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‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1884-85.’ [‎18v] (32/130)

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. .

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80
a trail of blood and flame. For five years the Arabs appear to have been left unmolested by
their new foes, and in the meantime they had leisure to rebuild theii towns, an to wa c , as ey
doubtless did, with interest the proceedings of their ruthless invaders at Hormuz an in
India.
In 1512, Diogo Fernandes deBega, who had been sent to demolish the fort at Socotra
which had been found useless for the purpose it was intended to serve, came to Hormuz and
Muscat to receive the tribute agreed upon with the King. It had been the intention of
Albuquerque, who had in the meantime become the second \iceroy of India, to return to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. this year with deBega, but circumstances prevented his doing so until two years
later, when he sailed from Goa with a fleet of 14 sail of the line and 13 smallei vessels. On
the 21st March 1515 hesighted land near Ras-el-Nad, and four days latci aiiived at Koonyah.
Here he found an armada from Hormuz on the look-out for pirates, and deciding not to molest
it he moved on to Muscat, where he anchored for two days to take in provisions and water. Ihe
Persian Governor or Agent here at the time was Rais Hamed, a nephew of Rais Noor-ul-Din,
one of the officers of the King of Hormuz, and Albuquerque was mucii exercised at observing
his tyrannical behaviour over the people. He appears, however, to have behaved civilly enough
to the Portuguese, having doubtless a lively recollection of what had occurred seven yearg
before.
Having completed the conquest of Hormuz, the Viceroy prepared to turn his face
southwards, and appointed his relative, Pedro d'Albuquerque, commandant of the fort with
a strong garrison to overawe the city. It was the last important act of his life, for he
was very ill when he set sail, and as it turned out on his death-bed, and the " terrible Albu
querque, " as he was called, died the day of his arrival off the bar of Goa, his end being hastened
by the news he had received of his supersession and recall by the King.
DeBarros gives a curious and detailed account of the revenue and expenditure of Hormuz
at this time. He says that on the coast of Arabia the chief town was Kilhat, the Governor
and Customs Master at which overruled those in the other towns in the principality. The reve
nue collected and remitted by Kilhat to Hormuz was 19,200 Sherafins, equal to 5,760 dollars,
which was contributed in the following proportions: Kilhat paid 11,000 Ashrafis, Muscat
4 ,000, Sohar 1,500, Khor Fakan 1,500, Dibba 500, and Lima 700. The Julfar district, or
Pirate coast, also paid 7,500, and in addition to the above the boats engaged in the pearl fishery,
which were compelled to go to Hormuz to take out passes, contributed 1,500 Ashrafis. The
Oman revenue thus came to 28,200 Ashrafis. The total revenue of Hormuz is said to have
been 198,078 Ashrafis, or $59,423.
The same writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. also gives us a glimpse at the political state of Oman at this time, from-
which we learn that the Imam Muhommad possessed undisputed spiritual and temporal power
m all parts, and that the chief cities in Oman proper, which was the most populous district
were Manh, Nezwa, and Behla, each of which was fortified and had its own ^^-independent
King who ruled in a sort of republic. These chieftains had formed a league to protect them
selves against the Benjaber, a predatory tribe and the most powerful in Arabia, who used to raid
Oman every year at the date season. The Imam had to buy them off from plunderino- his
territories by an annual tribute.
Intermediate between the above towns and the seaboard were other Sheikhdoms who were
continually at feud with the Persian garrisons, a state of distraction which of course operated
m favour of the Portuguese. Who these Benjaber were that appeared so formidable is an
enigma that remains unsolved. " ' '
■ After the subjection of Hormuz three places ou the Arab coast-m„ Kilhah, Muscat, aud
Sohar-became statrous for the Portuguese factors aud merchauts who were appoiuted aud
controlled from Hormuz. They were sufficently protected by the visits of thJ King's ships
from Indra winch touched at these places on the.r way to Hormuz aud Bahrein, and as no ve sel
under a na ive lag was suffered to cross the ocean without a pass, they bad practically
control of all seaborne commerce, aud thus commanded the markets. But it does not appear that
any garrisons were yet stationed on the Oman coast. In the veir 1 ^1Q fV « . , ! V
Portuguese prestige in the gulf occurred at Kilhat, and was due as sLTthW n' t0 ^
to an unwise meddling in local politics. The King of Hormuz happening to L 7 are due ^
the Governor of Kilhat, Reis Shehab-ul-Dm, and being unable to -et him ' f ^ a gainst
sought the aid of Dom Garcia deContinho, the Portuguese commanfl d ! p 8 ^ be -
ingly directed the Captain-Major or Naval Chief of the squadron Dulrfp \T ^^accord-
cellos, to arrest Shehab-ul-Dm and bring him to Hormuz. This order ho . . eVascon -
' eve r, Duarte Mendes

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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
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‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1884-85.’ [‎18v] (32/130), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/47, No 207, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023600941.0x000022> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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