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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]’ [‎159r] (313/358)

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. .

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5
be to send a boat expedition to punish the villages from which the pirates
embarked. r
3. The Government of India have decided, in view of the time which has
elapsed since the occurrence of these piracies, and of certain pre*occupations in
other parts of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , that active measures for the exaction of redress
^ from the Sheikh of Ll-Katr or irom the offending villages cannot now be wisely
or profitably undertaken, and that the cases must be allowed to drop. Having
regard, however, to the language held by Colonel Meade to the Sheikh in Nov
ember 1899, the Government of India have come to their present decision with
reluctance, and they cannot but regret thnt, owing to the want of definite
proposals from two successive Political Residents, the opportunity for exacting
full and timely reparation for th.ese outrages should have been allowed to pass.
In the opinion of the Government of India, some speedy measures of redress
should be adopted in future if such outrages are repeated ; and, in the event
of any fresh case of piiacy occurring off the El-Jvatr peninsula, the Political
Resident should^ not only cause the property of the Katr Chief in Bahrein to
be attached until redress is given, but should also submit proposals at once for
a boat expedition against the villages immediately concerned, if that appears
to be the best and most effective method of inflicting punishment and enforcing
reparation.
No. 28 S.A., dated Shiraz, the 13th September 1902.
From— Lieutenant-Colonel C. A. Kemball, 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 The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
In continuation of the correspondence ending with your letter No. 294-E.A.,
dated 6 th February 1902, I have the honour to report, for the information of
the Government of India, the recrudescence of acts of piracy, in the vicinity of
El Katr and Bahrein, committed by a party of Beni Hajir Arabs under the
leadership of one Ahmad-bin-Selman, a notorious bad character.
2. Early in July this man succeeded in stealing a boat from Seihat, but
stress of weather on July 19th drove him back to a point north of Ojair, on
hearing of which the inhabitants of Seihat sent an armed boat party against
him obliging him to abandon his craft and flee ashore.
3. Some days later Ahmad and his gang stole a boat at Senalis with which
they crossed to the island of Um Nasan, and on August 4th captured a Bahrein
dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. of 28 tons burden which was lying there to load lime for Bahrein, by
means of which dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. some ten days later they waylaid and robbed another
Bahrein boat, off Thaein in the Katr Peninsula, of its entire gear and utensils as
well as of cash and pearls, the property of a trader on board, to the total value
of some $5,400, and then proceeded to Dohat Thalum in Thahran, south of
Katif, in Turkish territory, where they landed with their plunder.
4. The 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. , Bahrein, informs me that Ahmad-bin-
Selman, of whose nationality I am not yet aw r are, had been residing recently at
Sweisima in El Katr territory, where his family now is, and as these piracies
seem to have occurred in hi Kar waters, while some of the property plundered
from the first Bahrein boat was disposed of at places under the jurisdiction of
the Sheikh of El Katr, it seems a case to apply the orders conveyed in paragraph
3 of your letter above quoted, and I have instructed the Assistant Political
Agent accordingly, who, I may mention, had already warned Sheikh Ahmad-bin-
Thani that he would be held responsible and had also requested the Kaimma-
kam of Katif to co-operate in suppressing Ahmad and his gang.
5. His Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Basrah has been requested to move
the Wali to send strict orders to his subordinates to take energetic measures
and informs me that he has done so, and the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
is arranging at my request to depute a gunboat to Bahrein with a view to con
certing measures, either by means of a boat expedition or otherwise to put down
this gang.
6 . I have not considered it advisable to accede to a request of Sheikh Isa
of Bahrein that he might be permitted to despatch an expedition against

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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:

Extent and format
178 folios
Written in
English and French in Latin script
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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]’ [‎159r] (313/358), 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_100028917965.0x00007b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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