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'A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of Arabistan' [25v] (50/134)
The record is made up of 1 volume (68 folios). It was created in 1912. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
36
an assurance that the British Government would protect Mohammerah against
naval attack by a foreign power, whatever pretext for intervention might be
alleged, and also so long as the Shaikh remained faithful to the Shah and
acted in accordance witn our advice, we should continue to give our good-
offices and support. The text of the letter in which this assurance was con
veyed is produced as Appendix 6 to this Volume. They are still in force, not
being superseded by later assurances. This letter and the personal assurances
of Haji Rais who returned to Mohammerah in January 1903 convinced
Shaikh Khaz'al that his interests were not in immediate danger, and the
question of Mohammerah Customs gave no serious trouble till the outbreak of
constitutional troubles in 1909. The letter of assurance which Sir A. Hard-
inge sent to Shaikh Khaz'al was shown to Haji Rais before its despatch and
he tried to induce the Minister to substitute " protect the Shaikh of Moham
merah ' against' foreign attack " for the words " protect Mohammerah
against foreign attack." Sir A. Hardinge in reply pointed out that their
promise was to the ruler of Mohammerah in his official capacity and that he
was not authorised to give a personal guarantee. He might for instance be
deposed by his Arabs.
The history of the next few years has no direct bearing on the question
of assurances and for details of this period reference is invited to Mr. J. G.
Lorimer's forthcoming Gazetteer of Persia, Vol. I. The supplementary assur
ances given to the Shaikh in December 1903 in reference to the attempts of
the Persian Government to repudiate the terms of the arrangement whereby
the Customs had been established at Mohammerah, have been referred to
in Chapter V.
British interests steadily grew in importance and Mohammerah began
to make its influence as a port for Central Persia felt, thanks to the Ahwaz-
Ispahan Road.
Irrigation schemes on the Karun proposed by a Dutch Engineer,
Mr. Van Roggen, at one time seemed likely to lead to some definite results but
eventually nothing was done. A detailed description of the various schemes
and the attitude of the Sheikh and of the British Government to them is
given in Chapter X.
In March 1904, the Russian Consul-General from Bushire, M. Passek,
paid a visit to Mohammerah and invested the Shaikh with the Russian Order
of the First Class of St. Stanislaus. The farman which accompanied this
decoration recited the Shaikh's enlightened policy and his wisdom in permit
ting the establishment of the Imperial Customs as the reasons for granting it.
It wat not until the autumn of 1907 that a further formal presentment
of the desire of the Shaikh, as well as of the Bakhtiari Khans, for closer rela
tions with His Majesty's Government was made to His Majesty's Minister by
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.
. After careful consideration, it
was decided to be undesirable to give the Bakhtiari Khans any assurances
beyond a general expression of sympathy, and even when giving this it was
found necessary to authorise His Majesty's Consul at Ahwaz to couple it
with warning to the Khans that unless thev adopted a more amenable attitude
to British interests the sympathies of His Majesty's Government would be
alienated. In the case of the Shaikh of Mohammerah, however, the general
assurances given to him in 1903 by Sir A. Hardinge were repeated and ex
tended to his successors, and it was further pointed out that His Majesty's
Government have agreed to respect the independence and integrity of Persia,
which involves the maintenance of the status quo in that country, and in
cluded the continuance of his present status of autonomy : external aggression
on him, therefore, would constitute an infringement of Persian integrity
which is recognised by the Anglo-Russian Convention.
These assurances were conveyed to the Shaikh by 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.
in a letter, dated 1st December 1908, which ran as
follows :—
T am directed to repeat on behalf of His Majesty's Government the assurances given
to Your Excellency in the letter of His Majesty's Minister, Sir A. Hardingre,
dated 7th December 1902, which is in your possession, and the terms of which
I repeated to you at our interview (on the 7th January): and I am then to
add that His Majesty's Government have engaged to respect the independence
About this item
- Content
The volume is Lieutenant A T Wilson, IA, Acting Consul for Arabistan, A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of Arabistan (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, India, 1912).
The volume is a compilation of historical, economic and political information about Arabistan [Khuzestan] and its relations with the British, by Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson, Indian Army, Acting Consul for Arabistan.
The contents of the volume are as follows:
- List of Officials in Arabistan;
- I British Interests in Arabistan, 1635-1800;
- II Arabistan - Internal Politics up to the death of Haji Jabir and genealogical table of Shaikhs of Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], 1527-1881;
- III Shaikh Miz'al's Rule, 1882-1897;
- IV Shaikh Khaz'al's Rule, 1897-1910;
- V Shaikh Khaz'al and the Persian Customs;
- VI Shaikh Khaz'al - Political Relations with British Government;
- VII Piracies;
- VIII Turko-Persian Frontier Question;
- IX Shaikh of Mohammerah and Turks;
- X Irrigation in Arabistan (I Karun; II Karkhah; III Dizful);
- XI Acquisition and Tenure of Land in Arabistan, with Annexes;
- Sixteen appendices, numbered I-XVI (supplemented with a later additional appendix, IXa) each containing a transcription (one in French, others translated into English from Persian) of relevant firmans, agreements, concessions, and other documents from the period 1844-1910.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (68 folios)
- Arrangement
A list of contents appears on folio 4, and a schedule of appendices on folio 7.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation system commences at 1 on the front cover and terminates at 68 on the back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio. This is the system that has been used to determine the order of pages.
Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence, numbered 2-115 (ff 8-66).
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C108
- Title
- 'A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of Arabistan'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:22v, 24r:27r, 28r:30v, 32r:41r, 42v:46r, 50v:52v, 59r, 66v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence