The volume contains letters sent to the British Resident at Bushire. The subject matter of the correspondence centres around the administration of the Bushire Residency, and company operations in the area. It therefore covers the wider commercial and political interests of the East India Company in the Persian Gulf, alongside those of the British Government during this period. This includes international relations between the British and the principal powers of the region; e.g. Persia, the Ottoman Empire, Muscat and Oman. It also concerns itself with piracy (as defined by British authorities) in the Persian Gulf; details of a British expedition which attacked Ra's al-Khaymah in 1819, and aimed to suppress 'piratical acts' in the region, can be found within.The volume does not cover the full time span indicated by the date range with the majority of the correspondence being from the period between 20 November 1816 to 29 December 1819. There are also a few letters inserted into the back of the volume of a much later date — January and February 1874 — sent to the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf via the office of the Assistant Resident. This correspondence concerns the financial affairs of the bin Rejubs [Bin Rajab] in Bahrain. The period from 1820 and 1873 is therefore not represented in this volume.The majority of the correspondence is in English with only a few items in Arabic towards the end of the volume.1 volume 272 items (162 folios)The letters are arranged chronologically by date received at Bushire, from 22 November 1816 to 29 December 1819. The last few letters in the volume are unrelated to this arrangement, and date January and February 1874; they are arranged in reverse order by date created. There is therefore a chronological jump near the end of the volume from 29 December 1819 to 22 February 1874.Foliation: The file has been foliated in the top right hand corner of the recto of each folio with a pencil number. The foliation begins on the first folio of writing and ends on the last folio of writing.Pagination: The volume also has an original incomplete pagination sequence which consists of numbers in the top outermost corner of each page. The sequence which uses both ink and pencil numbers starts on the first folio of writing, with the number 1, and runs through to 151 (folio 76). The sequence continues on the verso of folio 77, with page number 152 and continues to folio 146 with number 283, however the numbering omits folios 80v-81v, 96v-97 and 130v-131.Condition: The file has suffered some pest damage, the individual folios which have been affected are recorded in the item level descriptions.
This volume includes miscellaneous draft correspondence, reports and statements, as well as Internal Transit Permits, in English with accompanying Arabic and Persian (with the presence of
siyāqaccountancy script) translations from 14 May 1863 (25 Dhū al-Qa‘dah 1279) to 18 October 1865 (27 Jumādá I 1282).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 and Residency staff: Mahomed Hassan Khan [Muḥammad Ḥassan Khān], British Agent at Shiraz; Hajee Yacoob [Ḥājjī Ya‘qūb], British Agent at Sharjah; Hajee Ahmed [Ḥājjī Aḥmad], Bushire Residency Arabic secretary; Hajee Jassem [Ḥājjī Jāsim], British Agent at Bahrain; Hajee Mahomed Busheer [Ḥājī Muḥammad Bushīr], British Agent at Lingah; Jaffer Kolee Khan [Ja‘far Qūlī Khān], brother of British Agent at Shiraz and acting Agent; Mahomed Jeauder Ali, havalidar [Havildar] of the Bushire Residency; Mirza Jowad [Mīrzā Jawād], Coal Agent at Bassidore; Abdul Causem [‘Abd al-Qāsim], Slave Agent at Bassidor;Persian Officials: Agha Mahomed Ali [Āghā Muḥammad ‘Alī], Melek et Tojjar [Malik al-tajjār], Bushire; Mirza Mahomed Ali Khan [Mīrzā Muḥammad ‘Alī Khān], Persian Foreign Agent at Shiraz; Ahmed Khan [Aḥmad Khān], Governor of Bushire; Mirza Saeed Khan [Mīrzā Sa‘īd Khān], Minister for Foreign Affairs; Prince Governor of Yezd; Sultan Aweis Mirza [Sulṭān Aways Mīrzā], Governor of Behbahan; Mahomed Yusuf Khan [Muḥammad Yūsuf Khān], Deputy Governor of Bushire; Sheikh Abd al Ali [‘Abd ‘Alī], mujtahid of Bushire; Mirza Suleyman Khan [Mīrzā Sulaymān Khān], Acting Governor of