'File 22/33 TANB ISLAND' [13r] (25/78)
The record is made up of 1 file (37 folios). It was created in 27 Oct 1948-18 Nov 1949. It was written in English. The original is part of the 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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CONFIDENTIAL:
D. 6". No. 88.0251
BRITISH
AGENCY
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
SHARJAH.
THE 25th JANUARY 1949
Will you please r£fer to correspondence resting
with your endorsement No.C/S-7 of 17th January 1949 regarding
Tamb and Abu Musa Islands ?
2. I visited these Islands between 19th and 21st
January 1949 and obtained the following information.
3. ABU MUSA.
Population. About 60 locals engaged in fishing and collect
ing Mother-of-Pearl Shells. None of them possess large craft.
A further 140 workmen of the Golden Valley Oxide Company are
employed there in the Oxide mines, which are at present being
managed for the company by Nasir bin Abdul Latif of Sharjah.
Dwellings. There are some 50 or so small mud or barasti
houses in a village on the south coast of the Island in which
live the local fishermen and certain of the
coolies
A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory.
. A small
settlement at the South East corner of the Island contains the
Company’s loading hard and their stores. The inhabitants
appear poor.
Boats Visiting. In the last 2 months, apparently only some
4 or 5 boats have visited the Island and that, only to lie
off and take shelter from storms. There is no evidence at
all to suggest that such boats are specifically engaged in
smuggling and by no means all craft shelta?ing there have
contact with the shore. There is no trace of godowns likely
c*.
to be used by smugglers, nor is there even bazaar.
N
4. TAMB ISLAND.
Population. There are about 80 locals engaged in fishing,
keeping goats and tending 2 or 3 small date gardens.
C.J. Pelly, Esq., O.B.E.,
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
,
BAHRAIN.
t-onfideatial
Bahrain receipt.
—— Dale..
About this item
- Content
The file contains correspondence about Arab sovereignty and occupation of the Gulf islands of Tanb (also spelt Tamb, Tunb), Nabiyu Tunb, Abu Musa (also spelt Bu Musa) and Sir Bu Na’air (also spelt Sir Bunair) in the light of a renewed territorial claim by Iran (formerly Persia) in 1948. The main correspondents are Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Rupert Hay, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bahrain; Cornelius James Pelly, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Bahrain; Patrick Desmond Stobart, Political Officer Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , Sharjah and officials at the Foreign Office, London.
The file includes two similar reports dated January 1949. One report is of a visit to the islands of Abu Musa and Tanb, both under the rule of the Shaikh of Ras al Khaimah [Ra’s al-Khaymah], by the Political Officer Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . The other report is of a visit to the islands of Abu Musa and Sir Bu Na’air, by G.F.M. Best, Commander, Royal Navy aboard H.M.S. Loch Quoich , describing their population, economy and any evidence of smuggling or Persian occupation. There is also an English translation of an extract from an article published in the Tehran newspaper ‘Tirhan-I-Musavvar’, reporting a public disturbance between Arabs and Persians in Bahrain and also Arab aggression against the Persian islands of Tanb and Abu Musa in October 1949. The file ends with a few British naval reports, together with an English translation of a letter of thanks from Shaikh Saqr bin Muhammad the Ruler of Ras al Khaimah, about the removal of a Persian flag from the island of Nabiyu Tunb, by the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , in September and October 1949.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (37 folios)
- Arrangement
File papers are arranged more or less chronologically. Some items of correspondence are either preceded or followed by enclosures of an earlier date.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) starts on the outside front cover (f 1) and ends on the inside back cover (f 39). The numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-38. These numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/625
- Title
- 'File 22/33 TANB ISLAND'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:38v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence
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