'The Penetration of Arabia a record of the development of Western knowledge concerning the Arabian Peninsula with illustrations from drawings, photographs, and maps by J. G. Bartholomew.' [‎308] (431/496)

308 arabia
The other exploration of Nejd which followed im
mediately on Pal grave's was undertaken in another
interest by a very different man. In certain respects
it is unique in the history of Arabian exploration.
On this occasion only has the official representative
of a European power ventured in virtue of his office
into the centre of the peninsula without concealment
of his nationality, his creed, or the nature of his
mission.
Colonel Lewis Pelly, British Resident at Bushire and
virtual controller of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , determined on
his own motion in 1864 to go up to Riad and have a
personal interview with the Wahabi Emir. It is pos
sible that Pal grave's recent action counted for some
thing in this decision. Pelly, however, speaks only
of his desire to clear up geographical problems and
smooth over certain difficulties lately created between
the Indian and Nejdean governments by the suppres
sion of the pirates of the Gulf and the slave-traders
of East Africa. The so-called "Trucial Chiefs" of
the Gulf coast, who both robbed the pearl fleet and ran
slave-cargoes, were at this time nothing more or less
than the Wahabi's creatures; and supported from in
ternal Arabia, they could not be brought so effectually
to book by British gunboats as when they had been
dependent only on their own resources. Oman indeed
had long been detached from them by British pres
sure; but it was another matter to coerce distant
Nejd. The Indian government, therefore, had wel
comed, we have seen, Ibrahim's conquest, and