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‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [‎56] (68/160)

The record is made up of 1 volume (80 folios). It was created in 1904. 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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66
l near further that some of them, the fugitives, -will go to Busrah and Baghdad for mak
ing a complaint.
The Turkish vessel Arcadia, which was at Katif, is reported to have gone to Busrah.
Translation of news-report from 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. Agent, Bahreiny to Lieutenant-Colonel e. C.
Ross? 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. m the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , No* 23, dated 26th Bahi-al-Awal 1299=
15th February 1S82.
After compliments. —With reference to my letter No. 17 of 10th Rabi-al-Awal 1299=30th
January 188^, regarding fugitives from Katif, I bear from their elders that the balance of
revenue on account of date plantation now demanded from them by the Turks, is nearly
Rs. 1 ,70^000 ; this money is required from all the inhabitants of the villages of Katif and
is due on account of date plantations belonging to Turkish Government situated in the villages
within the limits of Katif. The circumstances are as follow :—The Kaim Makam of Katif
oroers the headman of the village to look after and water the Government trees, and the latter
orders another to do this work gratis, and gratis work brings on ruin to the trees year after
year; from ten trees there has remained one, and the trees are registered in the books
according to their former produce, viz., ten years ago. "When the time for estimating the
prednce arrives, the estimator comes and estimates ; if the produce be 1,000 killas dates, he
estimates at 2,500 ; at the time of giving them (the fugitives) the Government produce, if
the killa be worth a rupee in bazaar, they charge them 3 krans year after year, and the
balance has been accumulating from the time they took Katif till now.
As regards private date trees, as the owners bribe the estimators, matters are made easy
for them, and no balance remains to be paid by them on account of tax.
I hear the Mutessariff of El-Hasa, Said Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , has written them a letter in reply to
their complaint against the Kaim Makam ; it reached them a couple of days ago, and I hear
it is a rigid one. A part of it says that the Kaim Makam acted according to his (Mutes-
sarifTsj order in recovering the balance due to Government, and their departure to Bahrein
would not profit them ; it would cause the ruin of Government property ; if thpy had been
suffering from injustice, their corr,plaints would have been listened to by the Government and
so forth.
At present some of the aforesaid fugitives are in hesitation ; some wish to go to Bxisrah
and Baghdad to complain ; some fear the Mutass iriff might cause enmity ; whilst some say
it would better to go to El-Hasa and address the Mutassariff verbally. Nothinsr has been
settled } et.
Nazih Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. (18^5-86). 210. In !NovGiiil)Gr 1885 S^id Pcislui was
Gulf Administration Report for 1885-86, TeliGVed of llis post of Turkish GoVGrDOr,
by Nazih Beg,
211. Nazih Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , the Mutassarif, was relieved in March 1886 by Saleh
saieh Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , (1886-87). JPasha. Dissensions had, during the past
Gulf Administration Report for 1.86-87. few yearS) bpen ri f e amongst ^ Ambs
residing under the jurisdiction of Sheikh Jasim of Bidaa, and bodies of seceders
first settled at loweyrat on the Katar Coast, where they were to some extent
under the protection of the Nairn tribe, who maintained intimate friendly rela
tions with the Chief of Bahrein.
212. In the year 1885 a body of the Wakra Arabs consisting of about 100
men of the tribe Al-bu-Ainain and Al-Jehran, owing to disputes with their
own chief and with Sheikh Jasim, left Wakra and settled at a place named
Ghareyah in Katar. A coalition had thus been formed to resist Sheikh Jasim,
and during the past year Mahomed-bin-Abdul Wahab, having quarrelled with
Jasim, identified himself with the opposing faction. A conference took place
between Jasim and Mahomed-bin-Abdul Wahab in presence of the commander
of a Turkish gun-boat at Bidaa, when the Turkish officer suggested that Jasim
should let the people of Ghareyah remain in peace under Mahomed-bin-Abdul
Wabab. Sheikh Jasim was much annoyed at the proposal and incited his
adherents to attack Ghareyah, but they were beaten off with the loss of a few
men of the Beni Hajir.
Mahomed-bin-Abdul Wahab entered on a course of intrigue with the
Turkish officials of Hasa, apparently with the object of ousting Sheikh Jasim and
obtaining for himself the post of Kaim Makam of Katar under the Turkish
Government. He was said to have advised the institution of a Turkish custom
house at Bidaa, a measure whicn seemed to have been favourably considered by
the Turkish officials, whilst the inhabitants warmly protested against it.

