File 6/1912 Part 1 'Persia: Shiraz affairs; attack on Mr Smart; Swedish gendarmerie'

Content

Part 1 consists of correspondence relating to insecurity in southern Persia, particularly around Shiraz and along the Shiraz-Bushire roads. The papers tell of the British response to the situation, covering the following matters:

• the decision of whether to arm Shiraz or to evacuate the city;
• concern over Russia filling the gap left by the British were they to evacuate;
• the situation on the ground, conveyed in several reports;
• the proposal to occupy Bushire with a battalion and to subsidize local chiefs to maintain the roads;
• the Persian Government plan to employ Swedish officers to command and train a gendarmerie along some of the roads;
• British claims for reparation from the Persian Government following an attack on the Shiraz Consul, Mr Smart, and his escort;
• the question of providing winter quarters for Indian troops in Shiraz should they have remain there for the season.

The discussion over such matters is mostly between the Foreign Office, 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. , War Office, Government of India, and Minister at Tehran. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, is from Percy Zachariah Cox, 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. .

Included is memorandum on the situation in Southern Persia by J E F, Political Department, 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. , 16 February 1912.

Extent and format

1 item (236 folios)

It is part of

File 6/1912 Parts 1-2 Persia

986 images

Ref: IOR/L/PS/10/197

Arrangement

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

The subject 6 (Persia) consists of this one volume. The volume is divided into two parts.

Written in

English and French in Latin script

Type

Archival item

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/L/PS/10/197/1

Former external reference(s)

P 6/1912 Pt 1

History of this record

Date(s)

Jan 1912-Jun 1912 (CE, Gregorian)

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File 6/1912 Part 1 'Persia: Shiraz affairs; attack on Mr Smart; Swedish gendarmerie', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/197/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028880619.0x000002> [accessed 19 July 2026]

Link to this record

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