![‘Persian Gulf gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Précis of Katar [Qatar] affairs, 1873-1904.’ [‎18v] (36/92)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0001c9/IOR_L_PS_20_C243_0037.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘Persian Gulf gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Précis of Katar [Qatar] affairs, 1873-1904.’ [‎18v] (36/92)")
‘Persian Gulf gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Précis of Katar [Qatar] affairs, 1873-1904.’ [18v] (36/92)
The record is made up of 1 volume (46 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
precise nature of those relations may be a matter of comparative indifference to the Indian
<iovernment, whose cooBisient policy has been to restrict its interference with the tribes on the
Arab coast, whether parties to the maritime truce or not, to the measures necessary to prevent
hostilities at sea, and to hold aloof from their quarrels and concerns on the mainland, lo this
policy Her Majesty's Government desire to adhere.
4. As regards the course which should be followed in the event of the Sheikh of El-Bidaa,
or any other Chief similarly situated, putting to sea with hostile intentions, without rfference
to, or in disregard of, the warnings of the B iti^h Resident, it is not possible for me to give
Your Excellency in Council precise instructions. It must depend upon the circumstances of
each particular case, and upon the extent to which the peace of the seas may be menaced.
From the correspondence which lias passed within the last two years on the subject of Turkish
pretensions to jurisdiction along the Arab coast, it will have been seen that, while Her
Majesty's Government are not disposed to object to extension of the buitan's authority over the
tribes of the Gutlur peninsula, provided such authority be effectively exercised, it is their fixed
determination neither to allow the Turkish local officials to use the ^^-independent tribes as
inUrumentt of aggression on Bahrein and the territories of the T'ucial Chiefs, nor to permit
the tribes to cirry on piratical expeditions With impunity under the shelter of the lurhish flag.
The question, therefore, whether coe'don should be employed upon any particular occasion is
one which must be decided by Your Excellency's Government upon general considerations of
expe'iie^cy, with special reference to your interest in the maintenance of peace at sea as well as
your obligations to the Sheikh of Bahrein and the Trucial Chiefs.
5. From the foregoing observations, Your Excellency in Council will perceive that the
instructions lately issued to the Commanders of Her Majesty's ships in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
were
not intended t.> bear the very restricted construction which has been placed, upon them by
your Government anl by the Resident in the Gulf. As Her Majesty s Ambassador at Con-
-T .~ ... , t ^ ^ • t . t -.r stantinople was instructed to mtimate to the
• Lord Granville to Lord Duffenn, No, 515, -p, , v. ^ T ■■ , . ., , <• ,i m i • i
dated 22nd July 1881. Porte* in July last, the retusal of the Turkish
Government to entertain the proposals trade to it
for a sort of joint police of the seas along the Arab coast compelled Her Majesty's Govern
ment to undertake that duty single-handed " without reference to the claims of the Sultan to
territorial jurisdiction in those waters." The instructions in question were accordingly issued,
the intention being that the Commanders of British cruisers in the Gulf should have liberty
to act as might be necessary to prevent or punish disturbance of the peace of the seas, avoid
ing-, however, the raising of needless questions with the Turkish local authorities where they
exist, or unnecessary encroachment upon the jurisdiction of the Sultan, wherever it may really
be effectively established along the coast north of Odeid.
87. Further on account of repeated ill-treatment of British Indian subjects
c t " iqqo xt aa ? a ** Bidaa, the Government of India again
Sec., January 1882, Nos. 443-456. . , T „ , , , ®
in Secret letter ]So. 3, dated the 9th
January 1882, requested the instructions of Her Majesty's Government in
respect of the policy to be adopted towards the Sheikh of Bidaa, on the Katar
Coast of Arabia, in order to restrain him from ill-treatment of British Indian
traders resident there.
They proposed to inform the Sheikh that arbitrary treatment of British
Indian subjects could not be permitted, and that, in future, he would he held
directly responsible for any act inconsistent with the friendly relations which
have hitherto existed between him and British Government.
Her Majesty's Government approved of a communication in the foregoing
Sec,. May 1882, Km. s-is. sense boin S to tbe Sheikh. 'They
trusted that it might prove suflBcient
for the subject in view, and that the liesident in the Gulf might be able to
obtain redress for any well-founded grievances of British subjects, without
being compelled to request the sanction of the Government to coercive
measures, which the Sheikh's relations with the Porte rendered it desirable
to avoid as long as possible.
Ill-treatment of British Indian subjects by Sheikh Jasim and
exaction of fine from him, 1880-1882.
88. In 1880 British Indian subjects at Bidaa complained of ill-treatment,
and at the same time the Sheikh Jasim bin-Thani and some of his neighbours
including Sheikh Nasir-bin-Mobarik appparently intended to resume hostilities
by sea, which would have caused a revival of piracy. This latter ques
tion was first dealt with, as noted above—see paragraphs 74—77 ; the principal
difficulty being that Sheikh Jasim and certain other Chiefs were under
Turkish portection. After negotiations with the Turkish Government, Her
Majesty's Government finally decided that expeditions by sea, and piracy,
should, if necessary be prevented by force, and the native craft might
About this item
- Content
The volume, stamped ‘Confidential’ on the front cover, is part 1 (historical and political materials) of a précis of Qatar (spelt Katar throughout) affairs for the years 1873 to 1904. It was prepared by Judge Jerome Antony Saldanha of the Bombay Provincial Civil Service, and published in 1904 by the Government of India Foreign Department, Simla, India.
