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‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1884-85.’ [16v] (28/130)
The record is made up of 1 volume (63 folios). It was created in 1885. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
26
Passing Soor, which is described as a small fishing village, the fleet, sailing clos ® ^ nd
followed by a large concourse of people along the shore, next anived at t e c y
where Albuquerque ordered his ships to come to an anchor with as much noise an } . )
could be made.
This was the first appearance of Europeans in ships in the Gulf of Oman since the days of
Alexander, eighteen centuries before. And from the ready submission of the people of Ki hat,
the appearance of the fleet seems to have been viewed with no little teiroi and dismay, tie
Persians here having doubtless heard of the proceedings of the Portuguese on the Indian coast
and of their warlike character and superiority.
At the time of these events the Arab Prince in power in Oman was the Imam Muham-
mad-bin-Ismail-el-Ismaili, who was elected in A.H. 906 (A.D. 1500) and died in A.II. 942
(A.D. 1535). His capital was el Rostak, where he usually resided. He held sway, however,
only over the interior portion of the country, the coast line being still, as it had been since
A.D. 1370, subject to the Persian King of Hormuz, whose chief Governor was at Kilhat,
No communication was held the first day with the city, but on the following morning a
boat was sent on shore with two officers and an interpreter, who were civilly received, and were
informed that the town belonged to the kingdom of Hormuz, and that anything required for
the fleet would be willingly supplied.
On the next day, further communications took place between the Governor and Albuquerque,
to whom a present of fruit, &c., was sent on board by the former. The present, however, was
not accepted by Albuquerque, who required the unconditional submission of the town and the
transfer of allegiance to the King of Portugal.
The Governor being unprepared for resistance resolved to temporise, and humbly depre
cating the opening of hostilities and the destruction of the town, besought Albuquerque to pro
ceed to Hormuz and make terms with the King, promising that whether peace or war might
result there, Kilhat would nevertheless yield subjection to the King of Portugal. This evasive
reply was fully understood by Albuquerque; but as he was in urgent need of provisions he took
the advice of his officers and accepted the position until a more convenient opportunity. Before
leaving, Albuquerque gave a written guarantee of safety from attack by other Portuguese ships
in the name of the King Dom Manoel to the Governor, but he did not scruple to make prize
of an Aden
dow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
of 200 tons lying in the harbour which was held to ransom.
On Sunday, the 22nd August, Albuquerque weighed from Kilhat and sailed for Teywee,
which he had supposed to be a large port, but finding it merely a watering place he passed on to
Kooriyah, where he anchored for the night. The next day no boat came off from the shore,
and it was seen that the inhabitants had prepared for resistance. Albuquerque accordingly
reconnoitred the place in his boat and arranged his plan of attack for the following morning.
It was ascertained that the Arabs had two batteries, on one of which they had mounted four
mortars, and the attack was consequently concentrated on these points. The struggle was lone-
and severe, but the natives were ultimately driven out of their defences and pursued half
a league by the Portuguese, who slaughtered indiscriminately all the men, women, and children
they could reach. Some prisoners taken in the town had their ears and noses lopped off to
signalise the victory, and Kooriyah was plundered and set onfiri. Twenty-five firelocks
besides spears, bows and arrows, &c., were captured, and 38 vessels, large and small, lyin^ in
the port, were burnt.
Muscat, the next seene of destrnetion, was readied in fonr days after leavin'- Kooriyah
and was found to he a very formidable and well.fortified place. It is also described as bei'u.r
the principal port on that coast. The inhabitants had heard of the fate of Kooriyah and were
disinclined to expose their city to a similar catastrophe; they therefore did not'wait for •
summons to surrender, hut immediately on the arrival of the Heet sent off two of their chief men
to Albuquerque, offering submission to the King of Portugal, and promisinjr to aaree to
terms that might he demanded, D ' -
Albuquerque, finding they were unprovided with written power to treat from the Governor
sent them on shore again, desiring them to return on board the followino- day In th
time he sounded the harbour and reconnoitred the fortifications. It waslonnd that the Arab",
had constructed a rampart of wood and earth from hill to hill above the beaeh in front of th.
town and had mounted thereon a number of mortars. On the two Sheikhs visiting All™
querquo next day, hey were .nformed that they were required to pay an annual tribute and
furnish his fleet with supplies and water during the operations against Horning rT y
with the requisition for provisions was made at once; but during the night the inhabitanU were
About this item
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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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for the year 1884-85, published by Authority by the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta [Kolkata]. A copy of a letter from 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. , to Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to the Government of India (Foreign Department), dated 18 May 1885, is included in the report (folio 5), the original of which submitted the report to Government, under the following headings:
Part 1 ( General Summary ), written by Ross, dated 30 April 1885 (folios 6-11), 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; Persian Arabistan; Persian Baluchistan; and Bassidore. The report also records a marked increase in the slave trade to the Gulf from Africa; summaries of changes in official personnel; 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 1884-85 ), 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 (folios 12-23), containing a summary of affairs at Muscat, and an additional short report on the revival of the slave trade between Muscat and Zanzibar, a likely result, suggests Miles, of the departure of HMS London from Zanzibar. Appendix A is a report of Miles’s visit to Ras Fartak. Appendix B is an historical sketch, also written by Miles, on the Portuguese in Eastern Arabia.
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 1884 ), written by Ross and dated April 1885 (folios 24-59), comprising a short summary of the year’s trade, with notes on: grain; opium; cotton; tobacco; imported goods; the increase in piece goods; sugar; the activities of European firms in the Gulf; steamers; the Dutch Commercial Treaty; trade routes; naphtha springs; and pearl fishing. Appendix A comprises tabulated data on import, exports and revenue, in 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 25-26.
Part 4 (Trade [at Muscat]), submitted by Miles (folios 59-66), 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 (63 folios)
- Arrangement
The report is arranged into four numbered parts, with lettered appendices containing further reports and statistical data after each part.
- Physical characteristics
Condition: Some tears and holes in the paper, but not sufficient to impair legibility. Fold-out at f 10.
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 4, and ends on the last folio, on number 66.
Pagination: The volume contains an original typed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/V/23/47, No 207
- Title
- ‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1884-85.’
- Pages
- front, 3v:67r, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence