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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1903-1904’ [‎171r] (21/80)

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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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 POLITICAL AGENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. FOR THE YEAR 1903-1904. 9
Although His Highness Seyyid Faisal habitually subsidises the local
tribesmen for holding the passes leading from the Sharkiyeh country into the
hinterland of Maskat, nevertheless by^ the time a small force under Wali
Suleiman -bin-Suweibin and Seyyid Taimoor had been landed at Seeb with
orders to push on and hold the road leading from the Semail valley and Rostak,
news was received that the intruders had been treacherously allowed bv the
guards to debouch unmolested through the main pass of Akk into the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Semail, and before Wali Suleiman's^ party could reach Pinjeh, where thev
hoped to intercept them, Aysa and his followers had passed onwards in front
of them towards Rostak. On receiving this news His Highness at once left
Maskat in the Noor-ul-Bahr for the port of Mesnaa, the nearest point on the
coast to Kostak, and, having arrived there, forthwith put the loyalty of his
brother-in-law to the test by sending a special messenger to him inviting him
to a conference on the u Noor-ul-Bahr " As was expected, Seyyid-bin-Ibrahim
excused himself qn the plea of indisposition, and proceeded to join Aysa-bin-
Saleh, who was by this time encamped outside the Fort of Eostak.
The Sultan's next move was to depute Wali Suleiman with 150 men to
strengthen and hold the Fort of Awabi, from which point, in the event of
hostilities breaking out, Aysa's line of retreat could be menaced. Seyyid
Taimoor was simultaneously posted in the Fort of Mesnaa with an increased
srarrison, and, encamped outside, were a number of professedly friendly
Sheikhs who, with numerous followings, had gathered round the Sultan, and
were contentedly awaiting developments and being maintained at His High-
ness's expense. During this time. His Majesty's ship Sphinx made
frequent trips to various points on the Batineh coast, to enable the Political
Agent, who was sometimes on board to remain in close touch with the Sultan,
and, at the same time, to safeguard with her presence on the coast, the lives
and property of British Indian subjects residing there. Though most of the
latter sent their valuables into Maskat for safety, none of them were sufficiently
alarmed to follow themselves, and, fortunately, matters never became serious
enough to call for the issue of any general orders for their exodus. In fact,
both ilysa-bin-Saleh and Seyyid-bin-Ibrahim addressed courteous letters to 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. expressing friendly sentiments and their intention to use their
best endeavours to see that no harm fell to British subjects or property. There
was no change in the position of affairs for some time, during which the two
confederates were engaged in negotiations with the object of obtaining peace
able possession of Hostak fort from the party of Beni Buwaheh tribesmen who
garrisoned it. Ostensibly these men garrisoned the fort on behalf of Hamood-
bin-Azzan, but whereas the latter had at once evacuated his quarters there and
thrown in his lot with Aysa and Seyyid, the Beni Buwaheh had other ideas,
and for a long time refused altogether to admit the intruders. In the end,
however, probably on the receipt of a sufficiently remunerative bribe they
agreed to hand over possession of the fort to Seyyid-bin-Ibrahim. On gaining
their object so far, both Aysa and Seyyid wrote letters to the Sultan in patron
ising terms, informing him of their success as if it were a matter of which he
would be very pleased to hear, and both went on naively to inform him by
clear insinuation, if not in so many words, that Seyyid had been chosen
" Imam," or as they put it, invested with the affairs of Muslimeen."
It is easy to imagine that the ambitions of Aysa and Seyyid must have
clashed somewhat at this juncture, but Aysa must soon have realized that he
himself, whatever his religious qualifications might be, was not of sufficiently
aristocratic descent to gain the approval of the majority, and, that next to his
own candidature the selection of a weak candidate like Seyyid-bin-Ibrahim, who
would be a puppet in his hands, would be the best alternative. Nevertheless,
had Aysa himself been put forward, there can be no doubt that he would have
received a good deal of active support from his own part of the country, and it
was well known, moreover, that, had any general call to arms resulted, Aysa s
reputation for devotion to the faith was such that several influential Sheikhs
had openly given out about this time that though they would not support him
against the Sultan, they would refuse to take up arms against him.^ I rom the
moment however that it became apparent that Seyyid -bin-Ibrahim was the
best candidate that could be got to come forward, it was a foregone conclusion
j !
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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’ [‎171r] (21/80), 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_100023551242.0x000017> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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