This is a correspondence file about the operation and impact of the quota system and export licensing restrictions that were imposed by the Government of India, on the supply of Indian tea (and to a lesser extent the supply of coffee) to Bahrain and also to Eastern Saudi Arabia and Qatar, during the Second World War (1939-1945). The main official correspondents are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain; the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain; the Food Controller, Bahrain; the Tea Controller for India, Calcutta; and other Government of India officials in the Departments of Commerce and External Affairs. Included in the file are various circular lists that give the names of Indian tea exporters and Bahrain tea importers, such as the monthly list of India tea quota allotments prepared by the Political Agent, Bahrain and similar lists, complied by the Director of Customs and Port Officer and the Food Controller on behalf of the Government of Bahrain.The file also contains merchants' correspondence between: Indian tea exporters and Bahrain tea importers about their shipping consignments; the Chairman of the Persian Gulf States Pool (an association of Indian tea exporters) and the Political Agent, Bahrain about the distribution of tea quotas among members of the Pool; Bahrain tea importers and the Political Agent, Bahrain about Indian tea importations allowed to be landed at Bahrain under the Government of India quota system.1 file (223 folios)File papers are arranged more or less chronologicallyFoliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 225; 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 93-204; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. Pagination: the file notes at the back of the file (ff 204-224) are paginated in pencil. The original front file cover, containing the original file title and file reference number, is missing.
The file contains correspondence about the supply of various essential commodities from India, by sea from Bombay and Karachi to Bahrain and the Trucial Coast ports of Dubai and Sharjah for local consumption, during the Second World War (1939-1945). Several commodities are mentioned including spices, nuts, oils, cotton and leather goods, hosiery, soap, matches and cement. These goods were in short supply due to wartime conditions and subject to Government of India export restrictions and import quota arrangements in the Persian Gulf shaikhdoms under British protection. The main correspondents are the Political Agent for Bahrain, the Director of Customs and Port Officer for the Government of Bahrain, the Export Trade Controllers (also referred to as Foreign Trade Controllers) in Karachi and Bombay, as well as other Government of India officials, mainly in the External Affairs Department, New Delhi. They discuss the allotment of Government of India surplus quota goods among merchants in Bahrain, Dubai and Sharjah and exchange distribution lists that contain the names of all approved importers (local merchants), together with the names of their Indian exporters or shippers in Bombay and Karachi, and the type and quantity of the controlled commodity allotted to them. In addition, there are detailed submissions from the Political Agents for Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, expressing concerns about new Government of India instructions for improving the coordination of export control procedures in India with import control procedures in the Persian Gulf shaikhdoms, in particular, that Export Trade Controllers in Indian ports only grant export licenses and permits to Indian exporters and shippers who appear on their established shippers lists. The file also contains merchants’ correspondence, from several importers in Bahrain and their nominated export agents or shippers in Karachi and Bombay, complaining to the Political Agent for Bahrain, about the refusal of the Export Trade Controllers in Indian ports to grant them export licences and permits.1 file (240 folios)Files papers are arranged more or less chronologically.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 242; 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 2-217 and between ff 218-241; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
The file contains correspondence which mainly discusses the application of the Indian Companies Act in Bahrain. The main concern of the correspondence is the possibility of modifying the Act to allow companies’ shareholders to consist of both British subjects and Bahrain subjects. It also contains correspondence regarding a newly established motor company in Manamah called the Persian United Motor Company, Bahrain, The file includes copies in English and in Persian of the terms and agreements made by the shareholders of the Persian United Motor Company. The file also contains an agreement made between the Political Agent, Bahrain, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and Shaikh Hamad bin Esa [Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, Ruler of Bahrain] for the Indian Companies Act in Bahrain to be applicable to the newly established companies in Bahrain.The correspondence is mainly between the British Residency and Consulate General in Bushire, the Political Agent in Bahrain, Shaikh Hamad bin Esa, Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department, Messrs Cardew, Smith and Ross in London and the Under Secretary of State, India Office.1 file (22 folios)The papers are approximately arranged in chronological order, however there are some letters attached which refer to earlier dates than the ones at the beginning 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 24; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-21; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
