File 3208/1908 Pt 4 ‘Persian Gulf: acts of piracy by Ahmed bin Selman near Katif [Turkish discourtesy to commander of HMS “Lapwing” at Katif]’ [85r] (165/358)
The record is made up of 178 folios. It was created in 9 Mar 1901-12 Aug 1908. 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. .
Transcription
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, ' [This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
ASIATIC TURKEY.
^ CONFIDENTIAL.
[29030]
No. 1.
(No.
Sir,
Sir N. 0 Conor to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received Avqust 27 .)
576.)
. Therapia, August 21 , 1906 .
WITH reference to my despatch No. 471 , Secret and Confidential, of the 10th
ultimo, and to my despatch Nof 843 of the 27 th November, 1905 , inclosing copy of
the note verbale No. 70 of the 19 th September, 1905 , addressed by His Majesty’s
Embassy to the Sublime Porte on the subject of the piracies committed by Ahmed-
bin-Selman in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, I have the honour to report that I received commu
nication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 14 th instant of a reply which
has been returned to the Ministry of the Interior by the authorities of the Vilayet of
Bussorah, to whom our note verbale had been referred, which is couched in the following
terms :—
“ It results from a correspondence exchanged with the Mutessarif of Nejd and
the Kaimakam of Katif that no complaints have been made to the local authorities
by any one whatever in reference to the act of piracy attributed by the British Embassy
to Ahmed-bin- Selman at Katif. Seeing that this person is a native of Bahrein, a
cousin of the Sheikh of Bahrein, and domiciled and resident with his family at
Bahrein, it is not improbable that he attacks vessels from there when occasion offers.
This person has been condemned by default in the Criminal Court of Nejd to fifteen
years’ imprisonment, and the authorities of Katif are endeavouring to eradicate him,
but as he does not come to that neighbourhood he might easily be captured if search
were made for him by the authorities of Bahrein.”
I have, &c.
(Signed) N. R. O’CONOR.
[2121 tfd—2]
About this item
- Content
Part 4 contains correspondence relating to attacks against Bahrain pearling dhows, committed by members of the Beni Hajir tribe and led by an individual named Ahmed bin Selman, in the waters around Bahrain and the Turkish administered territories of Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] and El Katr [Qatar]. The part’s principal correspondents include: 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 (John Calcott Gaskin; Captain Francis Beville Prideaux); 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. (Major Percy Zachariah Cox); the British Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul] (Sir Walter Beaupre Townley); the Ambassador to the Court of the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire (Sir Nicholas Roderick O’Conor).
The correspondence covers:
- reports of the activities of Ahmed bin Selman and his followers in around the waters of Bahrain, Nejd, and the Qatar peninsula, including accounts of theft and violence committed against pearling dhows, as reported by 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;
- representations made by British officials to their Turkish counterparts, protesting against the acts described as piracy being committed from Turkish-administered territories in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;
- Government of India proposals for the provision of a boat for 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, and gunboat patrols of the pearl banks;
- a visit made by HMS Sphinx to the Nejd coast in 1905, in order to pursue enquiries against Ahmed bin Selman, which provokes an official complaint from the Ottoman Turkish Government (in French, f 108);
- the appearance in 1906 of Ahmed bin Selman in Doha of Al Bidda [Doha], representations made by British officials to the ruler of Qatar Shaikh Jasim bin Thani [Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī], and further Turkish complaint at British interference on the Qatar peninsula;
- the visit of HMS Lapwing to Katif in 1907 in pursuit of Ahmed bin Selman, resulting in a show of ‘discourtesy’ by a Turkish official towards British naval officers, and subsequent British demands for an official apology, which is tendered by the kaimmakam [kaimakam] of Katif in June 1908 (f 8).
- Extent and format
- 178 folios
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 3208/1908 Pt 4 ‘Persian Gulf: acts of piracy by Ahmed bin Selman near Katif [Turkish discourtesy to commander of HMS “Lapwing” at Katif]’ [85r] (165/358), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/156/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028917964.0x0000af> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/156/2
- Title
- File 3208/1908 Pt 4 ‘Persian Gulf: acts of piracy by Ahmed bin Selman near Katif [Turkish discourtesy to commander of HMS “Lapwing” at Katif]’
- Pages
- 3r:107v, 109r:180v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence