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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [‎270r] (13/150)

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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EESIDENCY AKP MASKAT POLITICAL A GEJJCY FOR THE TEAR 1899-1900. 5
MisedTn TODsequence^ T^S u U m oTMuskat'rl n0mm , er ^ ia !_ law have hefi "
are interested in the matter, which seemed likely atonrtime t'o rfve ^sfto
serious complications, and is, in fact, not yet settled.
Small-pox has been prevalent on the Arab Coast; hut there have not as
Chiefs^lare dtoHlurine the veap 8 of , cho ' era ° r Plagu'e. None of tie Trucial
mention regarding them 7 Under rep0rt ' aud there is ^1 to
4.—BAHREIN.
In September, a serious outrage was committed on some British Indian
subjects by the Sheikh s 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. , a man named Sharida, who, with his son
siZuSr- ll " , Sl " ih li " ,l "»-b..uhj
Considerable difficulties have been experienced in the discbarge of cargoes
from the mail steamers of the British Indian Steam Navigation Company, and
much pilfering of property lodged in the or Customs godown has been
complained of. 0
Ag a Muhammad Rahim, our Native News Agent, died at Bushire, where
he had come to obtain medical advice, and Mr. Gaskin, Extra Assistant to the
Resident and Vice-Consul, has been deputed to Bahrein, as a temporary
measure, without vacating his permanent appointment. Aga Muhammad
Rahim had done much useful work for 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. , but he had been for some
time in tailing health, and could not attend properly to his duties.
V
5.—EL-NEJD.
We have heard very little of the state of affairs in that part of Arabia,
and I would repeat the observation made in last year's report, recommending
that some one should be deputed to travel there and obtain information of
what is going on,
6.—KOWEIT.
I have not been myself to Koweit during the year under report, but it has
been visited occasionally by British men-of-war, and by the R. I. M. S.
Lawrence. The Sheikh appears to have enjoyed good health, and nothing
particular has occurred.
7.—PERSIAN ARABISTAN.
I went to Ahwaz in November, and met Sir H. M. Durand, Her Majesty's
Minister at Tehran, who had travelled via Ispahan over the new trade route
connecting that place and the Karun river. I was accompanied by Mr. W.
McDouall, Her Majesty's Vice-Consul, Mohamtnerah, and Mr. A, B. Taylor,
one of the partners of Messrs. Lynch Brothers, who had met the Minister on
his way, was also present. Various questions connected with the navigation
of the Karun and the opening up of the river and land routes were discussed.
Sir Mortimer Durand had interviewed all the leading Bakhtiari Chiefs, through
whose territory the road passes, and had explained the advantages which would
probably result to them and their people from it, when it is once in full use.
I gathered that the want of forage is at present an obstacle, and that the
muleteers, who are now plying on the Ispahan-Shiraz and Bushire route, are
reluctant to adopt a new one, on which it seems doubtful if they will obtain
supplies for themselves, and their animals, and protection against attacks by
the wild mountaineers who inhabit the Bakhtiari country. After a few days
at Ahwaz, Sir H. M. Durand proceeded in the Persian river boat, the Shushan,
to Shuster, from which he returned vid Dizful to Tehran. At present
the prospects in Arabistan are exceedingly flourishing, and if the embargo on
export of wheat is removed, the prosperity of the district should rapidly
increase.
8.—PARS AND PERSIAN COAST.
The Pirman Firma was succeeded as Governor-General of Fars by the
Nizam-ul-Mulk who has remained in power throughout the year.

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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.

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English in Latin script
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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [‎270r] (13/150), 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_100023626792.0x00000f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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