Native Letters Outward

Content

This volume includes miscellaneous draft correspondence, as well as Internal Transit Permits, in English with accompanying Arabic and Persian (with the presence of siyāq accountancy script) translations from 23 May 1870 (21 Ṣafar 1287) to 14 March 1872 (4 Muḥarram 1289).

The letters are between the British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. at Bushire, during Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Pelly's residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , and various correspondents, most prominent among them are:

• British native agents Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. : 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 A title of honour originally applied to princes, later to military leaders, and later still to secretaries, chieftains, and other ‘gentlemen’. Ḥassan ‘Alī Khān], British Agent at Shiraz;
• Persian officials: Mirza Mahomed Khan [ Mīrzā A title of honour originally applied to princes, later to military leaders, and later still to secretaries, chieftains, and other ‘gentlemen’. 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 Bahrain

General subjects covered throughout the volume include of relations between the British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. at Bushire and the Persian government; communications with their native agents Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. , local rulers and merchants on both littorals of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; 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 A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. at the Bushire Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. (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.

Extent and format

1 volume (195 folios)

Arrangement

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 The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. and verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. 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.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation number is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of the back cover at number 194.

Written in

English, Arabic and Persian in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Letter book

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/1/182

History of this record

Date(s)

23 May 1870-14 Mar 1872 (CE, Gregorian)

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Native Letters Outward, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/182, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x00009b> [accessed 20 April 2024]

Link to this record

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