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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [‎269r] (11/150)

The record is made up of 1 volume (60 folios). It was created in 1900. 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 MASKAT POLITTPAT Ar*!?!wnrr -n/^
"'^L AGE.VCT FOR THE TEAR 1899-1900. 3
complete, and I am in hopes that it will shortlv I ip ir, f.,11 t
time, passengers' personal baggage has been disinfeeted. as to a^possU,"'W
ster ted "here, wewere asked b^the Persian ^Go v ern yen ^ ^ arran Sements were
^ tho^h „« rroi «
a ]i ( . ar 2. 0 es nrp kent . f.®? , e to ? et t,,e order withdrawn,
exniied The rtaUer has ^npatmll 6 ^ 18101 ! t le ful1 l ,eriod of quarantine has
Mmister at Tehran l bee,l 1 brou ? l ' t ^ the notice of Her Majesty's
rfTnconTCni^noT and hMdshi^ t^Buropeanf" w'ho li::e Ca l USed '
times, to the extremes of heat and cold with very insnfficient^protTetbn In
See sary fo'S^tlnd ", 0 !" 0f the G -—t of In'dia, that it was
the isdaml an^ that it wouId be snffide^t 1 ft r «u^h Jas? ^ mail
rI 1 ela S 0 s n a t0 d Pr 2 eS r t l themS t? I 8 " 7 f0r exarai " a «™- The disXcUon betweVa
1st class and 2nd class and deck passengers excited, however, some feelin-
amongst the Persians, and in consequence of representations made to Her
Majesty s Represeotative a Tehran, the arrangement was allowed to lapse, ail
passengers having to go to the Quarantine Station.
Currency. —I regret to say that nothing has been done to improve the
currency of Southern Persia which remains in the unsatisfactory condition
noticed in my report last year. The « Bijecks " or notes issued bv the Bushire
Trading Company, having partly been called in, there appears to be some
prospect .of the Bushire Trading Company being eventually put an end to.
Arrangements of the Custom House. —I reported last year the assumption
j i P eiia ^ -^ an k of Persia of the management of the Bushire Customs
and. the subsequent withdrawal of the Bank control in consequence of the
repayment by the Persian Government of the loan made by the Bank. Since
then the Customs have been farmed by the Darya Begi. On the 21st of March
1900 the control of the Customs were taken under direct management, being
worked by Belgian officials serving under the Persian Government. It is
stated that they will not, at first, enhance the rate for native-owned goods,
or interfere with vested interests, and if this is the case, the new arrangements
may turn out satisfactory and increase the revenue of the Persian Government,
without exciting much opposition.
Settlement of Claims for Compensation, —I regret to report that, in spite
of incessant efforts, we have been able to do very little towards the settlement
of the numerous claims against the Persian Government on the part of British
subjects and proteges, some of which have been pending for years. I have
addressed the Government of India and Her Majesty's Minister at Tehran
on this subject.
Tours during the year. —After my return from Maskat and Bahrein in
the beginning of March 1899 I remained at Bushire till the middle of August,
when I was allowed to go to Karachi, from which 1 returned on the 20th
September. In October I went to Bahrein, and at the end of that month left
lor Ahwaz, where I met Her Majesty's Minister, Sir H. M. Durand, who had
travelled down from Tehran to inspect the Ahwaz-Ispahan route. Soon after
wards I started on a tour along the Arab Coast, visiting Bahrein a second
time, and meeting nearly all the Trucial Chiefs and the Sultan of Maskat.
On my return journey I visited Bunder Abbas and Bassidore. I have recently
paid a short visit to Mohammerah, and saw Sheikh Khazal and Mr. McDouall,
the Vice-Consul.
2.—OMAN—MASKAT.
Major C. G. F. Fagan, I .S.C., was 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. up to the 27th
September, when he was relieved by Captain P. Z. Cox, who has held charge
for the rest of the year. The principal events at Maskat have been briefly as
follows:—
At the beginning of the financial year, the Sultan's subsidy was being
withheld in consequence of certain events which had taken place during the
previous year, and payment was not renewed until November; when the
B 2

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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 Muskat [Muscat] Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1899-1900, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India (Calcutta), forming part of the Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, and based on reports sent to Government by 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and 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. at Muscat.

