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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' [‎143v] (291/495)

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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In the second case two British, firms, Messrs. Blockey Cree and Co. and Messrs.
Blaney and Solomon, were informed that they must transfer their factories to the
outskirts of the town, on the pretext of a regulation 4G years old concerning steam-
engines and boilers, whereas, as your Excellency has pointed out to me, the factories in
question are run by smokeless oil-engines, which are in no respect dangerous.
There is clearly, therefore, no ground whatever for the application of the regulation
to these factories, and its enforcement would be wholly unreasonable and very
burdensome to the owners.
Your Excellency should insist upon satisfaction being accorded to all these British
subjects and afford to them the full and effectual protection of His Majesty’s
Government, who cannot admit a continuance of the oppression to which they are
being subjected. You should add that His Majesty’s Government cannot be expected
to acquiesce in the helplessness expressed by the Ottoman Minister for Foreign Affairs
with regard to the illegal proceedings of the Bagdad authorities, and that such
helplessness on the part of the central authorities amounts to an abdication of
Government.
I have already furnished your Excellency with full instructions on the subject
of the forcible and unjust intervention of the Ministry of Public Works in the
dispute which has arisen between the Smyrna-Aidin Railway Company and the
Societe des Quais : it is matter for grave concern to His Majesty’s Government that,
apart from this particular incident, the Board of this Company should be compelled
to complain that “ for the past two years the attitude of the Ministry of Commerce
and Public Works has been increasingly overbearing and harassing,” and that they
should have claimed the active protection of His Majesty’s Government “not only on
account of the important material interests involved in the present case, but also in
view of the systematic and continuous attempts which are now being made to
encroach on the Company’s rights and privileges as laid down in its Conventions
with the Imperial Ottoman Government.”
I pass now to the incidents of political aggression.
On the 30th May, 1909, I informed your Excellency that the Turks had some time
previously occupied the island of Zakhnuniyeh, which lies some 10 miles south-east of
Ujair; that they had hoisted the Turkish flag on a fort, and had arranged to keep a
guard there; that the Sheikh of Bahrein had protested to His Majesty’s Government
against this occupation, his father having built the fort, where he used to keep a
garrison, fifty years ago ; and that the island, which had no permanent inhabitants,
had been regularly visited for purposes of fishing, by natives of Bahrein.
I do not propose to enter upon a detailed review of British relations with
the Sheikh of Bahrein and the Trucial Chiefs, since the matter is one which in no wise
concerns the Ottoman Government: I need simply observe that those relations have been
the foundation of the maritime peace which has now been maintained in the Persian
Gulf for well-nigh a century.
Moreover, as your Excellency is aware, in November and December 1871 the
Ottoman Minister for Foreign Affairs himself gave assurances that his Government had
no intention of attacking or obtaining any supremacy over Bahrein or the independent
tribes on the coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and similar assurances had already
repeatedly been given to Her Majesty’s Ambassador at Constantinople.
But apart altogether from the assurances of the Ottoman Government to which
I have referred, Ujair, in the district of El Katif, is the most southerly point which
His Majesty’s Government have ever recognised as being under Turkish influence
on the coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
In these circumstances your Excellency was instructed to request the Ottoman
Government to withdraw the garrison from Zakhnuniyeh on the ground of terminating
a disturbance of the status quo ; and your representations were to be based not only
on the title of the Sheikh of Bahrein to the island, but also on the fact that it is
situated some distance to the south-east of Ujair, the furthest limit of Ottoman
jurisdiction.
Although the Ottoman Minister for Foreign Affairs informed your Excellency that
the garrison had been withdrawn in June 1909, it has since been reinstated in the
island, and, according to the latest reports, has quite recently been reinforced : and
the Ottoman authorities in regard to this question seem set upon disregarding your
Excellency’s repeated representations on the subject.
I have accordingly to instruct your Excellency to request that orders may be
issued for the immediate and permanent withdrawal of the garrison.
The next point upon which I desire to address your Excellency is the treatment

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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' [‎143v] (291/495), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/162, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030529667.0x00005c> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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