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'Persian Gulf précis. (Parts I and II)' [‎15r] (29/120)

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The record is made up of 1 file (60 folios). It was created in 1913. It was written in English and French. 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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23
Hamdi* Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Vali of Basrah, was soon afterwards a^ain dismissed. The
• Secret E.. June 1890, No., 94-119. P ause ° f his , ff 1 ' is apparent nor
important, but the eiietjt was to replace a
prominent official with a definite anti-English policy by a rival who, in order
to maintain bis position, was anxious for the moment to avoid controversial
matters, and to limit the interference of his Government in the Shaikh's
affairs.
But difficulties were already arising in a fresh direction.
13. German railway scheme.—In 1899, it became apparent to the
promoters of the German railway from Konia to Baghdad that an outlet upon
the sea was vitally necessary to their scheme. They proposed, therefore, to
acquire Kathama Bay at the western end of Kuwait harbour, and Sir N.
+ « f ■p t iqaa O'Conor reportedf that the Germans
t Secret E., January 1900, I^oi. 144-145. ii ■ n , , , ..
would, in all probability, negotiate direct
ly with the Sultan without regard to the Shaikh of Kuwait, w r ho would not
be asked to grant a concession of land. Lieutenant-Colonel Meade feared that
the Turks and Germans combined would take some action on the strength of
which Turkish authority over Kuwait might afterwards be claimed to exist.
The impression prevailed that it was intended to take advantage of the
entanglement of Great Britain in South Africa to push the matter to a conclu
sion in conjunction with Turkey. In the opinion of Captain Denison of the
" Melpomene" then in the Guif, "the presence of the German Consul-General
for Constantinople pointed to greater things than a simple railway terminus."
On the receipt of information of the arrival (January 1900) of the railway
commission at Basrah, the Viceroy proposed to inform Germany of our relations
t secret e , october loco, nos. 175-281. (pro with Kuwait, but Lord Salisbury J con-
No - 181 ) sidered the moment inopportune and
preferred waiting till Germany showed an immediate intention of addressing
Turkey, when we could either renew our previous warning given to the Porte
or come to terms with Germany as to the terminus of the railway.
Colonel Meade's views were unchanged : "our own preponderating influ
ence at the place must be maintained to the exclusion of any other". The
presence of Turkish, Russian or German officials was equally injurious to
our interests.
Sir N. OTonor pointed out that the enterprise was private and inter
national rather than political. A friendly warning, he thought, to the pro
moters of the scheme would obviate any official notification of our relations
with the Shaikh, a course of action likely to induce an international scramble
in which Britain would at the moment be heavily handicapped.
The view of Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople received con
firmation some months later from Berlin.
Count Bulow informed Sir F. Lascelles that the German Consul-General
had been granted leave to accompany the Mission, not in his official capacity,
but on account of his " local knowledge ". /
In April 1900, some more definite steps were taken towards an
understanding with Germany. Sir N. O'Conor, who had pointed out in
January that immediate action was inexpedient in view of the situation in
South Africa, in April explained to the German Ambassador at Constantinople
the full sense of our agreement with the Shaikh for non-cession of territory.
Her Majesty's Government, he said, had an agreement with the Shaikh of
Kuwait, which, although not opposed to the status quo, yet prevented the
Shaikh from making any concession of territory to another Power without the
consent of Her Majesty's Government.
Baron von Marschall said that he supposed this would not prevent the
construction of a railway, and that he was quite alive to the disadvantages of
provoking any feeling in England which w r ould have the effect of preventing
British capital from taking part in the construction of the line.
" I was anxious", Sir N. O'Conor proceeds, " that no doubt should remain
in his mind as to the position in which the Shaikh of Kuwait stood towards
Her Majesty's Government, and to make it quite clear that the Shaikh was
not at liberty to cede or otherwise alienate to the railway company either the

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Content

A printed précis of correspondence on various Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. subjects, prepared for the Foreign Department of the Government of India, Simla, in July 1911 (Part I) and July 1913 (Part II). The document is divided into two parts. Most subjects relate to Turkish claims to sovereignty in the region, including the presence of Turkish garrisons, and were chosen and prepared because of the negotiations between the British and Turkish authorities connected to the Baghdad Railway plans.

Part I (folios 2-35) covers various subjects and is organised into eleven chapters, each devoted to a different topic or geographical area, as follows: Chapter I, British interests in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Extent of Arabian littoral; Chapter II, Extent of Hasa and Katif [Qatif], Claims of the Turks to the whole of Eastern Arabia, Extent to which Turkish claims on the Arabian littoral are recognised by His Majesty's government, Proposed arrangement with the Turkish Government defining their sphere of influence on the Arabian littoral; Chapter III, Turkish occupation of El Bida [Doha], Extent of the Katar [Qatar] Peninsula; Chapter IV, Turkish designs on Katar, Policy of His Majesty's Government; Chapter V, Trucial Chiefs (Pirate Coast); Chapter VI, Maskat [Muscat] and Gwadar; Chapter VII, Kuwait; Chapter VIII, Um Kasr [Umm Qasr], Bubiyan and Warba; Chapter IX, Bahrain, Zakhnuniyeh [Zahnūnīyah] and Mohammerah [Korramshahr]; Chapter X, Proposed British action consequent on Turkish aggression; Chapter XI, Pearl fisheries. There are three appendices containing further correspondence relating to the main text.

Part II (folios 36-60) relates entirely to the Baghdad Railway and the negotiations between the British and Ottoman authorities that the proposal of the railway initiated. The negotiations covered several matters, including: the political statuses of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar; the location of the railway's terminus; the ownership of the railway; and the creation of a commission for the improvement of navigation in the Chatt-el-Arab [Shaṭṭ al-‘Arab]. It opens with an introduction of the related issues (folios 37-41) followed by the relative correspondence (folios 42-53). It ends with the draft agreements (folios 53-60) - never ratified - drawn up by the two powers.

Extent and format
1 file (60 folios)
Arrangement

The document is arranged in two parts. The first part is then divided into chapters, each covering a different topic or geographical location. The correspondence section of the second part is in rough chronological order.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the 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 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.

Condition: folios 59 and 60 have both been torn in two corners, resulting in the loss of some text.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'Persian Gulf précis. (Parts I and II)' [‎15r] (29/120), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C250, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023517380.0x00001e> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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