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File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎126v] (262/885)

The record is made up of 1 volume (436 folios). It was created in 7 Feb 1912-25 Sep 1912. 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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8
14. But it could scarcely be said, as a matter of
strict international right, that Her Majesty’s
Government were in a position to claim that the
fort should he demolished or abandoned, and as
the Porte was almost certain to suspect some
hidden design if the British Government took too
prominent a part in the discussion, Lord Salisbury
proposed to instruct Sir W. White to drop the
controversy until the Persian Government took the
matter up.
Meanwhile the construction of the fort was
progressing. The earthworks of the enceinte were
completed, a high inner rampart wall and quarters
for the garrison were begun, and guns were
expected from Constantinople.
15. In January 1888, the Persian Ambassador
presented a note to the Porte, in which he protested
against the erection of a fort at Pao as being
contrary to the Treaty engagements, and demanded
its demolition. Sir W. White was authorized to
give his Persian colleague such support in the
matter as he thought judicious.
16. In that year the Government of India
forwarded a Beport by Colonel M. S. Bell, on the
position of the Pao Port and the effect of the
entrance to the Karun being commanded by it,
from which the following extracts are taken :—
“ The fort being constructed at Fao is a fleurd’eau on the right
bank of the river Shat-ul-Arab, 6,800 yards below the Fao
telegraph buildings, three miles above the Fao inner buoy, and
over 30 miles from Muhammerah.
“ On the river side is a parapet 4' high and 6 ^' thick at the
level of the crest. It is said that a high inner rampart and
quarters for its garrison of brick are being built.
“ Half a mile below the fort the channel narrows, and the
deepest water is on the Turkish side. The width of river at fort
is 1,500 yards. The front face of the fort measures 673', rear
face 787', side faces 626'; along front face, seven heavy guns can
be mounted to fire straight across the channel ; along the down
stream side face, six heavy guns can be brought to bear upon the
channel. At high tides the river washes the front face of the
work (tide recedes 250 yards at low-water). On either side are
creeks 90 and 60 yards wide respectively; to the rear, at a
distance of 2,000 yards, is a bund or sea wall, behind which
lies an extensive mud flat at times covered at high-water;
the ground to the rear of the fort can be inundated. It is
supposed that 13 guns (12-ton) placed as noted will be mounted
in the fort. The position is strong against a land attack, and if
it be armed as stated, will be too strong for our Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
gun-boats. It commands the main river channel across and
down-stream as already noted.”
“ The description given of the Shat-ul-Arab from the bar to
Muhammerah will serve to indicate that the fort is not built as
an express menace to the town of Muhammerah, and therefore as
a direct menace to Persia. It is 30 miles below Muhammerah.
“ This it was meant to point out by Intelligence Branch notes
on the case of 23rd September and 19th October. By them it
was desired to indicate that the menace was thought to be
primarily directed against Great Britain and not Persia, i.e. y that
it was a continuation by the Turks of their hitherto fruitless
endeavours to get the river traffic into their own hands, and to
compel the withdrawal of Lynch’s boats from the Tigris ; a river
which the Turks hold that British boats have no right to navigate,
permission having been given by them to navigate the Euphrates
and not the Tigris.
“ The diplomatic history of this disagreement is not in this
office, and I refer to it as the cause of the building of the fort only
Persia protests against erection
of fort.
Letter from Foreign Office, 28th February
1888. H. G, Vol. 100 , p. 33.
Report on Fao Fort by Colonel
M. S. Bell.
Letter from India No. 82, dated 26th May
1888.

About this item

Content

The volume discusses the disputed Turco-Persian Frontier, particularly at Mohammerah, and the negotiations in Constantinople to attempt to settle it.

The correspondence focuses on:

  • the differences of opinion over the actual boundary at Mohammerah, including several maps demonstrating these differences;
  • movements of Turkish and Russian troops;
  • ownership of the Shat-el-Arab and questions of access for navigation;
  • copies of treaties, correspondence and memoranda dating back to 1639 relating to the question of the Turco-Persian frontier.

The principal correspondents in the volume are the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); the Secretary of State for India (Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe); 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. (Sir Percy Zachariah Cox); the British Ambassador to Constantinople (Sir Gerard Lowther); the British Ambassador to Russia (Sir George Buchanan); the Viceroy of India (Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst); the British Ambassador to Tehran (Sir George Head Barclay); representatives of the Foreign Office (particularly Alwyn Parker) and the 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. ; and Arthur Talbot Wilson, on special duty in relation to the Turco-Persian Frontier.

This volume is part one of two. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (436 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 1356 (Turco-Persian Frontier) consists of 2 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/266-267. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 436; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in 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 leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎126v] (262/885), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/266, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036171272.0x00003f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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