Skip to item: of 488
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.' [‎176r] (356/488)

The record is made up of 1 volume (240 folios). It was created in 18 May 1905-11 Dec 1916. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

tem’
itiin
lejf
'•mil
1111,1 ciltlln,
V?f5»e
J stout, It
uplotln
in akiit
about t?j
is
bases, [
’01
b can oiilf
ro or tkee
t the West
earfoteF,
iner-rif'
hoaFiasI
itable reef
mea ?eij
suhmarioe
kt
;e rippM
traasta
7ecaiibf
IF
be injured by beiiiff trodden upon Ff +1
in a dress, or booking were employed the * ^ n ^ ° f naked divin ^ 5 divin S
up oysters to the surface. ’ 16 W ° U ^ be n ° danger of Ringing
It is probable that the. local triW ^ i
syndicate working on the Pearl Oyster Banks 6 , eXtr ®" lely hostile to an . v
that it was to their interest to co operate wiih tl 7 7 ™ r COnvinced
fisheries occupy about 30,000 men and 5 000 1 e syndicate. The pearl
the year, from June to OctoW A» the i ! five months of
“‘We are all, from the hipest to tl w , 1 think ab ° Ut "
said Mohammed bin Thanee to me.” (Palgraver 6 " ° f ° ne master ~P earl >’
Even in Europe the experiments made in tho * i •
cultivation by Professor Oscar Schmidt on behalf of the T't •° 11 r SP ° nge
meZd‘ hemSelVeS h0Stile 40 ^-o^to tldhltw
It may not be out of place to mention here that, assuming the existence
of r ich sponge beds, successful enterprise in connection with them won d
depend on certain conditions bein^ observed T'n , . wouId
conditions are Ved ' The most ^Portant of these
( 1 .) To avoid fishing up or damaging small specimens.
1 h !i, Sh m a l0Callty tllat has buen tem P or arily exhausted, for at
least three years.
(3.) To ascertain, by careful research and observation, the period at which
sponges in any particular area mature the eggs, and to observe a
close tune during that period, for nothing can be more wasteful
thau to fish up a sponge full of embryos just on the point of
ecoming larvae. Legislation enforces a close period in Tunis
from 1 st March to 1 st June.
Summary and Conclusion.
The writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. of this Report is unable to state definitely whether or not rich
beds of commercial sponges exist in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and along the Muscat
coast; but he is of opinion that many of the conditions requisite for the
Healthy Me of such sponges occur there.
The sponge harvest is, perhaps, the most profitable of all marine harvests
and the price of sponges in the market appears to be continually increasing.’
In view of the increasing demand of the world for sponges and of the
diminishing supply, sponge fisheries have now become a most valuable
asset; accordingly, if sponge grounds are present to any extent in the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , a syndicate would stand a very good chance of success.
British Museum,
November 1905.

About this item

Content

The volume concerns the attempts of a British company called the Sponge Exploration Syndicate to obtain concessions for the fishing and exploitation of sponges in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . However, the papers indicate that it was felt by British officials that the real object of the company was to exploit the Gulf's pearl banks, which entailed the risk of infringing Britain's treaty obligations with the Arab states.

The principal correspondents are the Foreign Office; Major Percy Zachariah Cox, acting as Consul-General for Fars, Khuzistan etc., and 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. ; officials of 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 the Government of India; the Viceroy of India (the Earl of Minto); and the Sponge Exploration Syndicate Limited.

The papers include: letters of application for concession rights from the company; the granting of a concession to the company by the Government of Persia; the granting of a concession to the company by the Sultan of Muscat; a report by the British Museum, on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. as a possible area for successful sponge fisheries (folios 175-176); the involvement of the company with the rulers of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; and the rights of British-protected Arabs. The volume also contains an Admiralty chart of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. on folio 50.

The French language content of the volume consists of an agreement on folios 129-131.

The date range gives the covering dates of the main items of correspondence. This is mainly dated 1905-09, with one item dated 1916. The correspondence also includes enclosures dated 1892 (folios 214-215).

Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 1).

Extent and format
1 volume (240 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 2830 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. : Sponge and Pearl Fisheries) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/456-457. The volumes are divided into two parts with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 242; 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.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.' [‎176r] (356/488), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/456, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038235551.0x00009d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100038235551.0x00009d">File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.' [&lrm;176r] (356/488)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100038235551.0x00009d">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x00015f/IOR_L_PS_10_456_0358.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x00015f/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image