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Content

Part 1 of a Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. gazetteer of historical and political materials, a précis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs. The précis was prepared by Jerome Antony Saldanha, whose preface (under which his surname is erroneously spelt Saldana) is dated 25 November 1904, and published by the Government of India Foreign Deptartment, Simla, India.

The preface is an historical outline of the struggle for political dominance in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including Portuguese, British, Wahabi [ Wahhābī A follower of the Islamic reform movement known as Wahhabism; also used to refer to the people and territories ruled by the Al-Saud family. ] and Turkish expansion. The chapters (titles shown in italics) deal with the subject in an roughly chronological fashion:

1. Early history of Hasa and Katif , including: references to the area in Arabic writing; the first known Arab colonists; and early references to the area in British (East India Company) records;

2. Conquest of Hasa by the Wahabis and Turkish expeditions into Nejd [Najd] and Hasa, and their results 1800-1865 , including: conquest of the area by the Wahabis; Turkish expeditions to the area, 1811-19 and 1836-40; Amir Feysal’s [Fayṣal ibn Turki Āl Sa‘ūd] nominal dependence on Turkey, 1855; troubles in Katif, 1859-62; Turkish protest against British proceedings at Damaum [Dammām], 1862; the British war against Amir Feysal, 1865-66; obsolete title of award of Arabia by an Abbasid caliph to the Ottoman Porte; Ottoman ambitions in Arabia (Holy Ottoman Empire);

3. Turkish expedition to Nejd and Hasa, 1871-72 , including: origins of the expedition; intelligence from 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. , Colonel Lewis Pelly; British policy in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and effects of the Turkish expedition on that policy; Turkish assurances to Britain, communicated to Bahrain (spelt Bahrein throughout) by Pelly; Turkish promise of non-interference with the rulers of the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; narrative of the events leading up to and including the landing of the expeditionary force in Nejd; Turkish designs on Katar [Qatar], and their hoisting of the Turkish flag at Budaa [Al-Bidda]; Turkish naval activity in the Gulf, and Britain’s naval response; murder of a suspected Turkish messenger at Bahrain; reasons for the non-interference of the British Government in operations on land; further narrative of the expedition and affairs in Nejd; evidence of Turkish designs on Bahrain; Turkish assurances; relations between Turkey and Abuthabi [Abu Dhabi]; close of the Turkish expedition;

4. Internal affairs of Hasa and Katif, 1872-1904 , including: administration and internal organisation; and a list of governors at Hasa, including events of significance occurring during their rule;

5. Survey of the Katif coast, 1873-74 , including: British intentions and permission gained from the Ottoman Porte; complaints of British survey officers landing on the Nejd coast; written permission to land to undertake surveying.

6. Increase of Turkish military and naval forces in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Turkish policy , including: a memorandum by Captain T Doughty on the state of affairs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;

7. (1) Trade Relations of Hindu and other traders of Bahrain with Katif, and their disabilities , and (2) Proposal appointment of a consular officer at Katif ;

8. Piracies , including: piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters, 1878; ; revolt in Hasa and piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters, 1878-81; Turkish responsibilities and jurisdiction for the purpose of suppressing piracies in Katif waters, 1878-81; piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters in 1883; piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters in 1886; piracies in 1887-88; piracies in 1891-92; piracies in 1899-1900; piracies in 1902 and the proposal of the Chief of Bahrain to maintain an armed dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. for the pursuit of pirates, 1902-03;

9. Murder of Sheikh Selman-bin-Diaij-el-Khalifa [Shaikh Salman bin Diaj Āl Khalīfah] , a cousin of the Chief of Bahrain and his party about 40 miles south of Katif. Question of satisfaction and compensation for it ;

10. Turkish designs on Oman and the rest of the East Arabian Littoral, 1888-1899 ;

11. Summary of British declarations against Turkish encroachments in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and of the Porte’s assurances, 1871-1904 .

The cover of volume, on which the title is printed, also has a number of different pencil and pen annotations, marking former external references or numbering systems (‘P.2557/29’, ‘No.5’, ‘C238’).

Extent and format
1 volume (80 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged into eleven chapters, preceded by a preface. Each chapter is organised by subheadings, and its paragraphs numbered. The paragraph numbers are continuous throughout the whole volume, beginning on 1 at the start of the first chapter, and ending on 553/553A at the end of the eleventh chapter. A contents page at the front of the volume (ff.4-5) lists the chapters by their headings and subheadings, with each referring to paragraph, rather than page, numbers.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence, with page numbers located top and centre of each page.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [‎56] (68/160), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C238, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023514031.0x000046> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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