Copy of a Letter from the Governor of Bombay, Mountstuart Elphinstone, at Bombay Castle, to HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia, Henry Willock

Content

Copy of a letter from the Governor of Bombay [Mumbai], Mountstuart Elphinstone, at Bombay Castle, to HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, of 15 December 1819. The letter discusses the British expedition to the Gulph of Persia [ Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ] against the Joasmee [al- Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. ] and their allies, whom the British accuse of engaging in piracy, including:

• Assuring the Persian Government of the good intentions of the expedition
• The necessity of exerting British control in the Gulph of Persia to ensure freedom of navigation
• Establishing of a British base on the island of Kishmee [Qeshm]
• The British mediating for the purpose of rendering Bahrein [Bahrain] a tributary of Persia
• Restoring the influence of the Persian Government over the Persian coast
• Removing the Sheikh [Shaikh] of Currack [Bandar-e Charack] on the grounds of his being accused of piracy
• The possibility of the expedition attacking ports on the Persian coast.

The letter also originally enclosed:

• Copy of a letter from Elphinstone to the Governor-General of the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. of Fort William, the Marquess of Hastings, of 15 December 1819 (not included in this item, see IOR/L/PS/9/68/252)
• Copy of a letter from the Chief Secretary at Bombay Castle, Francis Warden, to Major-General Sir William Grant Keir, of 15 December 1819 (not included in this item, see IOR/L/PS/9/68/253).

The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. of the East India Company of 16 March 1820 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/250), which was received on 22 July 1820.

Extent and format

1 item (8 folios)

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Letter

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/L/PS/9/68/251

History of this record

Date(s)

15 Dec 1819 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Persian Gulf Campaign (1819)

People & organisations

HM Chargé d'Affaires to PersiaPresident and Governor of Bombay in Council

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Copy of a Letter from the Governor of Bombay, Mountstuart Elphinstone, at Bombay Castle, to HM Chargé d’Affaires to Persia, Henry Willock, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/9/68/251, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038378586.0x00018a> [accessed 18 July 2026]

Link to this record

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