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'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part I)' [‎139v] (19/30)

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The record is made up of 1 file (14 folios). It was created in 1 Sep 1879. 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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arguments apply with even greater force to Turkey,
and should be repeated."
Lord Mayo and his Council generally concurred
in Mr. Aitchison's views.* The following are
extracts of a Minute by the Viceroy, dated 21st
July 1871
" I always thought that it was one of the well
known maxims of diplomacy, that a Government
who desired peace should not initiate the discussion
of complicated and difficult subjects, and should
not reply to anticipated questions until they were
put. I see no necessity whatever for expressing
any opinion as to the boundaries of Nejd, Muscat,
any portion of Oman, or the littoral of the Persian
Gulf, though we are perhaps in a position to offer
a sounder opinion on those subjects than any other
Government, administration, or power.
* Henvey's Precis, p. 47.
" The Government of India are quite aware of
the possible complications that may arise out of the
unwise action of the Turkish Government in this
matter. We have expressed our views to the
Secretary of State in the strongest language, and at
the very first declared our opinion that every
possible amount of diplomatic pressure and per
suasion should be exercised to induce the Sultan to
abandon this dangerous undertaking. We have
received assurances more satisfactory than I had at
first expected. * * * I do not know what the
Bombay Government want us to do; but all I can
say is, that if their advice is to be interpreted into
this—that we should take the present opportu. Hy
of attempting to define relations and boundaries as
between the different Chiefs and States in these
districts, I consider it to be a most unwise proposal.
* * * Our obligations with regard to the Gulf
itself, and the preservation of maritime peace, are
sufficiently onerous and difficult without entering
into further enterprises.
" I agree in the opinion that no provisions for a
joint protectorate of the fisheries, come from what
quarter they may, can be admitted."
On the 22nd August 1871 Sir H. Elliott reported
to Lord Granville,f that having received a telegram
from the Viceroy of India, inquiring whether there
was any ground for a report that Turkish troops
were to be thrown upon the Guttur peninsula, and
that fortresses were to be erected at Kateef and
Ojair, he had communicated with Server Effendi,
who declared that after looking through the
correspondence he could not find any confirmation
of the report. Sir H. Elliott added" The Turkish
" Government is not disposed to be particularly
<£ communicative when questioned upon their pro-
,c ceedings in what they regard as their own
<f provinces," i .e., Nejd and Yemen.
With regard to Guttur, however, it is certain
that, some time in the month of July, the Turkish
flag under circumstances nowhere clearly ex
plained—was hoisted at El Bidaa, a port on the
east coast of the Peninsula. On this subject,
f Despatch, No. 304
Home Correspondence,
Vol. 68, p. 1025.

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Content

A memorandum, written by Adolphus Warburton Moore, Assistant Secretary of the Political and Secret Department of the 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. , 1 September 1879.

The document is a summary of correspondence, government reports, and published literature relating to the Turkish expedition into El Hassa [Al Hasa] in 1871, and was compiled in light of a proposed comprehensive arrangement with the Porte about the positions of the two powers along the Gulf coast, and policing responsibilities at sea. The correspondence is from the period 1870-1874 and is principally between various British Government departments and offices connected to the region, and the Turkish Government.

The Turkish expedition called into question the sovereignty and jurisdiction of much of the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the coastline and islands of the Gulf. The correspondence contains discussions of these matters and reflects British fears of a loss of their monopoly over the control and security of the Gulf, and a disruption of the treaty relations they maintained with rulers in Bahrein [Bahrain], Guttur [Qatar], the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , Muscat, and Aden.

The author quotes extensively from the correspondence and other sources, notes on which are to be found in the margin throughout.

Extent and format
1 file (14 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation for this description commences at folio 131 and terminates at folio 144, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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. The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the 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: folio 131 is torn along one edge, with some loss of text.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part I)' [‎139v] (19/30), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B19/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023557918.0x000015> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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