The main subjects of the précis, which is comprised chiefly of extracts from Government correspondence, run as follows:
- Turkish movements in Qatar, 1873; Chief of Bahrain (spelt Bahrein throughout) advised to keep aloof from complications in Qatar, 1873;
- British intervention refused to Chief of Debai [Dubai] in case robberies committed against vessels of his subjects on Qatar coast, 1873;
- Threatened attack on Bahrain and Qatar (Zobarah [Zubara]) by the Bedouin tribes of Beni Hajir, 1874;
- Complaints of Turkey about Chief of Bahrain’s encroachments in Qatar, 1874;
- The Beni Hajir attack Zubara and commit piracies, 1875;
- Aggressive policy of the Turks and establishment of a new Turkish province on the Arabian littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;
- Plunder of a Bahrain boat by the Beni Hajir and an excessive contribution levied by the Chief of Bidaa [Al-Bidda] on British Indian traders residing there;
- Claims preferred by the Government of Basrah [Basra] on behalf of the inhabitants of Qatar against certain residents of Bahrain, 1876;
- Alleged ill-treatment of British Indian subjects, 1879;
- Piracies at Zubara – destruction of Zubara by Shaikh Jasim [Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī], 1878;
- Ill-treatment of Indian traders, 1879;
- Question of suppression of piracies on the Arab coast. Claims of the Turks to Odeid [’Odaid] (1871-81); previous history of ’Odaid, 1837-76;
- History of ’Odaid continued, question of Turkish jurisdiction on the Qatar coast, and suppression of piracies, 1878-81;
- Removal of section of the Al-bu-Kowareh tribe from Al-Bidda to Foweyrat [Fujairat], 1879;
- Threatened attack on Bahrain by Nasir-bin-Mobarik [Nasir bin Mubarak] and Shaikh Jāsim of Al-Bidda, 1881;
- Shaikh Jāsim’s desire to occupy ’Odaid, 1881;
- Policy as to the relations to be maintained with Shaikh Jāsim and the Turkish Government in Qatar, 1881;
- Ill-treatment of British subjects by Shaikh Jāsim and exaction of a fine from him, 1880-82;
- Protest of the Porte against British proceedings at Al-Bidda. British disclaimer of Turkish jurisdiction in Qatar, 1883;
- Shaikh Jāsim’s projected expedition against a branch of the Beji Hajirs in 1884;
- Fight between the Ejman [Ajman] and allied tribes on one side and Morah and Monasir tribes on the other, 1884;
- Disputes between Shaikh Jāsim and the Chief of Abuthabi [Abu Dhabi], Jāsim’s intentions to occupy ’Odaid and the ill-treatment of Bedouins at Al-Bidda, 1885-86;
- Outrages against Indian subjects under Jāsim’s instigation, and Shaikh Jāsim made to pay a fine, 1887;
- Protests of the Porte against British Government proceedings, 1888;
- Question of withdrawal of the Turkish garrison from Al-Bidda;
- Turkish expansion along the Arab coast and the policy of the British Government, 1888;
- Hostilities between Shaikh Jāsim and Shaikh Zaid [Zayed bin Khalifa] of Abu Dhabi, reported movements of the Chief of Jabal Shamer Ibn Rashid towards Oman in order to aid Shaikh Jāsim, 1888-89;
- Jāsim carrying munitions of war by sea, 1889;
- Turkish project of rebuilding Zubara, 1888;
- Turkish measures for establishing their jurisdiction on a firmer basis on the Arab coast. Increase of Turkish forces in Qatar, 1888;
- Intrigues of Jāsim against Abu Dhabi, 1889-90;
- Turkish projects for rebuilding Zubara and ’Odaid, 1890-91;
- Hostilities between Shaikh Jāsim and the Turks, 1891-93;
- British policy towards Jāsim during the hostilities. Chief of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, 1893;
- Question of Turkish jurisdiction in Qatar, 1893;
- Removal by Turkish authorities of the British flag from a boat at Al-Bidda, 1897;
- Occupation of Zubara by the Al-bin-Ali tribe with the support of the Turks and Shaikh Jāsim. Threatened attack of Bahrain, and the energetic measures taken to expel the settlement, 1895;
- Arab rising against the Turks in Qatar;
- Disturbances off the Qatar coast between the Amamera and Al-bin-Ali tribes, 1900;
- Piracies committed by the Beni Hajir off the Qatar coast, 1900;
- Reconsideration of our general policy on the Arab side of the Gulf;
- (1) Proposed British protectorate over the Chief of Qatar; (2) Aggressive action of the Porte in attempted to establish mudirates at ’Odaid, Wakra and Zubara, 1902-04.
The appendices are as follows:
- A. Memorandum on the causes of the hostility between Shaikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Shaikh Jāsim;
- B. Extract from Captain Daly’s draft letter to the address of 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. , submitted for approval on 14 January 1901, relating to Qatar;
- C. Memorandum by Mr EC Block, dated 11 March 1903, about the Turkish claim over Qatar.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (46 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the précis are arranged in rough chronological order, and organised under a number of subheadings, with each paragraph numbered from 1 to 229. Three appendicies follow the main précis. There is a contents page at the front of the volume (f 5) which lists the subheadings with their corresponding paragraph numbers. The appendices are referenced using the volume’s pagination system.
- 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 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 View the complete information for this record
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‘Persian Gulf gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Précis of Katar [Qatar] affairs, 1873-1904.’ [18v] (36/92), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C243, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023526379.0x000026> [accessed 7 May 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C243
- Title
- ‘Persian Gulf gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Précis of Katar [Qatar] affairs, 1873-1904.’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:17r, 18r:45v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence