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File 757/1909 'Persian Gulf:- Turkey and Turkish aggression (Occupation of Zakhnuniyeh Island. Attitude in piracy cases. Mudirs at Zubara, Odaid and Wakra) British Relations with Turkey in Persian Gulf' [‎105r] (214/495)

The record is made up of 1 volume (245 folios). It was created in 1909-1911. It was written in English. 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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ry low ebb, and I find that British subjects are seriousty alarmed, seeing that their
rights have never hitherto been so trampled upon here. For four months past they
have been suffering from illegal oppression, from which there is no sign of any redress
to come visible. A prosperous merchant, Abdul Ali, has talked of renouncing his 11
British nationality for Turkish, and several British Indians have actually done so. If I I *
have so far failed to show your Excellency the serious nature of the situation, it has
been only because I was unwilling to appear alarmist. The vali is incompetent, and
”ndei the influence of unscrupulous and ignorant underlings, and it is with regret that
I am reduced to the conviction that he must be removed and replaced by a more
intelligent man. J
Yesterday they demolished part of the two storied building, No. 6, with circum
stances of injury and insult, and have continued doing so to-day. The violence of the
local authorities increases daily, and I can only conclude the Minister of the Interior is
misleading your Excellency. The vali appears to treat the question as a personal one,
and the next thing will be expropriations, which will cause great and as yet unforeseen
losses to British subjects if carried out on the same lines as the demolitions. Could
your Excellency not obtain compensation in even one case ? It would to some extent
allay the panic. Immediate payment to the ice manufacturer, whose case is clear
would effect this purpose.
^ The Bagdad municipality loan should not, I think, be entrusted to the present local
Government, or, at any rate, not given till the amount of compensation payable to British
subjects for the demolitions and prospective expropriations has been discussed and
approved by His Majesty s Embassy. The loan will certainly be misspent, and the
city will thus be saddled to no purpose with a heavy debt for a generation.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Consul-General Lorimer to Sir G. Lowther,
(1 ele^aphic.) R Bagdad, November 14, 1910.
KEFERRING to my telegram of the 12th November last, I anticipate that I shall
soon learn that a block of lofty houses owned by some Indian nawabs, to which I did
not refer in my despatch of the 5th September last, will have been expropriated on
scandalously unfair conditions.
Meanwhile, notice has been sent to Lynch’s manager of the expropriation of
3^ metres from the front of his office and warehouse, the expropriation to take effect in
fifteen days, and compensation being fixed at 424 Turkish liras only. The unscrupulous
character of the proceedings is shown by the fact that Lynch’s manager estimates the v
cost of rebuilding on a new alignment would amount to some 1,184 liras, while the
estimate made in my despatch of the 5th September came to 1,250 liras.
The total claim made by Lynch amounts to 2,396 liras, i.e., for buildings which
will now be expropriated 1,828 liras, for wall and shops wrongfully demolished 568 liras,
though there is perhaps room for discussion regarding the items of the cost of recon
struction. I fear that a grave blow would be struck at British prestige, from which
it will not easily recover, if Lynch’s office and warehouse are destroyed and no proper
compensation first fixed. It is absolutely necessary that the vilayet’s proceedings
should be checked, and the view is gaining ground here that the British Government
cannot protect its subjects in Turkey.

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Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the Turkish occupation of Zakhnuniyah Island, the Ottoman attitude towards piracy cases, and the appointment of officials in Zubara, Odeid and Wakra.

The discussion in the volume relates to the Turkish occupation of a disused fort (built by Shaikh Ali bin Khalifah, Ruler of Bahrain) on Zakhnuniyah Island and the placing of Ottoman officials in Zubara, Odeid and Wakra. Correspondence reflects British concerns over Turkish claims to sovereignty in the coastal area of the Qatar Peninsula and how these could best be resisted, particularly in the strategic context of the construction of the Berlin to Baghdad railway. In discussing Zakhnuniyah, reference is made to typed extract of the relevant page (1937) of Lorimer's Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Gazetteer (Geographical and Statistical Volume) which describes how the Dawasir tribe halted there, during the course of their emigration from Najd (see folio 236).

Further discussion surrounds Turkish obstruction of the investigation of cases of piracy in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and the proposed visit of H M S Redbreast to Al Bidaa.

Included in the volume are copies of the Committee for Imperial Defence papers 'Turkish Agression in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. " and 'Local Action in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ' (ff 12-15).

The principal correspondents in the volume include the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); the Viceroy of India; the ruler of Bahrain; 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. , Kuwait (Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear); the British Ambassador to Constantinople; His Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul for Arabistan (Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson); 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox); the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.

Extent and format
1 volume (245 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 757 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Turkish Aggression) consists of 1 volume IOR/L/PS/10/162.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 241; these numbers are written in pencil and are located at the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves.

A flap is pasted to the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of folio 188.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 757/1909 'Persian Gulf:- Turkey and Turkish aggression (Occupation of Zakhnuniyeh Island. Attitude in piracy cases. Mudirs at Zubara, Odaid and Wakra) British Relations with Turkey in Persian Gulf' [‎105r] (214/495), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/162, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030529667.0x00000f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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