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‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Agency and Muscat Political Agency for the year 1883-84.’ [‎44v] (28/166)

The record is made up of 1 volume (87 folios). It was created in 1884. 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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3 I
ADMINISTEATION HBPOKT OF THE PERSIAN GOTE POLITICAL
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Durin" this year 1817, and the next, Sa'eed was entirely occupied with interna isor ers
0 with his naval enemies, the Kowasim. who attacked and made themselves
masters o£ Khor Fakan. Later on, however, the fall of Dereych canscd great alar mat RaVel-
and in contending
Khaimah, and the Kowasim, dreading the approach of the Egyptians, became anxions to make
am alliance with Sa'ccd against them. Sa'eed was too well advised, however, to entertain snch a
proposition. The reign of piracy in the Gulf was now doomed. For twenty years the Kowasim.
notwithstanding the efforts of British cruisers, had maintained the sway of rapine ™aritime
commerce, but the patience of the Indian Government was at length exhausted. At the close of
1819 the British expeditionary force under Sir W. G. Keir arrived at Muscat, when Sa eed
offered to supplement it by a land force of 4,000 men and three ships of war. This was
accepted by the General, and Sa'eed accompanied tlie expedition to Ras-el-Kliaimah, where
the Commander was successful in completely breaking the power of the pirate chiefs and in
arranging by treaty for the future good order and tranquillity of the whole Gulf.
A few months later a joint expedition was undertaken by the British and by Sa eed
against the Beni Boo Ali tribe in Jaalan, the immediate cause of which, so far as the British
were concerned, was the murder of the interpreter of the Mercury brig, which had been de-
spatched to El Askhara to enquire into certain piratical acts committed by the tribe. On the
termination of his operations General Keir had left a force in the Gulf as a temporary mea
sure to ensure the observance of his treaties and to preserve order, larts of this foice, consist
ing of six companies of Native Infantry and six guns, was now embaiked by the Political
Agent, Captain Thompson, who had resolved on immediate hostilities, and taken fiom Kishno to
Muscat. Sa'eed had for some years been at variance with the Beni Boo Ali tribe on account of
their having coalesced with the ^\ahabees and adopted their tenets in 1811, and he had since
been seeking for an opportunity to crush them. The expedition was undoubtedly due in part
to Sa'eed's instigation and encouragement, and he had been allowed to join it with about 1,000
men. Captain Thompson sailed from Muscat to Soor, and the combined force marched from
that port to the Beni Boo Ali country on the 1st November 1820. The tribes were summoned
to surrender, practically unconditionally, by Sa'eed,but refused to give up their arms, and a con
test ensued, in which the British force was completely defeated with a loss of 6 officers, 270
men, and all the guns. The survivors retreated by way of Sharkiyeh and 'Oman through the
Wady Akk to Muscat, where they arrived on the 17th November. Sa'eed displayed great gal
lantry and coolness throughout the affair, and was wounded while endeavouring to save a
British soldier. In acknowledgment of his services a sword of honour was presented to him
by the Governor General. To retrieve this disaster, a large force was despatched under General
Sir Lionel Smith from Bombay in January 18*21. The General attacked Beni Boo Ali in
March, and after severe fighting destroyed the forts and almost annihilated the tribe, which to
this day has never recovered its former strength and prestige. Sa'eed was not permitted to
take part in this campaign, though he personally accompanied the troops. It was during his
absence from Muscat on this occasion that he had to mourn the death of his elder brother Salim,
who died of paralysis in February 1821. A large number of prisoners of the Beni Boo Ali
were carried to Bombay by General Smith, where they were detained for about two years, and
were then released and sent back to 'Oman. By order of the Court of Directors The London-based directors of the East India Company who dealt with the daily conduct of the Company's affairs. intercession
was made with Sa'eed on behalf of the survivors of the tribe, for forgiveness and permission to
return to their country. This intercession on the part of the British Government roused Sa'eed's
jealousy and suspicion, and, though he yielded after some hesitation, it was only with a bad
grace.
In 1822 Captain F. Moresby, R.N., Her Majesty's ship Minai, was ordered to Muscat to
conclude a treaty with Sa'eed for the suppression of the slave trade. Sa'eed granted all the
concessions asked for, which would, if strictly enforced, have caused him a loss of £5,000 or
£6,000 a year.
Relieved from all troubles, foreign and domestic, and feeling that he had securely consoli
dated his power, Sa'eed now undertook a pilgrimage to Mecca. He appointed his nephew,
Mohammed-bm-Salim, Regent during his absence and sailed in the Liverpool seventy-four,
which had been specially repaired for the voyage in Bombay, in March 1824. This journey
was performed with great pomp and magnificence, and was most costly to Sa'eed. The Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
of Egypt, Mohammed Ah, sent officers to meet him, and nothing was omitted by them and the
Turkish Governor to give Sa'eed a fitting reception on his arrival at Jeddah. On his journey

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Content

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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for the year 1883-84, by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Charles Ross, 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. , published by Authority by the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta [Kolkata]. A copy of a letter from Ross to Charles Grant, Secretary to the Government of India (Foreign Department), dated 17 July 1884, is included in the report (folio 33), the original of which submitted the report to Government, under the following headings:

Part 1 ( General Report ), written by Ross (folios 34-39), containing summaries of local political affairs, and incidents or events of particular note for: Oman and the Pirate Coast; Bahrain; Nejd, El-Hasa [Al-Hasa] and El-Katr [Qatar]; Fars, including Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] and Bunder Abbass [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], and the coast between Bushire and Bandar-e Lengeh; Persian Arabistan; Persian Beloochistan [Baluchistan] and Gwadur; and Bassidore. The report also contains summaries of changes in official personnel (referred to as political establishment); British naval movements in the Gulf; and a summary of meteorological events observed at the Bushire observatory. Appendix A contains tabulated and graphical meteorological data for the year, supplied by the Bushire observatory.

Part 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. for the year 1883-84 ), submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles, Her Britannic Majesty’s 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. and Consul at Muscat, dated 9 June 1884 (folios 40-50), containing a summary of affairs at Muscat, including raids and fighting around Muscat in October 1884, between rebel forces and those allied to the Sultan of Muscat. The report also records changes to British official personnel at Muscat, and notes recent shipwrecks on the Muscat coast. Appendix A is a biographical sketch, written by Miles, of Sayyid Sa'eed-bin-Sultan, the Imam of Muscat.

Part 3 ( Report on Trade for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for 1883 , folios 50-105), comprising a short summary of the year’s trade, and followed by two appendices, labelled A and B, but arranged in reverse order: B) Supplementary notes on the care and culture of date trees and fruit, written by A. R. Hakim, Assistant to 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. ; A) tabulated data on trade, including data on imports and exports into and out of the Gulf ports of Bushire, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], Bunder Abbass [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], Bahrain and the Arab (Oman) coast. An index to the trade tables can be found at folios 53-54.

Part 4 (

[at Muscat]), submitted by Miles, dated 9 June 1884 (folios 105-12), comprising a short summary of the year’s trade at Muscat, and an appendix containing tabulated data on imports and exports at Muscat (listed by commodity), and the nationality and average tonnage of vessels visiting Muscat.

Extent and format
1 volume (87 folios)
Arrangement

The report is arranged into four numbered parts, with lettered appendices containing further reports and statistical data after each. Two appendices following part two of the report are labelled in reverse order (B then A, instead of A then B).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the first folio, on number 32, and ends on the last folio, on number 112.

Pagination: The volume contains an original typed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Agency and Muscat Political Agency for the year 1883-84.’ [‎44v] (28/166), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/45, No 198, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023580328.0x00001e> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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