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‘Administration report of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1887-88.’ [‎17r] (31/72)

The record is made up of 1 volume (34 folios). It was created in 1888. 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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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 1887-88.
29
execution of these instructions, may perhaps place it in his power to acquire a great glory which prolongs the
memory of men beyond the duration of ages."
The Atalanta frigate, a famous ship in her day, was painted a bright yellow colour with
white mouldings, and was one of the swiftest and handsomest vessels of her class in the French
navy. She sailed from Mauritius on the 5th September 1803, and reached Muscat on the 3rd
October. On anchoring in the cove she was boarded by the Wali, who, on being made
acquainted with the purport of M. de Cavaignac^s mission, informed that gentleman that
Seyyid Sultan was absent in the interior, being engaged in operations against the Wahhabees;
he promised, however, that immediate intimation should be sent to him of the Atalanta s
arrival, and, in the meantime, offered M. de Cavaignac the hospitality of a house on shore. At
this time the Resident, Captain Seton, was absent on duty, having sailed in the Ternate
in the beginning of September for another part of the Gulf, and^he French envoy, therefore, had
a fair opportunity of making friends with the leading Arabs, and of pressing the advantages of
a French alliance. It was in his favour also that the commercial intercourse so long existing
with Mauritius had caused the formation of a strong French party in the town, as he was able
to depend on the influence of these partizans at the palace, and it was from them that he first
learned of the existence of the treaties of 1798 and 1800.
Congrataluting himself, therefore, on the opportune absence of his adversary, the English
Resident, M. de Cavaignac entertained for some days high hopes of procuring a favourable
reception and of succeeding in his mission.
Seyyid Sultan returned to Muscat on the morning of the 12th October 1803. He had
been engasred in contending and negociating with the Wahhabee General, but on receiving his
Wali's letter had started at once for Muscat, firmly resolved upon the course he would adopt
with Napoleon's agent.
The captain of the Atalanta, on hearing of Seyyid Sultan's arrival, sent two of his
officers to convey his respects and compliments, and to ask for an interview. The officers were
civilly received, and on being questioned as to the object of the Atalanta's visit replied that it
was desired to establish a French 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. at Muscat, and that an officer appointed to act as
Consul by the French Government was on board the vessel. The same afternoon Seyyid
Sultan sent two Arab officials on board, with instructions to acquaint the Captain and
M. de Cavaignac that His Highness could not receive a French Agent and Consul on account of
the engagements recently entered into with the English, and that he declined an interview to
discuss the subject; but that, as he wished to remain on friendly terms with the French, his
harbours would always be open, as before, to their vessels, and that he would be happy
to listen to any proposals they had to make on commercial matters. In dictating this
diplomatic message, Seyyid Sultan was no doubt actuated by a keen regard for his country's
interests. While fearful of offending the French, the remembrance of Captain Malcolm^s
arguments and the momentous events that had occurred since his (Malcolm's) visit, such as the
evacuation of Egypt by the French army, and the triumphs of Lord Lake in India, had
created a deep impression on the Prince's mind, and must have convinced him more than ever
as to the incomparably greater importance to the Arabs of the English over the French
alliance.
The tone of the message must have shown M. de Cavaignac the hopelessness of argument
and representation on his part, as he does not appear to have again sought an interview, but it
was a bitter disappointment to him, for his Arab friends had made him sanguine of success, and
be had doubtless been anticipating in his mind the approbation of Napoleon.
Reluctant, however, to abandon so easily the mission with which he had been charged, he
waited in the harbour for one more day and then, under cover of the darkness of midnight on
the 13th, the Atalanta's broad sails bore her out of the port, and by the morning she was
nowhere to be seen.
This attempt closed for the time French" political intercourse with Muscat, and it was not
renewed until Seyyid Saeed sent a mission to the Isle of France after the murder of Seyyid
Bedr in 1807.
But the French privateers nevertheless did not cease to make Muscat a rendezvous and
base for their operations against British shipping in the Persian and 'Oman Gulfs, and great
was the depredation committed by them.
During the ten years of Seyyid Sultan's reign, from 1793 to 1804, the loss inflicted on
British trade in the Indian Ocean was not less than 250 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , or about three
millions sterling.

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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. (no 245, Foreign Department serial no 20) for the year 1887-88, published by Authority and printed by the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta [Kolkata]. A copy of a letter from 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. and Her Britannic Majesty’s Consul-General for Fars, to Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to the Government of India (Foreign Department), dated 14 June 1888, is included in the report (folio 4), the original of which submitted the report to Government, under the following headings:

Part 1 (General Summary), submitted by Ross (folios 5-11), containing numbered summaries of local political affairs, and incidents or events of particular note for: 1) Muscat state; 2) Oman pirate coast; 3) El-Bahrain (referred to as Bahrain in the text); 4) El-Katr [Qatar]; 5) Nejd, El-Hasa [Al-Hasa]; 6) Fars and the Persian Coast, including Shiraz, Bushire and its districts, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; 7) Persian Arabistan; and 8) Persian Baluchistan. The report also includes summaries for: 9) Climatic observations, recorded by the observatory at Bushire, and 10) British actions against the slave trade. Appendix A contains tabulated 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 1887-88 ), submitted by A. S. Jayakar, Surgeon Major in Charge of the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. (folios 12-18), containing a summary of affairs at Muscat, under the headings: political affairs, official changes, and slave trade. Appendix A to Part 2 is a sketch of the career of Seyyid Sultan bin Ahmed, the Imam Muscat, written by Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles.

Part 3 ( Report on the trade of South Persia for the year 1887-88 ), submitted by Ross and dated 15 April 1888 (folios 18-30). The report comprises a short summary of the year’s trade, with notes on: exports (opium, tobacco, cereals); imports (Manchester [cotton] goods, sugar, metals and rice); shipping; exchange; custom; and notes supplied by Lieutenant Vaughan on the economic state at Yezd [Yazd], where Ross advocates the establishment of a British agent. Appendix A comprises tabulated data on import, exports and revenue, in the Gulf ports of Bushire, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e ʻAbbās, Bahrain and the Arab (Oman) coast. An index to the trade tables can be found at folio 20.

Part 4 ( Muscat trade report for the year 1887-88 ), submitted by Jayakar (folios 30-36), comprising a brief summary of the year’s trade at Muscat, and also 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 (34 folios)
Arrangement

The report is arranged into four numbered parts, with lettered appendices containing further reports and statistical data coming after each part. The General Summary is further organised into numbered sections, and further divided into paragraphs which are also numbered, from 1 to 99.

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 3, and ends on the last folio, on number 36.

Pagination: The volume contains an original typed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘Administration report of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for 1887-88.’ [‎17r] (31/72), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/53, No 245, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023626725.0x000021> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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