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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1903-1904’ [‎168r] (15/80)

The record is made up of 1 volume (37 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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AGENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. FOR THE TEJE IfOS-WOl.
from landing. A deputation of the Euro near, , m i Ji .rn ■ "
Bushire waited on His Exceilenoy on board the "f
presented His Excellency with an address- nnri nn +1 3 ^ the 3r(i and
L«.»b., th. Vioeror, S„mg ~i~huC" ^
voyage to India. ^ eeaea on his return
7. Visit of the BritishMimster .~ S . ifi excellence sir a,.,,. tt ..
K.O.M.G., O.B., Envoy Extraordinary and Mioish r l l^ , lr Hardl "? e .
Court ot H. I. M. the Shah of Persia Lrived ..M , POteutlar y at the
and Shiraz on the 15th November; and proceeded on hoard Sr
to meet lord Cnrzon and accompany him during his tour in the Gulf ^ C
Sphinx proceeded to Maskat, where the Minisf-p? * 1 • 16
with the~ Viceroy. Having then proceededloBuUL AbLs the^ •
the Viceroy at this place and accompanied Wm on boa^^^
throughout the tour. After the Viceroy's departure from Bushire S^T
Hardmge remained a few days in Bushire and then proceeded to Ml Arth " r
whence after a short visit to Ahwaz, His ExceS proceeded ^ mm< ; ra '' J
journey to Tehran by way of Bagdad and Kermanshah return
uJiZXSZSrX SSFteSKStZX r" T~
•I BuA™ •«d Bar. .ho no, s ,l fci, ..i,il, l„„ 11 ! Io O,o L, '.,'''^2'^
which calls only at Maskat, Bushire, Mohammerah and r,,;,.,, ti . mer
pon. i. Ike Gulf ,.„od l„ ..0^, o.d .ToT.?L,'Z K».il h..To°.'
%sXi'oC t P :!; M ' ,sha '""
Major Cox was 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. at Masbat throughout the greater nart of tt n
the year. He proceeded on privilege leave early in"January. g The Poll i„a
Xu Z'jMof '"l "
The pearling season was a prosperous one. Althouo-h the tatp nf tt T ^
was not very iarge, prices ruled high. No cases of piracy or disturbances at :Pir a te CoastT
sea occurred. The dispute between the Chief of Shargah and his feudatorv at
Fujeyrah has not been settled. The expedition led by the Chief against'the
Headman of Eujeyrah led to an arrangement being arrived at between 4 he
been fulfill r? ^ d . a , tory - Th ? teri f s of this arrangement have not, however,
been fulfilled and the matter is still under discussion.
out ha8 be - P ? litical As6nt at Bahrein through- IV.-B S hrem.
out the year which has generally been a qiuet and prosperous one, though some-
anxiety was felt when the outbreak of plague occurred in May.
Although the pearl harvest was not a very prolific oue, the pearls found
Affl, tTFT, 01 " qUahty and P rices were about 20 P er cent, higher than last year
^ K . at r the pearl season is said to have been a particularly prosperous one
Wo piracies occurred m Bahrein waters, though at one time the reported move
ments ot the notorious Ahmed bin Silman gave rise to anxiety. The two
irenchmen, Messrs. Dumas and Castelin, referred to in last year's report left
JJahrein in May, the former for Bagdad and the latter for Prance.
The roads between Katif and El Hassa and Ojair and El Hassa are report- v.-w F assa
ea, as usual, to have been unsafe, and the Arab tribes have generallv eiven an<1 E1
a good deal of trouble to the Turkish authorities.
_ It is said that an enumeration of the date trees in Katif, which was made
during the year, shows an increase ot 100,000 palms, which means an increase
of revenue to the Turks of about 1,500 Liras.
VP1 ,„ are reeei 7 e ^ of tb e progress of affairs in Nejd are never vr.-Koweit
very reliable, but there appears to be no doubt that Abdul Eahman bin Eeysul and TTejd -
ei oaood has strengthened his position very considerably during the year and
tnat his position in Riadh and the surrounding country is now secure. Such
nf f^w 8 ^ 8 -^ 611 P^ 06 between him an(i the Amir of Nejd has been in favour
or the VVahabi Chief, who, from news which appears to be authentic, gained a
very considerable victory in Eebruary last over Ibn Rashid's men at Sirr on the
borders of the Kaseena country, 300 of the latter having been killed. Ibn
Aashid s standard, which was taken on this occasion, was sent into Koweit.
B 2

