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‘Report on the administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1884-85.’ [20v] (36/130)
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.
34
ADMDTI.STEATIOK REPOBT OF THE PERSIAN' GULF POLITICAL
proKction of ^Portagtuse. This
eTentoallj issued for the vessels engaged in craL-iD 0 ]
Man deb to touch occasionally at Dhofar.
Ihe second appearance of the Turks was in 1552, six years later, when a more formidable
fleet, under Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
, Capudan of Egypt, which had been despatched from Lgypt by the
Sultan in retaliation for the assistance rendered by the fleet under Dom Antao de^oronha to
the rebel Arabs at Busrah the year before, anchored in the port of Muscat. Ihe in-tructions
given to the Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
had b^en to proceed direct to Busrah, and from thence, in conjunction
with the force awaiting him there, to sail to Hormuz and reduce it to submission. The com
mandant of Hormuz, Alvaro de Noronha, on hearing of the intended expedition, despatched one
of his men in disguise to Shehr to collect information ; the spy confirmed the report, whereupon
Noronha ordered'two vessels to watch Ka-el-Had, and on sighting the Turkish fleet to set sail
with the news, one for Goaand the other for Hormuz. Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
after some months of pre
parations set sail from Suez in July 1552, his fleet consisting of oO sail^ galWs, Bashdeider
golletas, and galleons. On pearing the Gulf of Oman he sent forward his son with five ships
to reconnoitre; this advanced guard nearly captured Noronha^s two vesselfi, but they managed to
escape and carried the news to Goa and Hormuz. In the chase of one of these vessels, Piri ; s
son had been led as far as Ras Mussendom, and on turning back he found his father had already
arrived with the rest of the fleet and had anchored at Muscat.
The commandant of Muscat at this time was Dom Joao Da Lisboa, who had been sent out
specially by the King of Portugal with orders to erect a fortress to command the town and
harbour. This fort had only been commenced about three months previously and was still
unfinished ; the Governor, however, well knowing that the Turks would attack him, hastily pro
visioned it and threw himself into it with his little garrison of 60 men, after sending off his
wife and other ladies in a boat to Hormuz.
The first action of the Turkish Admiral was to sack the town, which was undefended. He
then turned his attention to the fort, which, as it was too strong for assault, laid siege to and
managed to bombard by hauling one of his guns up to a height which commanded it. For
eighteen days the Portuguese defended themselves vigorously, but provisions and water
having failed, the Govern r was induced by a renegade named John deBarrea in the employ
of Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
to open negociations for the surrender of the fort. An interview was accord
ingly arranged between Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
and the Governor, at which the
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
solemnly guaranteed
the life and liberty of the garrison on the condition of immediate capitulation, declaring that the
honour of capturing a Portuguese fort was sufficient for him.
The faithless Turk, however, did not abide by his promises, for, after massacring the other
prisoners, he treacherously chained da Lisboa and part of the garrison to the galleys. Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
having shipped his booty and the Portuguese guns, sailed for Hormuz, where he landed
and plundered the town without resistance. The fort, however, held out, and the
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
after
bombarding 1 it for 20 days, and finding he could make no impression, was obliged to raise the
siege. An offer made by the
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
to hold his Muscat prisoners to ransom''was declined by
the Governor, Alvaro deNoronha, but the Turk nevertheless generously released the wife of
Dom Joao daLkboa, who had been captured off Khar Fakan, while endeavouring to effect her
escape.
The delay caused by the protracted operations at Muscat had afforded an opportunity to
the merchants of Hormuz of removing their families and property to the Island of Kishm of
which full advantage had been taken ; thither accordingly Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
now steered hi s fleet 'and
waa rewarded by the d.scovery of immense booty. He took many captives, including a Spanish
Jew named Solomon, who was reputed to be the richest merchant of Hormuz.
Meanwhile the Portuguese fleet despatched from Goa had arrived in the Gulf and .oon
cha^l the Turks ura. Basra but Piri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
fearful of losing the treasure he had acquired,
abandoned his command and fled to Egypt w.th three galleys, where he was immediately seized
and put to death, a report of his conduct having reached the Sultan from Basra.
In August the following year, 1553, another expedition left Basra m„l„, il, , .
MooradBeg, formerly Governor o! Katuf, who had instructions to proceed to the Red's? t
oppose a Portuguese fleet which was then cruising off Jedda Tt„. T, l ' l.
ever, had been closely watched by the Captain-MaioV Din J M , movements, how-
Moorad Bog's Kjuadron of 15 galleys and two barges betweerrMnL T'"i lnterce P ted
almost annihilated it. After a desperate eno-aspement thp T u- u U 0m njam, ant *
night and hurried back to Ba.ra. e "= a ^t ^ Turkish remnants escaped in the
About this item
- 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 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