‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1885-86.’

IOR/V/23/49, No 220

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The record is made up of 1 volume (57 folios). It was created in 1886. 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. .

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Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for the year 1885-86, published by Authority by the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta [Kolkata]. A copy of a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles, Officiating 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. and Her Britannic Majesty’s Consul-General for Fars, to Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to the Government of India (Foreign Department), dated 17 June 1886, is included in the report (folio 46), the original of which submitted the report to Government, under the following headings:

Part 1 ( General Summary, folios 47-54), containing summaries of local political affairs, and incidents or events of particular note for: the ‘Pirate coast of Oman’; Bahrain (spelt as Bahrein throughout); Nejd, El-Hasa [Al-Hasa] and El-Katr [Qatar]; Fars, including Bushire, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], Bassidore (mistakenly spelt Rassidore in the heading), and Bunder Abbass [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; Persian Arabistan; and Persian Baluchistan. The report also records a marked increase in the slave trade to the Gulf from Africa, due to the departure of HMS London from Zanzibar; summaries of changes in official personnel; British naval movements in the Gulf; and a summary of meteorological events observed at the Bushire observatory, including a severe gale which caused extensive damage to ports and towns throughout the Gulf. Appendix A contains tabulated and graphical meteorological data for the year, supplied by the Bushire observatory. Appendix B is a report entitled ‘A résumé of what has been done in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. as regards to the introduction of the Arabian date-palm in India’ written by A. R. Hakim, Assistant to the 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. .

Part 2 ( Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for the year 1885-86 ), submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Mockler, Her Britannic Majesty’s 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. and Consul at Muscat, dated 28 June 1886 (folios 55-58), containing a summary of affairs at Muscat, and an additional short report on the seizure of slave traders in Muscat waters during the course of the year. Appendix A is a set of notes written on a tour through Oman and El-Dhahireh [Adh-Dhahirah] in December 1885 by Miles.

Part 3 ( Report on Trade for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for 1885 ), written by Miles, dated 17 June 1886 (folios 59-92), comprising a short summary of the year’s trade, with notes on: exports (cereals, opium and tobacco); imports (Manchester goods, copper, sugar, naphtha and asbestos); shipping; exchange; the pearl trade. Appendix A comprises tabulated data on import, exports and revenue, in the Gulf ports of Bushire, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e ʻAbbās, Bahrain and the Arab (Oman) coast. An index to the trade tables can be found at folio 60.

Part 4 (

[at Muscat]), by Mockler (folios 92-102), comprising a short summary of the year’s trade at Muscat, and also containing tabulated data on imports and exports at Muscat (listed by commodity), and the nationality and average tonnage of vessels visiting Muscat. Appendix A that follows the report is a note on the weights and measures used in the pearl trade of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , written by Mockler.

Extent and format
1 volume (57 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which 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, on number 45, and ends on the last folio, on number 102.

Pagination: The volume contains an original typed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
Type
Archival file

Archive information for this record

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/V/23/49, No 220
Former external reference(s)
No 220 Foreign Dept Serial no 5

History of this record

Date(s)
1886 (CE, Gregorian)

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‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1885-86.’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/49, No 220, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000358.0x000255> [accessed 12 October 2024]

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