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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 Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1903-1904, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India (Calcutta), forming part of the Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, and based on reports sent to Government 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. and the 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. at Muscat. Folios 165 and 166 are copies of notes, dated 18 April 1904 and 18 May 1904 respectively, sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, 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 Captain William George Grey, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and 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. , Muscat, to Louis William Dane, Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, submitting their respective annual administration reports.

The Administration Report is organised as follows:

1. General Summary submitted by Kemball (folios 167-69), including reports on: the year’s rainfall and harvest; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public health, with details of outbreaks of cholera and plague; settlement of claims; the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon’s visit to the Gulf, including details of the itinerary; the British Minister at the Court of the Shah of Persia’s visit to the Gulf; and the postal service. The General Summary also includes summaries for towns and regions, as follows: Oman and Muscat; Oman and the Pirate Coast, with an assessment of the pearling season, incidents of piracy and tribal relations; Bahrain [referred to as Bahrain], with an assessment of the pearling season; El Hassa [Al-Hasa] and El Katif [Al-Qaṭīf]; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, with an update of the struggle between Abdul Rahman bin Feysul el Saood [Ibn Sa‘ūd] and the Emir of Nejd, Ibn Rashīd; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast, with separate routes from Shiraz, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; Persian Baluchistan; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted; incidents of piracy; movements of British naval vessels; reports on changes in British officials; and visits made by foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 (folios 168-70) comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.

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. , 1903-04 , submitted by Grey (folios 170-77), including an account of the tribal politics of Oman; a detailed account of Lord Curzon’s visit to Muscat, including copies of the addresses presented to Lord Curzon by the community of British subjects and other British protected persons in Muscat, and Sultan Seyyd Faisal [Sa‘id Fayṣal], and Curzon’s replies to each. The report also includes details of the Resident’s visit to Muscat; political tours made by the Muscat Agent; administration of customs; Gwadur [Gwadar] customs; arms trafficking; health; law; building work in Muscat; improvements to the coal depot at Makullah cove; marine incidents, principally the wrecking of the French steamship Amiral Gueydon ; naval movements at Muscat; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted at Muscat; and changes to official personnel at Muscat.

3. Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for the Year 1903 , submitted by Kemball (folios 178-87), including general remarks on trade, and more detailed remarks on customs tariffs; imports and exports; tea; indigo; exchange; freight and shipping. Two appendices to part 3 contain tabular data on the value and quantities of imports and exports into Bushire and other Gulf ports, as well as data on the numbers, tonnage and nationality of visiting vessels.

4. Trade Report for Muscat, 1903-1904 , submitted by Grey (folios 187-91), containing details on imports and exports at Muscat, and followed by an appendix with trade statistics.

5. Report on the Trade of Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] for the Year 1903 , submitted by William McDouall, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Mohammerah (folios 190-92) with summaries on: exchange; shipping; caravan routes; and agriculture. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.

6. Trade Report of Bundar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] for the Year 1903 , submitted by Arthur Prescott Trevor, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Bandar-e ʻAbbās (folios 193-96), with summaries on: openings for British trade; mistakes made by British traders and their foreign competitors; the progress of rival trade; obstacles to trade; changes to trade tariffs; communications; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.

7. Report on the Trade of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1903 , submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant 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. , dated 9 January 1904 (folios 196-99), with details on: cotton, rice and coffee imports; lantern manufacture in Bahrain; assessment of the pearling season; the oyster shell export trade; boatbuilding activity; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing tabular data on the principal imports and export at Bahrain.

Extent and format
1 volume (37 folios)
Arrangement

The report is arranged into a number of parts and subheadings, with statistic data in tabular format directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (. 164) which lists the report’s contents, referring to the report’s own pagination sequence. Some statistical tables (ff. 197-99) are arranged on the page in landscape format.

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English in Latin script
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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1903-1904’ [‎168r] (15/80), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/82, No 412, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023551242.0x000011> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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