'File A/14 Shaikh Hamad bin Muhammad Al Khalifa and his intrigues with the Turkish authorities' [‎20r] (41/250)

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The volume contains correspondence relating to the actions and grievances of Shaikh Ḥamad bin Muḥammad bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah, cousin of Shaikh ‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah, the ruler of Bahrain. The key correspondents in the file are Shaikh Ḥamad and Shaikh ‘Īsá, and a succession of Political Residents (Major Percy Cox (later Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Cox), Major Arthur Trevor) and Political Agents in Bahrain (Captain Francis Prideaux, Major Stuart Knox, Captain David Lorimer, and Captain Terence Keyes).

The opening letter in the volume, dated December 1904, is from Shaikh Ḥamad 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. (Prideaux) and Resident (Cox), and is a request from Shaikh Ḥamad for an increase in his monthly allowances, which Cox rejected (folios 1a-5). Later correspondence, dated 1910, reported on the growing antagonism between Shaikh Ḥamad and Shaikh ‘Īsá, which led to Shaikh Ḥamad threatening, and then carrying out his threat, to seek the protection of the Wali [custodian] of Busorah [Basra] (folio 13). British officials did not attach great importance to Shaikh Ḥamad’s threats, but nevertheless instructed staff the steam ship company Gray Paul & Co. to refuse Shaikh Ḥamad passage (folios 17, 18). However, in September 1911 Shaikh Ḥamad succeeded in making his way to Basra, and onwards to Baghdad and Constantinople, with the apparent intention of taking his grievances against Shaikh ‘Īsá to the Porte (folios 26-27). The Wali of Basra sent an envoy to Bahrain to negotiate between the two parties (folios 38-40). In the meantime Shaikh Ḥamad returned to Bahrain, where he was reported to be wearing Turkish dress and bearing an Ottoman medal (folios 64, 65).

Shortly afterwards, reports stated that Shaikh Ḥamad and Shaikh ‘Īsá were reconciled (folio 71), but in the following years, further clashes between the two periodically surfaced, including an incident in which Shaikh Ḥamad’s Bedouin servant shot the dogs of a respectable Manama resident in 1914 (folios 83, 84), and the beating, in 1915, at Shaikh Ḥamad’s instigation, of Shaikh ‘Īsá’s camel herder (folios 102-03). In a letter from 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. (Keyes) 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. (Cox), dated 8 October 1915, and in light of Shaikh Ḥamad’s previous intrigues with Ottoman officials, the possibility of Shaikh Ḥamad having been the member of the Āl Khalīfah family suspected of making contact with German agents is mooted (folios 118-20). Shaikh ‘Īsá’s subsequent request to British officials to have Shaikh Ḥamad deported to Karachi, ultimately fell on deaf ears (folio 121).

Extent and format

1 volume (123 folios)

Arrangement

The contents of the volume are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest items of correspondence at the front of the file, to the latest at then rear.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled numbers located in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . An earlier foliation system, which numbers versos as well as rectos containing text, runs through the volume. This foliation system uses uncircled numbers located in the top-left corner of versos and the top-right corner of rectos. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 64a.

There is evidence of insect damage, in the form of small holes in the paper, throughout the file. However the damage is not extensive enough to impair the legibility of text.

Written in

English, Arabic and Turkish, Ottoman in Latin and Arabic script

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