'86/21 - II P.C.L. Exploration of Trucial Hinterland. B 51' [‎92r] (183/288)

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The file comprises correspondence between 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. (Trenchard Craven Fowle), 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 Bahrain (Hugh Weightman), 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 (Ralph Ponsonby Watts) and Petroleum Concessions Limited (Stephen Hemsley Longrigg) regarding arrangements for geologists from Petroleum Concessions Limited to undertake geological exploration at Jebel Faiyah [Jabal al Fāyah], Baraimi [Al Buraymī] and Jebel Hafit [Jabal Ḩafīt].

Possible routes of entry to the Baraimi Oasis through Sharjah, Muscat and Abu Dhabi are discussed along with the proposal to use two exploration parties which could meet up at the Oasis. One exploration party was sent from Muscat to Jebel Hafit and Baraimi with the assistance of the Sultan of Muscat (Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd) and escorted by the Wali of Sohar (Mudhaffar Suliman). The other, escorted by a political officer John Baron Howes, hoped to travel through Beni Kitab [Beni Qitab] territory and visit Jebel Faiyah before going on to Baraimi, but ultimately had to travel there directly from Abu Dhabi with the assistance of the Wali of Al Ain (Ibrāhīm bin ʻUthmān).

The remainder of the volume discusses the various intrigues and difficulties encountered by the exploration parties in attempting to negotiate with the principal tribes at the Baraimi Oasis in order to gain access to their territory for exploration. The tribes involved include the Na’im [Na‘īm] (Shaikh Saqr bin Sulṭān), Al Bu Shamis [Āl Bū Shāmis] (Shaikh Muḥammad bin Raḥmāh bin Salmin), Beni Ka’ab [Banū Ka‘ab] and Abu Dhabi.

Contained within the volume are detailed letters and reports submitted by John Baron Howes, Assistant 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 Bahrain, who had accompanied one of the exploration parties to Baraimi. The correspondence details the various negotiations to enable the parties to travel, incidents on route and day by day accounts of the exploration party’s work and their interactions with the various tribes there. Folios 131-141 comprise Howe’s official report of his special duty in connection with the PCL exploration party and includes two sketch maps, one of the geographical layout of the Baraimi Oasis and the other of the distribution of the various tribes around the Oasis. A detailed appendix lists every tribe residing at the Oasis and includes details of their leaders, strength of arms, where their main settlement was, and whether they were Ghafiri or Hinawari [Hinawi].

Also discussed are the lack of attempts made by the Shaikh of Sharjah to permit the geologists to visit Jebel Faiyah and subsequent attempts by Shaikh Khalid [Shaikh Khalid bin Aḥmad bin Sulṭān Āl Qasimī], Regent of Kalba to negotiate with Shaikh Muhammad bin Ali [Muḥammad bin ‘Īsá], Chief of the Beni Kitab to arrange for the PCL geologists to travel there. The negotiations were unsuccessful owing to the intrigues of various individuals on the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , which the British believed to be orchestrated by the Shaikh of Sharjah (Shaikh Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī).

Other matters discussed in the volume include:

• PCL’s wish to establish an aerodrome at Baraimi, and their subsequent decision to establish it nearer to the coast owing to the difficulties encountered at Baraimi and the likely cost of acquiring permission from the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (Shaikh Shakhbūt bin Sulṭān bin Zāyid Āl Nahyān);
• memorandum and reports from 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. Agent at Sharjah (‘Abd al Razzaq) on visits made by Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan, Ruler of Baraimi and Shaikh Mohammed bin Rahmah, Chief of the Al Bu Shamis to the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and of the various intrigues occurring on the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. in relation to the work of the geological exploration parties at Baraimi;
• the intention of the PCL geologists on their return to Muscat to travel to Ras-al-Hadd [Ra’s al Ḩadd] and undertake an aerial survey of the coastal area south of Ras-al-Hadd.

Extent and format

1 file (142 folios)

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-143; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in

English in Latin script

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