia [Iran], in the wake of the ratification of the Persian Law of Nationality in 1929. Correspondence is chiefly exchanged between representatives of the British Legation at Tehran, the Foreign Office, the Government of India’s Foreign and Political Department, and the India Office. The file includes:Correspondence between British officials over the status of persons of Kashmiri and Kurrami origin, now resident in Persia.English-translated copies of the Persian Law of Nationality of 1929, along with subsequent supplementary articles and revisions.Sample copies of statutory declarations for British Indians and British-protected subjects living in Persia.The file contains a number of items in French (Government of Persia correspondence) and a single item in Persian (f 67).1 volume (553 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 inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 555; 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 4-552; these numbers are also written in pencil and. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.