Skip to item: of 30
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part III)' [‎6r] (5/30)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 file (15 folios). It was created in 2 Dec 1881. 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

1
5
manders of Her Majesty's ships in the Gulf are
prohibited from hostile action within Turkish terri
tory or its waters without the consent or co-opera
tion of the Turkish authorities. Lord Cranbrook
would suggest that these instructions should be
modified, and that naval officers should be autho
rized, when so directed by the Resident in the Gulf,
to act in any particular case in such wise as may
be necessary for the capture and punishment of
marauders, collision with Turkish cruisers or troops
being, of course, scrupulously avoided.
" 21. If, upon further consideration. Lord Salis
bury should be prepared to acquiesce in the policy
above suggested, it might, Lord Cranbrook thinks,
be left to the discretion of Her Majesty's Ambas
sador at Constantinople either to intimate to the
Porte at once the determination of Her Majesty's
Government, or to await a remonstrance against
the action of the British authorities in some par
ticular case.
"22. The pretensions, however, which Abdullah
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , the Governor General of Bussorah, has lately
asserted to regard all ports in southern and eastern
Arabia, including Bahrein and Muscat, as Turkish,
should, in Lord Cranbrook's opinion, be distinctly
negatived, and the opportunity might, perhaps, be
taken of intimating plainly to the Porte that, so
far as eastern Arabia is concerned, to whatever
extent Turkish supremacy may eventually be
admitted by the littoral tribes north of Odeid, Her
Majesty's Government will not recognize its ex
tension over either the Trucial Chiefs, or the
Sultan of Muscat.
"23. I am, in conclusion, directed to state that
Lord Cranbrook concurs in the view which Lord
Salisbury takes of the proposal for a revision of
treaty relations between the British Government and
the Sheikh of Bahrein, the Trucial Chiefs, and the
Buler of Muscat, which, is contained in the India
letter of 22nd May last.*
" 24. It does not seem to Lord Cranbrook that
closer connection with those Arab potentates is
necessary or expedient in British interests, or that
any object, which cannot otherwise be obtained,
would be gained by exacting from them tribute or
any other formal recognition of British supremacy.
The policy of the Indian Government has always
been to abstain from interference in the disputes
and conflicts of the Arab tribes on land, and a
departure from that policy, to which closer rela
tions might very well lead, would almost certainly
result in embarrassment."
The essence of the foregoing letter is in the 14th
and 19th paragraphs, which amounted to a re
commendation that the officers of the Indian Go
vernment in 'me Gulf should be allowed the same
liberty of action in respect to the littoral tribes as
they "had exercised unquestioned up to the year
1871 or thereabouts.
While the matter was under consideration at the
Foreign Office, various papers were received from
6364. B

About this item

Content

A printed memorandum written and compiled by Adolphus Warburton Moore for the Political and Secret Department of the 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. , and dated 2 December 1881.

The document is a continuation of ' Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part II)' (IOR/L/PS/18/B19/2) and broadly addresses the same issues, namely, how to respond toTurkish claims to sovereignty along the southern coast of the Gulf that could potentially impinge on Britain's commitments with local rulers (in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) and their security responsibilities at sea (the suppression of piracy).

The document summarises correspondence from the previous two years (1879-1881) that had dealt with the matter, beginning with an outline of the opinions of officials from the main departments and institutions involved: the Foreign Office, the Government of India, and the 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. (whose opinion Warburton represents). Other correspondents include officials from the Residencies and Agencies in both the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. , as well as the Ambassador at Constantinople.

The documents cover several topics, including:

  • The threat to Bahrain from the Beni Hajir tribe and Ottoman ambitions to extend their sovereignty to the island, including the Turkish plan to build a coal depot on the island as a pretext to further political involvement;
  • Questions of how to police the waters under Turkish authority;
  • How Britain should deal with Shaikh Jasim [Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thāni] of El Bidaa [Doha];
  • Turkish claims to parts of the coast of Guttur [Qatar].

The document concludes with the perceived outcomes of the discussions, including closer ties with the ruler of Bahrain, who, in December 1880, agreed not to open relations with any foreign power other than Britain.

The author quotes extensively from the correspondence and other sources, notes on which are to be found in the margin throughout.

Extent and format
1 file (15 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation for this description commences at folio 4 and terminates at folio 18, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between folios 4-197; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the bottom right corner of each folio.

Pagination: the document also has an original printed 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

'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part III)' [‎6r] (5/30), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B19/3, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023807397.0x000006> [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_100023807397.0x000006">'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part III)' [&lrm;6r] (5/30)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023807397.0x000006">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000788.0x0003dd/IOR_L_PS_18_B19_3_0005.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_100000000788.0x0003dd/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image