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Coll 20/2 'Administration: Question of abdication of Sultan; Succession and Subsidies; Question of abrogation of treaties with USA and France' [‎376r] (751/757)

The record is made up of 1 file (375 folios). It was created in 7 Oct 1930-26 Aug 1948. 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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15
a 3k lleC . 1 ^ i^ e mou ^ ^ le ^ u lf) “ should not be either at Bunder
"! s °?. 011 ^ 0 a( B a cent islands, but on the Ras Musandim promontory or
the Arabian shore. There would otherwise be risk of our being driven bv
mi i ar) oi ce rom our necessary naval base. Moreover, the only anchorages
which can be trusted are on the Arabian shore.”
% (>7 - Almost simultaneously 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. had suggested that
i might be desirable to choose Ras Musandim as a site for a lighthouse in
preference to Little Quoin,- and the Government of India, in the light of the
expression of the views of the Admiralty quoted above, were prepared to
agiee to the substitution “apart from the considerations arising from the
Anglo-Irench Declaration of ]862.”t
bS In April 1913 the Government of India reported that the Director,
Royal Indian Marine, saw technical objections to the selection of Musandim
as the site_ for a lighthouse on the grounds that “thick weather over
Musandim is the rule rather than the exception . . . further . . . worst
tides experienced anywhere in the Gulf and its approaches are found round
Musandim Island.
^ay the Admiralty expressed the view that “ while a naval base
on the Musandim Peninsula would theoretically be in a somewhat better
strategical position for the control of a railway passing along the northern
shoie of the entiance to the Gulf, if threatened by a hostile advance from
the north-west, practical considerations point rather for the present to the use of
Hen jam . . . with Basidu as a subsidiary base. It does not appear necessary
to contemplate the actual fortification of a naval base in this region so long
as we retain the command of the sea in Eastern waters.Ӥ This disposed
of the question of a station on Musandim; and it was agreed that the
lighthouse in contemplation should be erected on Little Quoin as beino -
preferable from the strictly navigational standpoint.
* Tel. from Pol.
Res. to G. of L,
Jan. 3 1913, P. 700.
t Tel. from Viceroy
to S. of S. for I.,
Mar. 12 1913, P. 951.
X Tel. from Viceroy
to S. of S. for I.,
April 26 1913,
P. 1663.
§ Admiralty to
F.O.. May 1 1913,
P. 1733/28.
< 0. There appear to have been no developments until in February 1927
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. ]| indicated that Khassab was of value, not merely in || Desp. 4 from Pol
connection with the air route, on which it would constitute a jumpino-off Res. to o. of 1 .,
ground for Gwadur on the Makran coast, but for strategical reasons, since l*nil' 927 ’
“ the country possessing it can practically command egress from and ingress
t° fhe Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .” Sir L. Haworth therefore favoured the purchase of
Khassab from Muscat, possibly for about £•12,000, and the establishment
of ‘ a Gibraltar at the head of the Gulf.” He regarded this as practicable
vis-a-vis^ France, in view of the right of pre-emption enjoyed bv Plis
Majesty’s Government under the Exclusive Agreement of 1891.
rl. Ko views have been expressed on the subject by the Government of
India. With the Persian challenge to the position of His Majesty’s Govern
ment in Basidu and Henjam the possibility of establishing, if not a fortified
base, at any rate a station, in the Musandim Peninsula or on one of the
adjoining islands, on two of which (Telegraph Island and Sheep Island) the
British Hag has for a short period been hoisted in the past, becomes of more
immediate importance. But, financial and strategical considerations apart,
the extent to which His Majesty’s Government are free agents vis-d-vis
1 rance > w ^ 10 ’ though aware of, is not a party to, and has never formally
recognised, the Exclusive Agreement of 1891, will call for careful examina
tion before a decision can be taken.
'(c) The Cession of Gwadur.
72. It was decided in 1863 after exhaustive examination that no attention
# HACl/U Cit toil null
need or could be paid to the claims to Gwadur, a dependency of Muscat in
Makran, on the Persian littoral of the Gulf, of the Khan of Kalat or of t f„.„, (i
the Gitchkis. I his decision was reaffirmed bv '
in 1928. If
the Government of India of r - to . A G - G -
Baluchistan, July 18
1928, P. 4140/28.
<3. The question of its retransfer to Kalat at a price was raised bv 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. , Muscat, in 1921, when the financial situation of Muscat was
critical, but the Government of India were instructed** that no overtures
should be made to the Sultan of Muscat without prior reference to His
Majesty’s Government, and the matter dropped.
** Tel. 1176 from
S. of S. for I. to
Viceroy, Sept. 1
1920 ; Viceroy to S.
of S, for I., 1182 S.,
Oct. 9 1920.

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Content

The file contains letters, telegrams, minutes, and draft correspondence related to the abdication of Sultan Taimur bin Faisal of Muscat [Taymūr bin Fayṣal Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and the accession of his son, Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] in 1932. The early correspondence concerns efforts to prevent Taimur from abdicating and to improve Muscat's flagging economy. Once the abdication is accepted several questions are raised and discussed, including:

  • the suitability of a successor and the arrangements for the accession of his son, Said
  • whether to continue both the Arms Traffic and Zanzibar Subsidy payments (this question is raised again in 1948)
  • the renegotiation of Muscat's treaties with the French, Americans, and the tribes of Oman's interior
  • whether to continue Taimur's personal allowance
  • Sultan Said's changes to government

Further correspondence within the file deals with the following matters:

  • requests for statistical information about Muscat from the Danish government for their yearbook in 1934 and 1935
  • a plea from Kamile Ilgiray, an ex-wife of former Sultan Taimur, to the British Government for help with her son's education
  • the question of the best time to inform the French, American, and Dutch governments of Sultan Said's succession
  • the whereabouts of former Sultan Taimur, including his visits to Saudi Arabia in 1933 and Japan in 1939.

The majority of the correspondence is between 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. in Muscat, Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Government of India (Foreign Department), 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 Foreign Office. Further correspondence is from Sultans Taimur and Said, the French and Indian Governments, and several British political and diplomatic offices in Europe and the Middle East.

Extent and format
1 file (375 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged in chronological order from the back of the file to the front.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 378; 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
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Coll 20/2 'Administration: Question of abdication of Sultan; Succession and Subsidies; Question of abrogation of treaties with USA and France' [‎376r] (751/757), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2952, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100050222670.0x00009a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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