!['Sheikh Said. Memorandum in Continuation of Departmental Memorandum of 7th March 1893. (With Sketch Map.)' [‎9v] (8/10)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x00013d/IOR_L_PS_18_B110_0008.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Sheikh Said. Memorandum in Continuation of Departmental Memorandum of 7th March 1893. (With Sketch Map.)' [‎9v] (8/10)")
'Sheikh Said. Memorandum in Continuation of Departmental Memorandum of 7th March 1893. (With Sketch Map.)' [9v] (8/10)
The record is made up of 1 item (5 folios). It was created in 9 Apr 1897. It was written in English. 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.
6
12. In 1896 the Trench Minister of the Colonies
spoke in the Chamber of the “rights of France”
at Sheikh Said. According to a “ Times ” telegram
from Paris of the 7th December 1896, Monsieur
Deloncle, during a general discussion of the
Colonial estimates, had asserted that on the Red
Sea France had rights which had been allowed to
lapse, namely, at Sheikh Said. Interrupting him,
the Minister of the Colonies said that this question
was out of his province, and that it was a matter for
Monsieur Hanotaux, but he admitted the rights of
France.
13. Nothing further seems to have occurred in
1896-96 to draw' attention to Sheikh Said. Quite
recently Her Majesty’s Ambassador at Paris (Sir E.
Monson) reported that Mr. G. Franchetti, who was
described on his card as the representative of Messrs.
Rabaud,* “propri^taires de Cheik Said, Mer Rouge,”
had inquired at the British Embassy w r hether that
place was occupied at the present moment by a
British force. If it was, Messrs. Rabaud would at
once present a claim of indemnity against Her
Majesty’s Government, who would doubtless admit
the validity of their claim, and the matter could
then be settled to the satisfaction of all parties.
Mr. Gosselin (Charge d*Affaires) replied that Her
Majesty’s Embassy had received no official infor
mation whatever as to the occupation of Sheikh
Said by a British force, but that according to the
newspapers there was no foundation for the rumour.
Mr. Franchetti said that he could not believe
this newspaper report, and felt convinced that the
place was actually occupied by the British. He
admitted that, subsequent to the abandonment of
the settlement by Messrs. Rabaud, Sheikh Said had
been held by a Turkish detachment, but he believed
this had been withdrawn some years ago; as a
“ good patriot ” he was sorry to undertake the
mission with which he had been entrusted by Messrs.
Rabaud; he would much rather see the place,
which he “ qualified ” as “ the veritable Gibraltar
of the Red Sea,” in French than in English hands;
and he regretted that he could obtain from Her
Majesty’s Embassy no definite answer as to the
alleged British occupation of the bay.
Sir E. Monson having asked whether any further
communication should be addressed to Mr. Fran
chetti on the subject, the Marquis of Salisbury,
with the concurrence of Lord George Hamilton,
propo^d to authorise Sir E. Monson to inform
Mr. Franchetti that there was no truth in the
report of the occupation of Sheikh Said by a British
force, and that Her Majesty’s Government con
sidered it to be Turkish territory.
Letter from Foreign Office, 23rd March
1897 (H. C., 1820).
* Vide page 2 of Departmental Memo
randum of 1993.
Her Majesty’s Government
consider Sheikh Said to be
Turkish territory.
14. The situation therefore at the present moment Summary.
seems to be as follows :—
The French Government will not commit them
selves to a declaration that Sheikh Said is an
integral portion of the Turkish Empire, and the
About this item
- Content
A memorandum written by Edmund] Neel, Political and Secret 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. , in continuation of a previous memorandum [IOR/L/PS/18/B60], in which the Resident at Aden is urged to ascertain the present situation at Sheikh Said [Ra’s Shaykh Sa‘īd] following fears that the French Government planned to occupy the place.
The memorandum reproduces a report written by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Vincent Stace, First Assistant to the Resident at Aden, which provides a sketch map (f 7) and a description of the geographical setting and principal buildings at Sheikh Said, and also raises the possibility that the French intend to dredge the lagoon there in order to create a basin for vessels of war.
The memorandum goes on to reproduce correspondence in which the opinions of the Resident at Aden, the Director of Military Intelligence, and the Secretary of State for India are given; the memorandum further notes that assurances have been received from the Turkish Porte that the French Government will not be allowed to take over any part of the Arabian coast.
However, as the French Government did not recognise Sheikh Said as Turkish, and since a Russian gunboat was known to have landed on the African shore of the Red Sea, the memorandum concludes that the British authorities should keep a close eye on French and Russian movements in the area.
The sketch map at folio 7 shows a region around Ras Shekh Said and Perim Island at the south-western tip of the Arabian Peninsula, indicating hydrology, settlements, principal buildings and the routes of a telegraph line, a submarine cable and a suggested canal. Hachures are used to show relief, and a brief note explains the map's sources. The map was published in June 1893 by the Intelligence Division, War Office, sheet no. 985.
- Extent and format
- 1 item (5 folios)
- Arrangement
This item consists of 14 sections, with a map (f 7).
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Sheikh Said. Memorandum in Continuation of Departmental Memorandum of 7th March 1893. (With Sketch Map.)' [9v] (8/10), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B110/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100051480440.0x000009> [accessed 16 April 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100051480440.0x000009
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_100051480440.0x000009">'Sheikh Said. Memorandum in Continuation of Departmental Memorandum of 7th March 1893. (With Sketch Map.)' [‎9v] (8/10)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100051480440.0x000009"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x00013d/IOR_L_PS_18_B110_0008.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
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_100000000833.0x00013d/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B110/1
- Title
- 'Sheikh Said. Memorandum in Continuation of Departmental Memorandum of 7th March 1893. (With Sketch Map.)'
- Pages
- 6r:8r, 9v:10v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence