The file comprises letters and their enclosures, sent under the heading of ‘Secret Department’, to the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Samuel Hennell). The letters are sent by LR Reid, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay.The file’s contents include correspondence relating to:the Imam of Muscat’s desire to return the yacht
Prince Regent, given to him by King William the Fourth, and arrangements for its repairs at Bombay (folios 2-13, 76-77);praise for and costs associated with Captain Hamerton’s journey to Brymee [Al Buraymī] (folio 14);the ratification of the Convention of Commerce agreed between the British Government and the Imam of Muscat at Zanzibar on 31 May 1839 (folios 14-39), including a copy of a letter (in English and Arabic) from Lord Palmerston (Henry John Temple) to Sultan Said Syeed bin Sultan [Sa‘id bin Sulṭān] the Imam of Muscat, dated 2 April 1840 (folios 18-22);Egyptian designs on Arabia and Muscat, with details of a discussion between Colonel Hodges, Her Majesty’s Consul in Alexandria, and Mahomed Alli Pasha [Muḥammad ‘Alī Bāshā] (folios 40-43, 52-55);Commander Brucks’s orders for the prohibition of gun salutes in the Gulf, and regulations for the use of gun salutes (folios 44-51);disapproval of the East India Company Board of Directors of Hennell’s pledge to the Sultan of Muscat to protect his territory from invasion (folios 56-57);the granting of permission by Government for the British Agent at Muscat ‘to remove at the unhealthy season from that place’ (folios 61-62);British response to the blockade at Kateef [Al-Qaṭīf], Sohat [Sayhat] and Ajeer (folios 63, 78);British policy to not interfere in differences between the Maritime Arab Chiefs (folios 64-66);a letter sent by Lord Palmerston to the Imam of Muscat, dated 4 October 1840, on French designs on Oman (folios 67-68);the Imam of Muscat’s proposed trip to Zanzibar (folios 69-72);the Imam of Muscat’s designs on Bahrain (folios 73-75).1 file (79 folios)The incoming letters are arranged chronologically in the order they were received, from the earliest at the front of the file to the latest at the back. Enclosures to letters are arranged after the letter they were enclosed with.Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last folio before the back cover, on number 80. Foliation anomalies: no ff 21-22.Pagination: There is an incomplete pagination sequence, which is written in ink, in the top-right corners of the rectos and in the top-left corners of the versos.
The majority of this volume includes letters from the Secretary to the Government of Bombay to Lieutenant John MacLeod, Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire. They concern details of his appointment following the dismissal of Captain William Bruce and various instructions, including regarding the withdrawal from the island of Qishm; the salaries of the Native Agents; claims of Raḥmah bin Jābir and ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah, the ruler of Bahrain; and providing a pension to the family of Mahdī ‘Alī Khān. There is one letter from the Secretary to the Government of India to Lieutenant-Colonel Ephraim Gerrish Stannus following the death of MacLeod.1 volume, 17 items (145 folios)Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An original pagination sequence written in ink runs between ff. 1C-141, it can be found in the top right and the top left corners of the recto and verso sides respectively. Foliation errors: 1A, 1B and 1C.
The letter is a covering letter, enclosing a letter in English (folio 11) and Arabic (folio 12) from Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay, to Sooltan bin Suggur [Sultan bin Saqr], dated 16 February 1825. The Acting Secretary requests that Stannus forward the letters to the Governor to Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr.In the enclosed letter, Elphinstone writes that he is pleased that peace has been concluded between Sultan bin Saqr and the Imam of Muscat [Sa‘id bin Sulṭān al-Sa‘id], and hopes, with God's blessing, that no more violence will be inflicted by Shaikh Sultan's neighbours.4 folios
Bushire Residency correspondence, inwards and outwards. The correspondence is mainly concerned with the recovery of fines exacted against the rulers of the Trucial Coast. The reasons for the fines include breaching the maritime peace, abducting of slaves, and plundering of pearls. Topics include:Recovery of financial penalties levied for breach of maritime peace from various rulers on the Gulf coast including the Sharjah Chief; Himreeah [Hamriyah] Chief; Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] Chief; Shaikh of Koomjar; Charrack. A table 'Return of Cash received from Shaikhs between 28th January and 17th February 1860' is given on folio 207;Joasmee [Qasimi] Chiefs dispute with the Sharkeeyeen [Sharqiyin] tribe at Dibba. The Joasmee chief Shaikh Sultan bin Saggar [Saqr] attempted to correspond with the Indian Government who referred him to the Resident in the Persian Gulf, Commander Felix Jones, who refuted his complaint;Commendations passed by Captain Felix Jones, Resident in the Persian Gulf, on Lieutenant Carpendale, Commander, Her Company's Corvette
Falklands, for recovery of fines from the Shaikhs of Sharjah and Himriyah;Correspondence directing the 'Aboothabee chief not to aid the Imaum of Oman against his brother, the Sohar Chief' (subject 14);Attack on Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi] in 1856 (subject 18);Slave traffic connected with Joasmee Chief and East Coast of Oman.The correspondence is mainly in English except for the following letters in Arabic: f 152; copy of letter from Senior Officer to Shaikh Zaid bin Khalifah, Aboothabee (f. 177); copy of letter from Senior Officer to Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid of Oomulqawein [Umm al Qaywayn]; letter from Sheikh Sultan bin Saggar [Saqr] to Haji Yakoob (ff 179-180) ; Haji Ahmad (f. 181); Correspondents include: Commander Felix Jones, Resident in the Persian Gulf; Henry Lacon Anderson, Secretary to Government, Bombay; Commodore Griffith Jenkins, Commander, Persian Gulf Squadron; Hajee Yakoob, British Agent in Sharjah; rulers of Trucial Coast.1 volume (334 folios)The volume is arranged in 18 subject headings which give further details on the content contained in the subject: headingSubject 1 (folio 10);Subject 2 (folio 25);Subject 3 (folio 68);Subject 4 (folio 113);Subject 5 (folio 124);Subject 6 (folio 139);Subject 7 (folio 149);Subject 8 (folio 197);Subject 9 (folio 205);Subject 10 (folio 210);Subject 11 (folio 218);Subject 12 (folio 227);Subject 13 (folio 239);Subject 14 (folio 215);Subject 15 (folio 250);Subject 16 (folio 262);Subject 17 (folio 266);Subject 18 (folio 275).Foliation: Foliated with pencil number in top right front corner of each folio from front to back excluding covers and blank pages. Foliation anomalies: 1A,1B,1C,1D
The letter is conveying a request for the detention of Hajee Abbas bin Mahomed [Hājjī ‘Abbās bin Aḥmad] in Bahrain. It is noted that this request was forwarded to Major Charles Grant, 1 Assistant Resident, via memo No. 189/103 of 1874 dated 17 February 1874. A copy of this letter in Arabic is also present (f. 153).Enclosed with the letter is a list of debts (in Arabic and English) of named individuals.4 folios
This volume contains originals and copies of correspondence between Major Adelbert Cecil Talbot, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and Her British Majesty's Consul General for Fars; Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to the Government of India; Muḥammad Amīn bin Badr, temporary Residency Agent at Bahrain; ‘Abd al-Laṭīf bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, Residency Agent at Sharjah; Commander Hart Dyke, Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf Division, Bushire; and Shaikh Rāshid bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm.The correspondence in this volume concerns the drafting, signing and ratification of the Exclusive Treaty (1892) with the shaikhs of the Trucial Coast and the Shaikh of Bahrain. The treaty bound themselves, their heirs and successors to the following conditions: (1) On no account shall any agreement or correspondence be entered into with any power other than the British Government; (2) Without the assent of the British Government, they shall not consent to the residence within their territories of the Agent of any other Government; and (3) On no account shall they cede, sell, mortgage or otherwise give for occupation any part of their territory save to the British Government. The treaty came in response to the intrigues of Hyacinthe-Alexandre Chapuy, a French merchant, with the chief of Umm al-Qaywayn, in 1891, and a period of Persian activity on the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf between 1887 and 1888, and the subsequent signing of an agreement between Edward Charles Ross, Political Resident and the Trucial Coast chiefs in August 1888.Copies of the ratified treaty in Arabic and English appear signed as follows: Ḥumayd bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Ras-el-Khymah [Ras al-Khaymah], dated 9 Sha‘bān 1309 and 8 March 1892 (folios 15-16); Aḥmad bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Mu‘allā, ruler of Um-el-Kawain, dated 9 Sha‘bān 1309 and 8 March 1892 [Umm al-Qaywayn] (folios 17-18); Ḥumayd bin Rāshid Āl Nu‘aymī, ruler of Ajman, dated 8 Sha‘bān 1309 and 7 March 1892 (folios 19-20); Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Shargah [Sharjah], dated 8 Sha‘bān 1309 and 7 March 1892 (folios 21-22); Rāshid bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm, ruler of Debai [Dubai], dated 8 Sha‘bān 1309 and 7 March 1892 (folios 23-24); Zāyid bin Khalīfah Āl Nahyān, ruler of Abu Dhabi, dated 6 Sha‘bān 1309 and 5 March 1892 (folios 25-26); and ‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah, ruler of Bahrain, dated 14 Sha‘bān 1309 and 14 March 1892 (folios 27-28).The correspondence includes: a letter from Talbot to Durand, dated 29 September 1891, with information concerning the intrigues of Chapuy (folios 3-4); letter from Talbot to Durand, dated 19 October 1891, concerning the agreement of 1888, the intrigues of Chapuy and the suggestion for a treaty with the chiefs of the Trucial coast (folios 6-7); approval for the treaty given by the Government of India (folio 10); copies sent for ratification (folio 12); suggestions for minor adaptations to the wording (folio 29); copies of the ratified treaty sent to the chiefs of the Trucial Coast and Bahrain with Commander Hart Dyke (folios 31-38); letter from the Shaikh of Bahrain to the Talbot confirming receipt (folios 39-40); and correspondence with the ShAikh of Dubai acknowledging receipt, questioning the ratification and criticising the Native Agent (folios 47-59).1 volume (71 folios)The volume contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest at the front of the volume to the latest at the end.Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequence is present between folios 3-66; these numbers are written in pencil & red crayon, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. Foliation errors: 9, and 9A; 62, and 62A; 65, and 65A. Foliation omissions: folio 2.
This file contains correspondence concerning the Persian claim to the island of Sirrī, as well as their claim to and occupation of that place. In addition there is information concerning rival claims by Trucial Coast rulers, details concerning Dubai pearl divers on the island and details concerning other Persian Gulf islands, including Abu Musa [Abū Mūsá] and Tanb [Ṭanb].The correspondence in this file is between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; ‘Abd al-Qasim and ‘Abd al-Laṭīf, Residency Agents at Sharjah; Āghā Muḥammad Amīn Badr, Residency Agent at Lingah [Bandar-e-Lengeh]; Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Sharjah; Maktūm bin Ḥashr Āl Maktūm, ruler of Dubai; and various British officials in the Foreign Department of the Government of India. There are also copies of correspondence between India Office and Foreign Office officials.Folio 2 is an index, and folios 4-9 are a precis of documents within the file for folios 10-115. Subjects covered include: Persian flag hoisted on Sirri [Sirrī] (folios 18, 48); Persian refusal to remove the flag (folios 127-131); Memorandum by the Resident on Persian refusal (folios 141-144); Hajji Ahmad Khan [Hājjī Aḥmad Khān]'s Report (folios 80-93); Legation correspondence with the Persian Foreign Office (folios 70-77); Documents tendered in support of the Persian claim (folio 52-59); Shaikh of Shargah [Sharjah]'s claims to Sirri (folios 27-28); Persian claim to Abu Musa island (folio 80); Shaikh of Debai [Dubai] complains of pearl divers absconding to Sirri and the Persian Coast (folios 116-118, 154-160, 167-190); Chief of Ras El Khaimah [Ras al-Khaymah]'s claim to Tanb island (folios 22, 209).Notable documents within the file include: a precis of correspondence about occupation of the island of Sirri (folios 109-113); a report entitled
Question of the status of the Island of Sirri(ff. 165-166); a report by the Residency Agent at Lingah on the island of Sirri in Persian and English translation (ff. 200-202); correspondence with Sir Mortimer Durand regarding the island of Sirri (folios 211-215); and a statement by the Shaikh of Sharjah (f. 65).1 volume (235 folios)The file is arranged approximately in chronological order.Foliation: The foliation number is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the third folio after the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last folio of writing, on number 227. The file contains the following foliation amendments: folio 1 is followed by folios 1A and 1B; no folio 3; folio 92 is followed by folio 92A; folio 156 is followed by folio 156A; folio 171 is followed by folio 171A.
This volume includes miscellaneous draft correspondence, as well as Internal Transit Permits, in English with accompanying Arabic and Persian (with the presence of
siyāqaccountancy script) translations from 23 May 1870 (21 Ṣafar 1287) to 14 March 1872 (4 Muḥarram 1289).The letters are between the British Residency in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, during Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Pelly's residency, and various correspondents, most prominent among them are:British native agents: Hajee Abdul Rahman [Ḥājjī ‘Abd al-Raḥmān], British Agent at Sharjah; Hajee Mahomed Bushir [Ḥājjī Muḥammad Bushayrī], British Agent at Lingah; Mirza Hassan Ally Khan, [Mīrzā Ḥassan ‘Alī Khān], British Agent at Shiraz;Persian officials: Mirza Mahomed Khan [Mīrzā Muḥammad Khān], Governor of Bushire; Hajee Ahmed Khan [Ḥājjī Aḥmad Khān]; Governor of Bandar ‘Abbās; Persian Slave Commissioner;Rulers: Shaikh Esau ben Alee ben Khalifah [‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah], chief of Bahrain; Shaikh Mahomed ben Tanee [Muḥammad bin Thānī], chief of Gutter [Qatar]; Syed Toorkee ben Syed Saeed [Sayyid Turkī bin Sayyid Sa‘īd], Sultan of Muscat; Shaikh Zayed ben Khuleefah [Zāyid bin Khalīfah], chief of Aboo Thabee [Abu Dhabi];Others: Hajee Moosa Maymanee [Ḥājjī Mūsá Maymanī], Bushire / British Indian subject; Ebrahim ben Yusuf [Ibrāhīm bin Yūsuf], merchant at Lingah; Nassir ben Rashed Hyderabady [Nāṣir bin Rashīd Ḥaydarābādī]; Ebrahim ben Mohsen Rajab [Ibrāhīm bin Muḥsin Rajab], merchant at BahrainGeneral subjects covered throughout the volume include of relations between the British Residency at Bushire and the Persian government; communications with their native agents, local rulers and merchants on both littorals of the Persian Gulf; relations with other powers including the Wahhabis and the rulers of Najd, the Sultanate of Oman and the Persians; the status and claims of British India protected subjects; trade, exports, imports and customs; preservation of the maritime peace; pearling issues; and slavery cases. The volume also covers the period directly after the attack on Bahrain by Muḥammad bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah and Nāṣir bin Mubārak Āl Khalīfah, and the murder of ‘Alī bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah, ruler of Bahrain in 1869 (ff. 187r, 188r); Ottoman reconquest of Eastern Arabia (ff. 116r and 75-71); Great Persian Famine (ff. 77r, 51v).Specific events and details include: relations between Qatar and Āl Na‘īm tribe (f 167v); intelligence gathering from native informants (f. 153v); transportation of books for Reverend Robert Bruce to Persia (ff. 126v, 130v); vessels arriving in the Gulf for the purpose of surveying operations (f. 99r); sanitary conditions in the town of Bushire and quarantine arrangements (ff. 88-89); opening for the position of second munshi at the Bushire Residency (f. 87r); decrees concerning export and storage of grain (ff. 58r, 56r, 55v); posting of Major Sidney Smith, Assistant Resident, to Bahrain; Persian Telegraph Department; and an appeal from Jewish poor of Bushire for aid (f. 31v).Miscellaneous notes in Persian appear on folios 1, 193v and 194r. There are inserted folios of Persian and Arabic documents on folios 141, 137, 124, 69 and 3. A stamp reading 'Received - Political Department' dated 4 December 1907 appears on folio 1r with 'from Mr Wollaston on retirement' written below in pencil.1 volume (195 folios)The volume is arranged from right to left with the earliest correspondence appearing on folio 193r and the latest on folio 2r. Both the recto and verso of the folio are divided into a grid with the English appearing in the right hand column and the Arabic or Persian appearing in the left hand column, although there are exceptions where the Arabic or Persian appears in the right hand column and the English appears in the left hand column (for example, folio 168r). Writing in purple ink appears over some of the English text as a post-script or note (for example, folio 174v), as does the word 'Cancelled' in black ink or a note in purple ink (for example, folios 105r and 86r). The letters in this volume are numbered, running from 46 to 308 for the year 1870 between folio 193r and 132v; 1 to 536 for the year 1871 between folio 132r and 25r; and 1 to 100 for the year 1872 between folio 24r and 2r. Between folios 30r and 26v there are some unnumbered letters. There are inserted folios of Persian and Arabic documents on folios 141, 137, 124, 69 and 3.Foliation: The foliation number is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the recto of the back cover at number 194.
This file contains correspondence related to the Persian Government's claim of sovereignty over Bahrain and the actions of some its agents in connection to operations taken by the British Government against the chiefs of Bahrain that it had accused of acts of piracy.The correspondence includes original copies of letters from Persian Government officials (in both Persian and Arabic) to Mahomed bin Abdullah [Muḥammad bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Khalīfah] the Chief of Bahrain. English translations of these letters are also included.1 volume (56 folios)The file is arranged chronologically. An index of the correspondence contained in the file is included on folios 3-5.Condition: Previously bound, the file's pages have been de-bound and are now loose in the file's original cover.Foliation: The file's foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The file contains the following foliation errors: 1, and 1A and the following foliation omissions: 6-7, and 10-11.