The volume contains correspondence and other papers related to Persia’s claims of sovereignty over Bahrain. The first part of the volume (up to folio 44) contains confidential correspondence between the years 1906 and 1907, in which Persia’s claim over Bahrain is discussed between high-ranking British Government officials. Much of this correspondence discusses Persia’s insistence of its claim on Bahrain, which is rooted in the 1822 agreement between the Fars authorities and the then British Political Resident Captain William Bruce, which subsequent British officials insisted was “not formally ratified by the proper authorities” (folio 21).The next part of the volume (folio 45 onwards) contains correspondence from 1910 to 1913 and involves British officials’ investigations into allegations that the Persian authorities were charging Persians reduced passport rates to travel from Persia to Bahrain. These reduced rates were of a level usually reserved for persons travelling from one Persian port to another, and the levelling of the same fee on Persian travellers headed for Bahrain, was seen by British officials as a manifestation of Persian claims of sovereignty over Bahrain. British officials particularly objected to the actions of one Bahraini resident, Haji Abdul Nabi, who signed passports of Persian travellers, “thereby arrogating to himself the functions of a consular or passport official” (folios 108-09). Most of the correspondence in this part of the volume is between the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Cox), and the Political Agent (Captain Francis Prideaux until 1909, Charles MacKenzie 1909 to 1910).1 volume (109 folios)The contents of the file have been arranged in approximate chronological order, running from the earliest items at the front of the file to the latest at the end.Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. Foliation anomalies: 1a-1f, 55a, 111a. The following folios are fold-outs: 49, 66, 67, 93.
This file contains correspondence between the British Political Agent at Bahrain; the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; ‘Abd al-Ḥusayn, the interpreter of the British Political Agency at Bahrain; Jāsim al-Chirāwī; Shaikh ‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah, ruler of Bahrain; and Seth Rao Sahib Tirathdas Maharaj, Director of Customs at Bahrain. These papers concern the issuing of clearance certificates in the context of the Tangistan blockade in 1916 which prohibited boats leaving Bahrain without obtaining permission from the Political Agent and other miscellaneous issues regarding shipping and smuggling.1 file (76 folios)This file is arranged approximately in chronological order.Foliation: The foliation system starts at the front cover and continues through to the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled and may be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
This file contains correspondence between the British Political Agent at Bahrain and the British Political Resident at Bushire, as well as Sheikh ‘Isā bin ‘Alī Āl Khalifah, ruler of Bahrain, and Sheikh Qāsim bin Mahzā’, Qāḍī of Bahrain.The correspondence concerns the anti-British revolt of the Tangsiri and Qashqai tribes, headed by Ra’īs ‘Alī Dalvārī under the influence of Wilhelm Wassmuss, and the aftermath of their attack on the British Residency at Bushire on 12 July 1915. Included within the correspondence are: letters concerning the occupation of the town of Bushire, British counter-raids and the death of Ra’īs ‘Alī Delvārī; the imposition of a blockade on Tangsiri boats operating in the Persian Gulf; statements and customs papers (Acquit de Sortie and Permis de Cabotage) from various Bahraini and Persian
nākhudās (dhow boat captains) gathered by the Political Agent; the arrest and detention of Yūsuf Fakhrū on suspicion of political dealings with Germany; attacks against British diplomatic missions and residents in Persia, including Shiraz and Isfahan; and information concerning German activities in Persia during the First World War.1 file (203 folios)This file is arranged approximately in chronological order.Foliation: Foliation is written in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. It begins with the first item of correspondence, on number 2, and runs through to 201, ending on the inside of the back cover of the volume.
The file contains correspondence relating to two separate matters, one dating from 1932 and the other from 1940. The first matter relates to a financial claim being made by an Indian tailor residing in Bahrain, against an Anglo-Persian [Anglo-Iranian] Oil Company employee from Abadan in Persia [Iran], in which the British Vice-Consul in Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] is requested to intervene (folios 1C-15). The second matter involves an application and bond sent to the Political Agent in Bahrain (folios 19-21).1 file (24 folios)File correspondence has been arranged chronologically, from the earliest at the front to the latest at the back. There is a set of office notes accompanying the first set of correspondence (1932-33), inserted directly after the correspondence (ff 16-18), which mirrors its chronological order.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 22; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The file contains three foliation anomalies: f 1a, f 1b and f 1c.
