'Position and Rights of His Majesty's Government in Basidu' [‎57r] (1/6)

CONFIDENTIAL.
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.
13. 404
P. 4842/28.
Position and Rights of His Majesty’s Government in Basidu.
G. of I. Precia of
CorresjKJiidence on
Basidu and Hen jam.
P. 376/27, pp. 77—8.
Lor. i, 372.
Introductory.
1. Basidu is situated on the westernmost point of the island of Kishm,
which is separated from the south Persian coast, to which it runs parallel,
by Clarence Strait. It lies about 25 miles E. by N. of Lingah town on that
coast. It has a reasonably good anchorage for vessels of moderate draught,
about a quarter of a mile from the shore. The place is one of the healthiest Lor. n, 267 .
near the entrance to the Gulf; while the island of Kishm, on which it is
situated, was described in 1902 by Rear-Admiral Bosanquet as “in my
opinion the most important strategical position in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. from a
naval point of view ...” For landing purposes there was stated in 1906
to be a jetty extending to low-water mark. There is a cemetery containing
Indian Navy graves, which is maintained in good order and the upkeep of
which is a point which will call for consideration should the concession
revert to Persia.
Extent of the British Concession.
2. The extent of the British concession in Basidu was the subject of
investigation in 1901. Difficulty was experienced in defining its limits, but
the Government of India, after examination of the reports of the Political
Resident and the available records, expressed the view that “ whatever may
have been the original limits of the tract granted to the British Government
in 1820, as to which there appears to be no information readily available,
they are debarred from asserting a claim over Old Bassidore [a village in
close proximity to the old Portuguese fort which once existed upon the
north-west extremity of the island of Kishm, and which, with the village of
Bandar Singau, situated also in close proximity to the Portuguese fort, was
formerly regarded as within the limits of the British station] by the
prescription of man} 7 years. The site of the abandoned settlement at
Singow may, however, be regarded as included within the limits of the British
Station.”
Status of Basidu.
3. The British concession in Kishm was obtained in 1820 by a written
grant from the Imam of Muscat, in whom effective control of the island was
then vested. The international and legal position of that concession turns
on whether this grant was made by the Imam as sovereign of Kishm, and so
of Basidu, or as tenant of Kishm from Persia.
4. From the records in the possession of the Government of India it
would appear that from the middle of the I8th century until about 1800
Kishm was farmed by Arab tribes from the Persian sovereign, to whom they
paid tribute ; that at the beginning of the last century the islands and
Bunder Abbas came under tbe control of the Imam of Muscat, who, however,
continued to pay rent to Persia in respect of them ; that the officers of the
Imam were, however, reported in 1821 to have stated that neither Kishm,
Ormuz nor Larak were specified on the receipts annually granted by the
Persian Government for the stipulated sum paid ; and that tbe Muscat
Government claimed at the same period that the islands in question belonged
exclusively to them.
5. In 1799-1801 endeavours were made by His Majesty’s Government to Precis, p. 35, p. 37(18),
secure a lease of the island of Kishm from Persia, whose sovereignty was
not apparently at the time regarded as doubtful. The active British
association with the island, which, as stated above, dates from 1820,
originated in the transfer to it in that year of the British military detachment
previously stationed at Ras-al-Khaima. The British settlement on Kishm
took place with the consent of the Imam of Muscat, who, in his letter on the
subject to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. , remarked of Kishm that “ The
island in question and all other territories appertaining to me and subject
to my authority appertain also to the Honourable Company, and I do not
3099 75 10.28 a
p. 43 iv (2).
Precis, p. 34.