The report is divided up into a number of sections and subsections, as follows:

Part 1, is a General Summary (folios 268-71) written by 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm John Meade:

  • Section 1: entitled General , includes: a report on the year’s rainfall and harvest; the Governorship of Bushire; public peace and tranquillity in and around Bushire; public health and measures to restrict cholera and the plague in the Gulf; Persian currency; customs house arrangements in Bushire; compensation claims; and the Resident’s tours through the region during the year;
  • 2: Oman – Muscat: including: a change in personnel, with the role of 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. being taken over by Captain Percy Zachariah Cox from Major Christopher George Forbes Fagan; the Sultan of Muscat’s finances; French proposals to construct a coal depot in Muscat; use of the French flag by Muscat vessels; association of the French flag with the arms and slave trades; the impact of cholera and plague in the region;
  • 3. Oman – Pirate coast, including: a list of the those shaikhs in the region who have met with the Resident in the past year; Arab-Persian relations over Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and the expulsion of Persians from that port; the discovery of a large pearl at Kumzār and its subsequent sale for a lower-than-expected price; the prevalence of smallpox on the Arab coast;
  • 4. Bahrain, including: the wounding of two British-Indian subjects; difficulties discharging cargoes in Bahrain; and the death of Aga Muhummad Rahim, the Native News Agent in Bahrain;
  • 5. El-Nejd, with no report due to the recommendation that no one be deputed to travel there;
  • 6. Koweit [Kuwait]: no particulars reported;
  • 7. Persian Arabistan: the navigation of the Kārūn river, and opening up of river and land routes for trade;
  • 8. Fars and Persian coast: Bandar-e Lengeh in Persian hands; the arrival of the British Vice-Consul for Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās];
  • 9. Persian Baluchistan: delays in compensation claims against the murder of Mowladad Khan; a change in the Directorship of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Telegraphs Department; rumours of a revolt against the Shah in Persian Baluchistan;
  • 10. Slave Trade: numbers of slave captured and manumitted during the year;
  • 11. Piracy: cases of piracy reported during the year, with details of where and against whom they were committed;
  • 12. Navy: details of the movements of British naval vessels (Sphinx, Lapwing and Pigeon) and significant foreign vessels, including Russian warship Gilyak;
  • 13. Official Changes: changes in British personnel;
  • 14. Changes among foreign representatives, with particular reference to German, French and Dutch representatives.

An appendix to part 1 (folios 272-75) includes statistical tables comprising meteorological data for the region; dispensaries in Bushire and data for the numbers of patients, diseases, surgical operations and income and expenditure of the 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. dispensary.

Part 2 (folios 276-78) is a separate report from the Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , written by Cox, with reports on events in Muscat, Rostak [Rustāq], Sohar, Soor [Sur], and Dhofar [Z̧ufār], including: accidental shootings by Wahabee [ Wahhābī A follower of the Islamic reform movement known as Wahhabism; also used to refer to the people and territories ruled by the Al-Saud family. ] tribesmen; the appearance in Muscat of cholera and the plague; British and foreign naval movements in Muscat; and a statistical overview of manumission applications heard at the agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. .

Appendix A to Part 2 (folios 278v-85) is a detailed report with statistical data on the cholera epidemic in Muscat and Oman, written by the Lieutenant-Colonel Atmaram Sadashiv Jayakar, Chief Surgeon at Muscat. Jayakar’s report contains historical data on outbreaks of cholera in Muscat, symptoms of the disease, mortality statistics, treatment and its results, preventative and sanitation measures. Civil hospital and dispensary statistics follow on folios 285v-287v.

Part 3 (folios 288) is a trade report of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for 1899, written by Meade. Its appendices (folios 289-328) comprise tables showing the value of all goods imported and exported to and from various parts of the Gulf region, and the numbers of vessels (with figures on tonnage) of various nationalities plying their trade in the region in each port.

Part 4 (folios 329-30) is a separate trade report with statistical data for Muscat for 1899-1900.

Part 5 (folios 331-35) is a trade report for Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and the Kārūn river for the year 1899.

Extent and format
1 volume (60 folios)
Arrangement

The report is arranged into a number of sections and subsections, with statistic data in tabular format directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (f. 267) which lists the report’s contents in alphabetically ascending order, and refers to the report’s own pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [‎269r] (11/150), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/77, No 379, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023626792.0x00000d> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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