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File 2830/1914 Pt 2 'Persian Gulf: Pearl Fisheries. Investigation into Alleged Depletion of Pearl Banks. Germans and the Industry. Concessions, etc.' [‎234v] (477/578)

The record is made up of 1 volume (283 folios). It was created in 1902-28 July 1914. 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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2
D
object which for more than a century past we have steadily kept in view in all
our dealings with the Arab tribes. To secure this object we have prohibited
the use of armed boats by the Chiefs, and have taken upon ourselves the duty
of policing all these waters. A necessary corollary of this policy is that the
Chiefs cannot themselves adopt forcible measures for the preservation of their
monopoly in connection with the pearl-fisheries. It is clear, therefore, tha^**
we on our part owe to them an obligation to defend their rights so far as they
can reasonably be substantiated. This duty carries with it incidentally the
advantage that, if our right to police the pearl banks is recognised, a large area
of the Gulf becomes at once practically British waters.
4. In the past w^e have on more than one occasion intervened to prevent
the intrusion of foreigners. In 1863 a British steamer appeared in the Gulf with
trained divers and scientific appliances, but the steps which were at once taken by
the Resident, with the approval of the Bombay Government, sufficed to frustrate
the attempted encroachment. In 1874, and again in 1890, His Majesty’s
Government, on the advice of the Government of India, declined to counte
nance proposals made by British companies to exploit the fisheries. In 1894
support was refused to an application by a British subject to the Persian
Government for pearling concessions in the Gulf. In 1899, in connection
with the alleged grant of certain privileges to two Europeans by the Persian
Government, the Mushir-ed-Dowleh was informed by His Majesty’s Minister
at Tehran that no contract could be recognised which would have the effect of
interfering with the rights exercised by Chiefs under British protection. In
1901 Sir Nicolas O’Conor, hearing of a project which was under the considera
tion of the Porte to tax the fisheries, acquainted Tewfik Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. with the
objections which Her late Majesty’s Government saw to any action which
would interfere with the prescriptive rights of our protected tribes. In 1902
our local officers declined to countenance the project of a British Indian subject,
who proposed to obtain facilities for pearling in Abu Dhabi waters. Finally, in
1903, Colonel Kemball reported that two Frenchmen, named Dumas and
Castelin, had arrive! in Bahrein with the intention of prospecting the pearl
banks round that island. The Chief refused to entertain their proposals,
and subsequently the strangers left the neighbourhood, one for Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. ,
and the other for Europe, where it was believed that he intended to engage a
pioressional diver. He has, however, not yet re-appeared. In connection with
the last-mentioned case, we have informed our 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
ult that we entirely approve Sheikh Esa’s attitude, and that, in the event of
either o± these Frenchmen returning to Bahrein, the Chief should refuse to
render assistance of any description ; that any other Chief who may be similarly
approached should return a similar response ;‘and that the Government of India
s ould at once be informed of any renewal of the project or of any like
on this s ^ eile l ose > ^ or y 0ur information, a copy of the recent correspondence
. We have thus succeeded, hitherto, in staving off outside interference.
/I’m ncwGver, that our position in the matter is in certain respects
1 ™ that m the future the same success may not attend measures
w nc m e past have sufficed to attain our object. The question involves
considerations, firstly, of private, and, secondly, of international law. Our
rig s in restraining foreign interference are, it appears to us, at any rate
commensurate with those^ of the Arab tribes concerned, since these have
agree o eave the protection of their interests in our hands; and the question
w ic we may hereafter be called upon to answer, whether in defending a
n 1 V 1 ±w SU1 m a '^ ri ^ ls * 1 Court or in meeting an international claim, must
■» 0 + , e S ? m ^’ ^ he ex tent of the rights and jurisdiction possessed
y e Arab Chiefs. The chart which we enclose shows that the pearl
banks extend to considerable distances from the mainland or from any
n an ’ 4 . 1 j ln i 0 ,, ^" m ^ e limit it seems evident that no difficulty need
e encountered, and that the rights over the pearl banks and the jurisdiction
required to assert those rights are indisputable. Beyond this zone, however,
e case is ess clear. We^ understand that it has become an uncontested
prmcip e o mo ern international law that the sea, as a general rule, cannot be
f ] 1 f 60 V a Pffi’ 0 P na l 10n - At the same time we believe that it is admitted
sea may be affected by proprietary rights on the part of
ates whose territories it adjoins, and that such rights have been more

