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'86/21 - II P.C.L. Exploration of Trucial Hinterland. B 51' [‎107r] (213/288)

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The record is made up of 1 file (142 folios). It was created in 18 May 1938-23 Dec 1938. 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. .

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Confidential
A
D.O. No. C/777-25/4
BUSHIRE 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. .
No
Date. mfc/.Vi.
■m.
3tol
CON FIDE KT1»L RECOMS
Dated the 15th December 1938*
/L
c^X.
^ V
The
In continuation of the correspondence resting with
my telegram No. 195 dated the 13th December 1938 I now forward
copies of three more letters received from Howes, dated the
5th, 7th ahd 9th December respectively, and also of the Resi-
-/.lUb-
dency Agent’s telegram No. 858 dated the 11th December 1938
A.auif •
and of his confidential letter No. C/859 dated the 9th December.
2. As you will see the Baraimi-Hafit-Dhahira exploration
has failed. I always had an uncomfortable feeling that Muscat
and Abu Dhabi aspirations would clash and that the exploration
programme might fail for this reason; and from Howes* reports
it seems this is exactly what has happened. Abu Dhabi’s in
fluence over the Na'im and the A1 Bu Shamis is at least as
strong as was expected and the Shaikh has not been paid to
use it favourably. All the same I had expected that the geo
logists would do better than this with the Na* im and the A1
Bu Shamis if they rattled the rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. in their pockets, and
it looks to me as if they have not rattled them sufficiently
loudly.
3. I cannot say I was enamoured of Howes* suggestion
in paragraphs 4 to 6 of his letter of the 7th December 1938
which he repeats in paragraph 4 of his letter of the 9th Decem
ber, but that suggestion does not require detailed consideration
now as the impression I gather from reports coming from Longrigg
to Packer is that the Baraimi party is returning via Abu Dhabi.
In fact they should be back in Sharjah any day now. I had a
telegram/-
Honourable Lieutenant-Colonel
Sir Trenchard Fowle, K.C.I.E., C.B.E.,
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. ,
Bushire

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Content

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:

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.

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English in Latin script
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'86/21 - II P.C.L. Exploration of Trucial Hinterland. B 51' [‎107r] (213/288), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/694, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024507716.0x00000e> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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