Skip to item: of 150
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [‎281r] (35/150)

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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

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 POLITICAL AGENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. EOE THE TEAR 1899-2900.
27
fact that the localities most severely afieeted were those in which the most unfavourable
hygienic conditions hoth of the persons inhabiting them and their smroundioo-s abounded
Densely-peopled huts with barely any ventilation in them and situated in the vicinitv of
graveyards and mounds of rubb.sh and filth including human and other J
of decomposition, such as ^ 1" the suburbs of Jahru and Tnyau and the Arvaneh
quarter of the town contributed the largest number of victims to the disease. It was mo=t
rife in the tollowmg rotir loeiilities.
Names of localities.
Suburb of Tuyan . . . ,
„ of Jabiu . . . .
Aryaneh (a quarter of the town)
Baluchi quarter (a quarter of the town)
Number of attacks.
306
145
127
97
The total number of deaths in Maskat and Matrah together, as far as it hag been
Mortality. possible to ascertain, as due to cholera was 726,
giving a ratio of about 54 per cent, to attacks and
one of 2-9 per cent, to the population. This ratio of deaths to attacked was slio-htly more
than the usually accepted average of 50 per cent, and appears, in my opinion, to "have been
somewhat influenced by the nature of the treatment that was adopted in the majority of the
cases, for judging from the result of the comparatively few cases for which medical relief was
sought either at the hospital or with me in Matrah, which gives a ratio of only 2S , 8 per cent,
of deaths to attacked, there is reason to think that a more favourable result might have been
obtained had it been possible to induce the friends of many more of the attacked persons to
call for medical relief instead of their trusting to irrational remedies and measures. Even in
the case of such of the attacked poi sons a^ were treated by us^ a further reduction in the ratio
of mortality might have be< j n looked for had their friends been more prompt in calling for
medical relief and more persevering and regular in reporting the progress of such cases, for in
many instances it occurred that after the receipt of the first medicine or medicines no further
report was brought.
The number of deaths in Maskat was 274 giving a ratio of about 61 per cent, to the
Deaths in Maskat. attacked and one of 2 7 per cent, to the general
population, ihe rates ot mortality in proportion to
the attacked among all the three principal classes were very close to one another, the Arabs
having had it in the ratio of 63* 1 per cent., the Baluchis 60*4 per cent., and the Africanj 61*3
per cent. The slightly higher rate of mortality among the Arabs may have been to some
extent due to the practices of branding and bathing in cold water as remedial measures more
commonly resorted to by them than the other races. There were so few attacks among the
two indiau communities—the Muharnmadans and Hindus—that it would not be fair to
compare the rates of mortality among them with those among the other races.
As regards age, the rates of mortality among the gdults and children were much about
the same, having been in the ratio of 61 per cent, among the former and 60^ per cent, among
ths latter. In a sexual point of view, however, the mortality among men (65*4 per cent.)
was by far the largest, that among women having been only 56 , 2 per cent.
Although the number of attacks in the village of Sadab, which is principally inhabited
by fishermen and lower classes of Arabs, was smaller than in some of the other localities, the
mortality in it was proportionately much higher, giving the highest ratio ot 80 per cent, to
the attacked. Makalla, inhabited as it is by poor fishermen from Socotra, with only a few
attacks, gave also a high rate of mortality, namely, 75 per cent, whilst Takia and Tuyan
principally inhabited by Bciluchis were nearly alike in the ratio per cent, of mortality,
the former having had 67*4 per cent, and the latter 65*3 per cent. The smallest rate of mor
tality in proportion to the attacked was in the town of Maskat itself, which may be accounted
for partly by the fact of more attacked persons there having had recourse to our treatment
than in any other locality and partly by the fact of tbe people living in it being of a class
in better circumstances and therefore better able to command the necessary attendance and
comfort.
The ratio per cent, of deaths to attacked in Matrah compares rather favourably with that
in Maskat and is as near the average rate of
Deaths in Matrah. cholera mortality as it can be. There were in all
452 deaths giving a ratio per cent, of 50-7 to attacked against 274 deaths and a ratio per cent,
of 61 in Maskat. It is not easy to account satisfactorily for this great difference in the rates
of mortality in the two places, situated as they are so close to each other, and I can only
suggest in explanation the circumstance of the epidemic taken as a whole having begun and
ended in Matrah. It is a well-known fact that during the commencement and decline of an
epidemic of cholera particularly the latter cases often recover even without any treatment.
Besides, although the hygienic conditions in some of the localities, particularly in the suburbs,
in both the places are very much alike, Matrah being much opener has the advantage over
Maskat of obtaining more benefit from two of nature's greatest disinfectants li^ht and heat.
e 2

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 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
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [‎281r] (35/150), 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_100023626792.0x000025> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023626792.0x000025">‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [&lrm;281r] (35/150)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023626792.0x000025">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000358.0x0002f4/IOR_V_23_77_ No 379_0036.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000358.0x0002f4/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image