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Content

The volume concerns pearl fishing in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; in particular attempted incursions into the trade by the French, Germans, and others; the political and economic interests of the British in pearl fishing; investigations into reports of the depletion of the pearl fishing banks in the Gulf; and proposals to use modern diving apparatus.

The principal correspondents are 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 Sir Percy Zachariah Cox); 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. , Bahrain; and senior officials of the Government of India, 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. , the Foreign Office, and the Board of Trade.

The papers cover: Report on the Ceylon Pearl Fisheries , published 1902 (including extracts of documents from the 1850s onwards), which includes references to the presence of Arab divers at the Ceylon fisheries (folios 247-281); the presence of two French businessmen in Bahrein [Bahrain], and the question of whether European enterprise could be excluded from the pearl fishing industry on the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , March 1904 (folios 212-246); the opinion of the Law Officers' Department that the tribes of the Arabian coast had a right to the exclusive use of the pearl fisheries within a three-mile limit, and any other waters that might justly be considered territorial, February 1905 (folios 203-211); German attempts to gain control over the pearl industry in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including the importance attached by 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. (Cox) to the operations of Gray, Paul & Company, March 1905 - January 1908 (folios 177-202); the Government of India in favour of direct intervention to secure a British monopoly, June-August 1908 (folios 170-176); enquiries into the pearl fishing industry by Dr Gustav Josef Eduard Levien of Hamburg, April-May 1910 (folios 150-169); papers concerning the alleged depletion of the pearl banks, December 1910 - May 1911 (folios 106-149); further French interest in the pearl fisheries, February-May 1911 (folios 82-105, 66-69); official encouragement for British firms to enter the pearl trade, March-May 1911 (folios 69-81); a proposed investigation into depletion of the pearl banks by James Hornell of the Madras Fisheries Department, June-September 1911 (folios 56-65), and the investigation postponed, February 1912 (folios 42-53); assurances by the rulers of the Arab littoral states that they would not grant concessions to countries other than Britain, November 1911 (folios 54-55), and the texts of the rulers' replies, July-August 1911 (folios 32-41); papers concerning an application to use modern, 'scientific' diving apparatus in the Gulf by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab Mishari, a director of the Arab Steamship Company in Bombay, and a rumour (denied) of similar interest from the Sultan of Oman, April-November 1912 (folios 11-31); copies of official correspondence from 1857 showing that British officials thought that British subjects did not have any right to fish for pearls on the fishing grounds of the maritime tribes in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , March 1913 (folios 5-6); and American (United States) interest in scientific aspects of the pearl industry in Bahrain, June 1914 (folios 2-4).

The volume includes two Admiralty charts illustrating the pearl fisheries of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , on folio 238 (= IOR/W/L/PS/10/457 (i) and IOR/L/PS/10/457 (ii)), and a map accompanying the report on the Ceylon Pearl Fisheries (folio 278).

The French language content of the file is confined to a single letter (folio 91).

The date range gives the covering dates of the main run of papers (which include extracts of documents from the 1850s onwards), and any other additions to the volume; the Secret Department minute papers enclosing groups of papers are dated 1904-1914.

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 (283 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 (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 281; 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.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 2830/1914 Pt 2 'Persian Gulf: Pearl Fisheries. Investigation into Alleged Depletion of Pearl Banks. Germans and the Industry. Concessions, etc.' [‎234v] (477/578), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/457, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044914345.0x00004e> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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