Bushire; Mirza Ibrahim Khan [Mīrzā Ibrāhīm Khān], Deputy Governor of Bushire;Rulers: Chief of Moghoo [Sulṭan bin Ḥusayn?]; Governor of Kuteef [al-Qatif]; Agha Khan Muhallati; Ameer Faysul [Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Sa‘ūd], chief of Najd; Syed Majid [Sayyid Mājid bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Sultan of Zanzibar; Mahomed Khan [Muḥammad Khān], chief of Khormooj [Khvormūj]; Sheikh Ali ben Abdullah [Ālī bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Mu‘allā], chief of Amulgowine [Umm al-Qaywayn]; Sheikh Hushur ibn Muktoom [Ḥashr bin Maktūm], chief of Debai [Dubai]; Sheikh Mahomed ibn Khalifah [Muḥammad bin Khalīfah], chief of Bahrain; Sheikh of Ajman, Ḥumayd bin Rāshid Āl Nu‘aymī; Sheikh of Lingah [Khalīfah bin Sa‘īd]; Sheikh Subah [Ṣabāḥ Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ], Chief of Koweit; Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr [Sulṭān bin Ṣaqr Āl Qāsimī]l, ruler of Ras al-Khaymah and Sharjah; Sheikh Zayed ibn Khalifah [Zāyid bin Khalīfah Āl Nahyān]; Sultan of Muscat, Thawaini [Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd];Others: Hajee Ibrahim Mahmeny [Ḥājjī Ibrāhīm Maymanī], Bushire merchant; Sheikh Ali ibn Khalifah [‘Alī bin Khalīfah], Bahrain; Hajee Ahmed [Ḥājī Aḥmad], wazir of the Sultan of Muscat; Ibrahim ibn Yusuf [Ibrāhīm bin Yūsuf], Bassidor; Lalezur, a Jewish inhabitant of Bushire; Mahomed Saleh [Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ], Bushire merchant; Mirza Ali Akbar [Mīrzā ‘Alī Akbār], Shiraz merchant at Bushire; Sayed Subhanullah [Sayyid Subḥānullāh], inahbitant of Akbarbad; Shahibanor, widow of late Hajee Khodadud [Ḥājjī Khodādad], British Agent at Bassidore; Yoseph bin Buder [Yūsuf bin Badr], Kuwait merchant; widow of Agha Yusuf [Āghā Yūsuf], munshi; Beebee Fatimah [Bībī Fāṭimah], daughter of late Mahomed Nubee Khan [Muḥammad Nabī Khān].General subjects covered throughout the volume include 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 Indian protected subjects; trade, exports, imports and customs; preservation of the maritime peace; pearling issues; and slavery cases.Specific events and details include: the affairs of Ibrāhīm Maymanī; procuring housing at Bushire (ff. 131r, 128v-129r, 125r); the English burial ground at Bushire (f. 129r); pilgrims proceeding on hajj (f 124r); trip of Hajee Mirza Ahmed [Ḥājjī Mīrza Aḥmad], Residency Head Munshi to the Arab Coast (ff. 95r, 92r); Wahhabi influence on the Trucial Coast (f. 82r, 81v); acquiring a plot of land for the Persian Gulf Telegraph (f. 73v); an incident on board British vessels at Bushire involving Captain Warner (f. 78v); arrangements for the birthdays of Queen Victoria (f. 66v) and the Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh Qājār (f. 61v, 20v); abolition of the Agency at Bahrain (f. 58r, 57v); and announcing the English New Year (f. 46v).Miscellaneous notes in Arabic and Persian appear on the verso of the front cover and folios 1r-6v and 135v-136v. A stamp reading 'Received In [Political] Department' dated 4 December 1907 appears on folio 2r with 'from Mr Wollaston on retirement' written below in pencil.1 volume (142 folios)The volume is arranged from right to left with the earliest correspondence appearing on folio 133r and the latest on folio 5r. 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. Some letters appear with the word 'Entered' at the bottom of the text (for example, folio 133r), while others appear with the word 'Cancelled' written over the text (for example, folios 123v and 35r) or crossed out (folio 34r). The letters in this volume are unnumbered. Letters for the year 1863 run from 14 May on folio 133r to 2 December on folio 90v; for the year 1864 from 13 January on folio 90v to 23 December on folio 47r; for the year 1865 from 3 January on folio 46r to 18 October on folio 5r. There are inserted folios of Arabic and English documents on folios 4A and 136.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 (the front cover being separate from the rest of the volume), on number 1, and ends on the last folio of writing, on number 136. Foliation errors: f. 4 is followed by ff. 4A-B; f.112 is followed by f. 112A.
