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File 1508/1905 Pt 1 'Bahrain: situation; disurbances (1904-1905); Sheikh Ali's surrender; Question of Administration Reforms (Customs etc)' [‎91r] (186/531)

The record is made up of 1 volume (260 folios). It was created in Nov 1904-Aug 1914. It was written in English and French. 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^
No. 128, dated Bushire, the 11th (received 20 th) March 1905.
From— Major P. Z. Cox, C.I.E., Officiating 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,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
In continuation of a report forwarded under this office No. 119, dated 4th
instant, I have the honour to submit, for consideration, certain problems con
nected with the administration of government in Bahrein in the immediate
future.
2. My previous communication will probably be considered to demonstrate
that Sheikh Esa, for the time being at any rate, has been brought to a sense of
his obligations so far as his attitude towards the Government of India is
concerned, and that he appears personally anxious to encourage in us the
belief that he now realises that he connot live in complete prosperity unless he
is in accord with His Excellency’s Government. This is no doubt satisfactory
so far as it goes, but it is a consideration quite apart from the question of the
Sheikh’s fitness as a Ruler.
In paragraphs 19 and 20 of my report No. 421, dated 17th December, I
recorded sufficiently plainly, my impressions of Sheikh Esa in this role and of
his son Sheikh Hamed as his successor-designate in the government, and the
incidents of the last fortnight have certainly given me no cause to alter my
views.
The report of proceedings indeed shows that even if he had the mind the
Sheikh apparently had not the power, to deliver up a single one of the ten
common roughs whose expulsion was demanded, nor even sufficient resolution
to make any serious attempt to prevent their escaping from Bahrein. This
surely is convincing proof of the infirmity of his government.
3. Under the circumstances I venture to express the opinion that on public
grounds it cannot he regarded otherwise than as a matter for considerable
regret that the exigencies of imperial politics do not admit of our making our
moral protectorate over Bahrein into an open and effective one at the present
juncture. Certain it is that we are extremely unlikely, in the present genera
tion, to be provided with such manifest and cogent grounds for so doing as we
now have. On the other hand by applying the sponge, as it were, and giving the
present regime a new lease of life, especially at a time when we are witnessing
a gradual increase in the European community in Manama for whom we
practically accept, before foreign powers, as much responsibility as if we had a
complete protectorate, we shall largely increase our administrative risks and
difficulties. In fact I do not see what we can reasonably expect except periodical
trouble, from a continuation of our laudable endeavours to carry on the
government of the island through the rule of a chief who has shown himself
to possess few if any of the qualifications necessary for the maintenance of
order and the security of the person and of trade in a flourishing sea port like
Manama.
4. If I may be pardoned for a few moment’s digression at this point,
I would observe that I am not by any means the first political officer, from
Colonel Sir Lewis Belly downwards, upon whom the vision has impressed itself
of a suitable tract of territory in our effective occupation which would form a
convenient centre of British influence in these waters ; and, following this line
of thought, a Bahrein under British rule, with the improved pier and harbour
accommodation, which I believe it to be capable of providing under expert
exploitation, offers to my mind considerable possibilities.
This is no doubt too visionary and remote a contingency for lively
consideration at the present time, nevertheless it can hardly be gainsaid that
the activity of Belgian Customs Officials and the efforts of representatives of
foreign powers in keen competition with us, display a common tendency to
assail our privileged position in many small matters and a natural desire to

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Content

The volume contains correspondence relating to disturbances in Bahrain and the consequent discussion over administrative changes. The correspondence is mostly between 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. , the Foreign Office, and the Government of India. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, is from the following:

The disturbances centred around attacks on a German man and several Persians by Shaikh Isa's nephew, Ali bin Ahmed, and his followers in late 1904. The papers within the volume cover several matters related to these attacks:

  • the investigation into the details of the attacks;
  • the discussion over what to do about Ali bin Ahmed and his eventual exile;
  • British naval operations to enforce order;
  • Turkish claims that Shaikh Isa believes himself to be a Turkish subject;
  • the discussion over increased administrative intervention in Bahrain, specifically control of customs.
Extent and format
1 volume (260 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 1508 (Bahrain) consists of three volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/81-83. The volumes are divided into five parts, with parts 1 and 2 comprising one volume each, and parts 3, 4, and 5 comprising the third volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 262; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 1508/1905 Pt 1 'Bahrain: situation; disurbances (1904-1905); Sheikh Ali's surrender; Question of Administration Reforms (Customs etc)' [‎91r] (186/531), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/81, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100027013012.0x0000bb> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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