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'The Middle Eastern question or some political problems of Indian defence' [‎51v] (107/616)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (306 folios ). It was created in 1903. It was written in English and French. 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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yo BRITISH TRADE AND RUSSIAN COMPETITION
In so far as Russian influence was exerted to promote
these important reforms, it unquestionably conferred
a considerable boon upon the trade of all foreign
nations as well as upon the internal trade of Persia.
But this was not the sole object of Russia in lending
her support to the Belgium Customs administration.
In Teheran and in the North, where her ascendency
was too firmly established to require adventitious aid,
the Belgians were careful to preserve outward appear
ances, and in spite of occasional complaints, they did
not on the whole show any systematic unfairness in their
dealings with foreign traders of whatever nationality.
In the South and in the East, however, the part they
had to play was a very different one. Russian interests
in those regions not having yet materialised, the
Belgian Customs officials had to prepare the way for
them, and, pending their advent in a positive shape, at
least counteract the growth of hitherto predominant
British interests and obstruct their consolidation. I shall
show later on, in dealing with the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and
with Seistan, how zealously they have applied them
selves to the task set before them. Not that, in my
opinion, we have any right to complain. It is in
evitable that Russia, to whom the Customs have been
pledged, should make the most of the special interest
she is entitled to take in their administration, and
should insist even upon their administration being
shaped in accordance with her own political aims.
Unless she can rely entirely upon the devotion of the
Belgians, she may easily be tempted, as the margin
of her security diminishes with each additional loan, to
insist upon taking the direct control of the Customs
into her own hands, even in the absence of any specific
default. The Belgians, too, know perfectly well that

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Content

The volume, written by Valentine Chirol and printed in London by John Murray in 1903, is based on a series of letters written by Chirol during a journey through Persia and the Persian Guf, that appeared in The Times in 1902 and 1903.

The main topics are: the concept of 'Middle East'; the Baghdad Railway; the British role in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Russian influence over Persia; the border of Afghanistan; the North-East Frontier of India, and Tibet. An appendix at the back of the volume contains copies of international treaties, and documents in French on the Baghdad Railway.

The volume contains numerous illustrations and three maps:

  • 'Sketch Map of the Borderlands of India';
  • 'Sketch Map of Asia showing railway expansion';
  • 'Sketch map of Persia and adjoining countries'.
Extent and format
1 volume (306 folios )
Physical characteristics

The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'The Middle Eastern question or some political problems of Indian defence' [‎51v] (107/616), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/G43, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023644752.0x00006c> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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