Letter in Arabic, with envelope, to Thuwaini bin Said al-Said, Sultan of Muscat. The letter is most likely from Lewis Pelly, as folio 16 contains a letter to Pelly from His Highness.The letter is most likely written sometime between 1863 and 1865 as Lewis Pelly only commenced his position as Political Resident in the Persian Gulf in mid-1862 and Thuwaini bin Said was killed in February 1866.2 folios
Letter written in English and translated into Arabic regarding Pelly's expectation that on arriving in Koweit [Kuwait] he would be greeted by Amir Faysul [Amir Faisul ibn Turki al Sa'ud] and his disappointment on finding that he was not there.The letter goes on to request either a reply to this letter, or a person sent to accompany him to Riadh [Riyadh].1 folio
Letter requesting that Ahmed accompany Captain Warner on the Residency Steamer to Bahrein [Bahrain], and on arrival communicate with the Sheikh [Muhammad bin Khalifah Al-Khalifah], including handing him an enclosed letter in Arabic.The letter goes on to instruct that Ahmed use his stay in Bahrein to gather information, with names of places, rivers etc, on the adjacent mainland to Bahrain and the province of Nejd [Najd] and to write a report on his findings, as well as collecting information on Pearl Fishing in the area.The second half of the letter (on the recto of folio eleven) has been crossed through and a pencil letter, possibly intended as a replacement for the crossed through section, has been given on the verso of folio eleven:Pencil letter regarding Pelly's expected date of arrival from the interior of Nejd and making arrangements to travel to Bahrein, including requesting either horses, donkeys or ponies from Shaikh Ali bin Khalifah Al-Khalifah and instructing him to inform the villagers of his intended visit.On the verso of folio twelve is a letter in Arabic, which is most likely the enclosed letter for Shaikh Muhammad bin Khalifah Al'Khalifah, referred to in Pelly's letter. On the recto of folio eleven is an Arabic ink stamp seal.2 folios
Letter in Arabic from Thuwaini bin Said al-Said, Sultan of Muscat.The letter is most likely written sometime between 1863 and 1865 as Lewis Pelly only commenced his position as Political Resident in the Persian Gulf in mid-1862 and Thuwaini bin Said was killed in February 1866.1 folio
Letter regarding his thirty-four years of service to the British Government and his petition for a pension as he is no longer able to carry out his duties.1 folio
Letter regarding recent murders in Muscat and the methods that the 'Arabs' guilty of committing them have for obtaining protection from prosecution.1 folio
Letter in Arabic, with an English translation on the verso, of a letter from Faysul ibn Torky Al Saood [Faisal ibn Turki Al Sa-ud] sent 2 Ramathan [Ramadhan] 1281 (29 or 30 January 1865) and received by Lewis Pelly 7 February 1865 informing Pelly that he may come on to Riyadh from 'the Sirkar' and that he will be treated with hospitality along the way.The Arabic letter contains an ink seal, most likely belonging to Amir Faisal.A draft copy of the translation to the letter, with corrections, is given on folio eight. This letter is a reply to the letter at folio two.2 foliosThe paper contains a watermark.
Letter in Arabic, with English translation, sent 28 Ramadan 1281 (25 February 1865) and received at the Bushire Residency 20 Mar 1865.Letter reporting that the Chief of Jaalan [Ja'alan] had paid a visit to Ameer Fysul [Amir Faisal bin Turki al Saud] and that he had returned accompanied by a Wahabee [Wahhabi] Moollah [Mullah]. The letter also informs Pelly that Ameer Fysul had instructed his deputy at Brynee [al-Buraimi] to send his brother Abdul-Aziz al Saud to Jaalan as Amir and that they were now awaiting the arrival of a third brother, Majid from Lahsah [Al-Hasa] before departing.The letter also reports on the general opinion along the Oman coast that recent disturbances have been owing to the extending Wahabee influence and that although the English destruction of Rasal Khyma [Ra's al Khaimah] in 1820 had kept affairs quiet for a time in recent years the Wahabees had been increasing their influence unchecked.2 foliosThe Arabic letter has been written on the verso of folio 7 and the recto of folio 8, with the english translation appearing on the verso of folio 8.Seal: The ink seal of Haji Yaq'ub (native agent at Sharjah) has been stamped onto the recto of folio 7.
Letter, in Arabic and English, informing Pelly that the bearer of the letter, Abdool Assis Ben Assass [Abdul Aziz bin Aziz], will be his guide into the interior of Nejd if Pelly is still willing to employ him.1 folio
This file contains correspondence to/from three British Residents at Bushire, Captain James Felix Jones, Captain Herbert Frederick Disbrowe and Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Pelly.A number of topics are discussed in the file, most prominent among them are the following:Relations between Britain and Bahrain;A blockade of Kutiffe (Al-Qatif);Military action taken by Bahrain against the Chief of Wukra;The mis-treatment of Indian British subjects in Bahrain.On folios 2-6, the file contains copies in English and Arabic of the Perpetual Truce of Peace and Friendship (1861) signed by Sheikh Mahomed ben Khalifeh [Shaikh Muḥammed bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah] on behalf of himself and his successors and Captain James Felix Jones on behalf of the British Government.On folios 136-140, the file contains a translation of an agreement proposed by Houssein Ali Mirza, the Prince Regent of Fars in 1822, that Lieutenant William Bruce is said to have agreed to without permission of the British Government.1 volume (183 folios)Foliation: The file's foliation sequence is written in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the title page, on number 1, and ends on the last folio before the back cover, on number 183. Foliation errors: f 101 is followed by f 101A; f 107 is followed by f 107A; f 111 is followed by f 111A; f 115 is followed by f 115A.