'File 19/191 III (C 56) Bahrain, Persian Claim To' [‎101v] (221/396)

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Persia; that the employment m English of the term
" Persian Gull" was itself evidence of this; that from
about 1300 A.D. the island of Bahrein had always been
in the possession of the Governors of Fars and had paid
revenue to them until its conquest in 1783 by the Uttabi
Arabs, from which tribe "itself, likewise, presents have
generally been sent to the Governors of Fars" ; that Her
Majesty's Government had recognised the position when
they warned Mehemet Ali of Egypt in 1840 not to attack
Bahrein, which did not form part of Arabia, but rather of
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; "and that accordingly the British Govern
ment would not allow him to extend the hand of possession
over that island " ; that the British authorities had formally
and repeatedly asked Persia to rent the island to them and
that British representatives at Tehran had frequently
declared that Her Majesty's Government had no right what
ever to the Gulf or its islands [there is no foundation for
either statement]; aud that the fact that Captain Bruce's
treaty was on record supported the Persian claim. The
following extract, which (except as regards the initial date)
appears correctly to represent the true facts, may, however,
be placed on record from the Prime Minister's memorandum :
" In the commencement of the reign of His Majesty the late
Shah, the Arabs of Beni Attabi came from the desert and
conquered the island by sea. The object and desire of the
Persian Government has since always been and is the
recovery of that island from its spoilers.''
49. Her Majesty's Government, in view of the unlikeli
hood that Persia had, or could'give effect to, any serious
designs in Bahrein and the undesirability of engaging in
those circumstances in a correspondence which might merely
cause irritation without serving any useful purpose,
instructed the Minister at Tehran not to revert to the
subject unless it was forced upon him by the Persian Prime
Minister. In that case he was to employ certain arguments
supplied to him (apparently the critical comments of the
Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. of the East India Company on the Prime
Minister's memorandum) to show generally the grounds on
No^SfTof e ^' H er Majesty's Government were " unable to recognise
7.81845. as va lid the claims advanced by Persia to the sovereignty of
Bahrein, and you may add that they would . . . very much
disapprove of any attempts on the part of Persia to interfere
in the affairs of that island and thus disturb the peace of
the Gulf and to afford an opening to piracy." The question
appears to have dropped for the time being.
1 veaty of Peace with
Tribu (1847).
t t ann £ ^ eanvv ^ e ' ex "^ e ^ 1 C^-ho in 1845 had unsuccess-
o ,877. a ^ tem Pted to capture Bahrein with the aid of the
t t ann n * s ) been invited in June 1846 by the Governor-
' 877 - G ener al of Fars to return to Bushire, where he should be
. r oon llb ® ral jy entertained " until ... the season for action had
Lor. I, 880. arrived, but he declined the invitation. In October 1846
the \\ahabi Amir asked the permission of the Resident to
call in the Irucial Sheikhs of the Arab littoral against
a rein. his was refused. A request by the ruling Sheikh
qv i V . be a } lowed to call in the assistance of the
bneikh of Debai against the Wahabis was equally refused in
.November 1846. In August 1847 a Treaty of Peaee was
concluded between the Wababi Amir and the ruling Sheikh,
4 M0 r dM, 1Ch e ru ling Sheikh agreed to pay a tribute of
' ''i?' 11 Wahabi Amir agreed not to
encourage the ex-Sheikh.
Slavery Treaty 1847.
entered into^Sl Ma rp cl1 ^er Majesty's Government
entered into a Slavery Treaty with the ruling Sheikh.