The file contains correspondence relating to the investigation and settlement of several debt recovery claims made against mainly Arab subjects of the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, by merchants of Dubai and Sharjah who are British Indian subjects. The main correspondents are the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Residency Agent at Sharjah. The correspondence includes petitions and statements made by claimants, debtors and witnesses, as well as several letters from the Ruler of Dubai [Āl Maktūm, Shaikh Saʻīd bin Maktūm bin Hasher] and the Ruler of Sharjah [Al Qasimi, Shaikh Sultan II bin Saqr]. There are also several documents relating to debt settlements mediated either by the Residency Agent, a committee of local merchants or the Ruler.The majority of the correspondence is in both English and Arabic. The file contains one letter written in Persian. A few items of Indian merchant correspondence are signed in Gujarati as well as in English or Arabic, and in one instance in Sindhi. The earliest documents in the file are a debt bond made in 1911 and an Acknowledgement of Debt made in 1926.The following five debt cases are discussed extensively. The claims made by Khaja Habib bin Hasan Jasbani and Khojah Alli Hasan Joosbani (and other variations of their names) who are originally from Hyderabad, against: the estate of the former British Residency Agent at Sharjah, a Bahraini pearl merchant resident at Dubai, and two brothers of Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr the Ruler of Sharjah. The claim of Kishandas Nathanmal, originally from Tatta [Thatta] in Sindh Province, against a brother-in-law of Shaikh Said bin Maktum the Ruler of Dibai [Dubai]. The claim of the Dubai branch of the merchant firm Dharamdas Thawerdas against both the Ruler of Dubai and Shaikh Mohamad bin Ahmed Al Dalmook (spelt variously) as guarantors for the indebted estate of Dubai merchant Essa (also spelt Isa) bin Thani. The claims of several traders in Dubai and Sharjah against Dhamanmal Jagoomal (spelt variously) and the counter claims of the latter, including representations made on his behalf by his son Mohandas Dhamanmal Jagoomal of Bombay, about the looting of his father’s shop in Sharjah by local residents. The request of the Ruler of Dubai, for British assistance with his two debt recovery claims against the Dubai branch of the Mesopotamia Corporation Limited, and the Wali of Khasab in Oman, a subject of the Sultan of Muscat.The file also contains correspondence relating to complaints of ill-treatment made by a medical practitioner from Egypt who is resident at Dubai, and the counter-claims made against him by his in-laws in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The file ends with the investigation and recovery of possessions stolen from a Bahraini subject by a traveller from Kuwait, who is also suspected of complicity in the smuggling of goods into Dubai on behalf of a Persian merchant from Bushire.1 file (340 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 342; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 2-304, and ff 312-331; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
The file contains correspondence relating to several complaint cases investigated by the Political Agent, Bahrain. They include: the desertion of his wife by a Kuwaiti subject in 1930; the recovery of money owing to a divorced wife by her ex-husband in 1931; the alleged seizure of goods from the vessel of a Kuwaiti Nakhoda [captain or master] who had run aground in Qatar in 1934; the non-payment of a business debt to a British Indian merchant of Kuwait, by a Bahrain merchant in 1936; and the release from imprisonment in Bahrain of a convicted Government of India employee, in 1949.The correspondence also includes copies of the printed annual statement of accounts for Kuwait Municipality for the period 1936-1939, which are in Arabic.The correspondence is mainly between the Political Agents for Kuwait and Bahrain and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.There are also several petitions and witness statements made by the claimants and their representatives, including several in Arabic and one in Persian. There are also several letters in Arabic from the Ruler of Kuwait to the Political Agent, Kuwait about some of the complaints under investigation.1 file (100 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 102; 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 4-101 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
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.
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.
The file contains correspondence in the form of petitions and letters mainly between the Political Agent, Bahrain and the Ruler of Qatar. The two exchanged petitions on behalf of locals from Bahrain and Qatar respectively. The petitions were mainly regarding claims of debts, properties, stolen boats and inheritance. Debtors from Qatar fled to Bahrain, hence the Ruler of Qatar requested for them to be seized. The Political Agent in turn replied with the available information about the named subjects at his end. The same procedure was done with the Bahraini debtors who fled to Qatar.The file includes correspondence regarding the arrangement of visits of the Political Agent, Bahrain to Doha. It also includes correspondence regarding the progress the British Army was making during The Second World War in which the Ruler of Qatar sent his congratulations to the Political Agency in Bahrain.Most of the correspondence in the file is in Arabic. Folios 143-151 are file notes.1 file (150 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 152; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Additional irregular foliation sequences are present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 4-41 and ff 98-151 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.