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Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain' [‎104r] (212/1062)

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The record is made up of 1 file in 3 parts (519 folios). It was created in 25 May 1934-23 Sep 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
f
Turkish protection, could not acknowledge or acquiesce in any such arrangement
seeing that the Government of British India had had relations with Bahrein as
StatG and h / d conclude 1 d Wltd ^ certain treaties, namely, one in
lc20 for t e suppression of piracy and one in 1847 for the prohibition of the
exportation of slaves, and that Her Majesty’s Government must object to anv
ai i angement which would transfer Bahrein to the dominion or protectorshin of
any other Power. r F
6 ?‘ J In - t r he C0rres P 0 4 ldeilce leading up to this decision Lord Palmerston
remarked : I come to the conclusion that it is the opinion of the East India
Company that the object first to be aimed at is to prevent Bahrein from falling 1
under the control of any foreign Power, and to keep that island in its present
condition of political independence. But I infer from what has been stated in
the despatches which you have communicated to me, that if that independence
could no longer be maintained, and if the ruler and the people of Bahrein were
determined to place themselves under some foreign protection, the East India
Company would think that less evil would arise from affording to Bahrein
British protection than from allowing French, Persian or Turkish authoritv to
be established in that island.” ^
Attitude of the Wahabis and of Muscat, 1852-53
63. In 1852 the Sheikh proposed to withhold his tribute from the Wahabi
Amir, but on the advice of the Resident decided to pay it. In the same year the
Consul at Zanzibar was instructed to inform the Imam of Muscat that Her
Majesty’s Government saw no reason to alter the views regarding the possession
of Bahrein communicated to His Highness in 1849 (paragraph 58 above). In
May 1853 the Government of India authorised the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. to
offer every obstacle to an attack on Bahrein by the Wahabi Amir (who was now
nominally subject to the Turkish Government) on the ground that Her Majesty’s
Government would not permit the occupation of Bahrein by the Turkish Govern
ment or by anyone acting for them or in their interest.
Principle of Non-Interference in Internal Affairs laid down by Bombay
Government (1854)
64. On 20th November, 1854, the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. in a letter to the
Resident laid down the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of
Bahrein, and authorised the Resident simultaneously to inform the Sheikh of
Qatif on the Arab mainland that the British Government would not tolerate his
further interference with the affairs of Bahrein.
Slavery Agreement with Her Majesty’s Government (1856)
65. On 10th May, 1856, an agreement supplementary to the Treaty of 1847
(paragraph 51 above) regarding the slave trade was made with the Sheikh. Its
contents were identical with that of corresponding engagements entered into at
the same time by the Arab 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. .
66. The Sheikh’s internal government continued to go from bad to worse.
In September 1858 reparation was secured from him for the ill-treatment of
British subjects in Bahrein. In 1859 a Wahabi attack was averted by British
intervention. The local Wahabi Governor sued for pardon to the Senior Naval
Officer; the Wahabi ruler, however, made a formal protest, asserted his authority
over Bahrein, and declared that he was himself a vassal of the Sultan of Turkey.
The Resident, in reply, informed him of the determination of Her Majesty’s
Government to preserve the independence of Bahrein, and pointed out the incon
sistency of his piratical attacks on Turkish shipping with his professions of
dependence on the Ottoman Government.
Sheikh’s Appeal to Persia and Turkey, 1859-61
67. At the end of 1859 or early in 1860, as the result, apparently, partly
of apprehensions of the Wahabis and partly of irritation at the restraint
exercised by the Resident over his piratical activities directed against the
Wahabis, the Sheikh made a simultaneous appeal for assistance to the Persian
Governor of Ears and the Turkish Wali of Bagdad. The Turkish answer was
delayed. A Persian agent (Mirza Mehdi Khan), bearing a Persian Firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). to
the Sheikh, arrived in April 1860. The Persian flag was hoisted, Persian
sovereignty proclaimed, and the Sheikh’s agreement to pay tribute secured. These
ceremonies were, however, scarcely over when a Turkish emissary arrived. The
India Bd.
to F.O.,
3.2.1851.
E. O. to
India Bd.,
6.2.1851.
India Bd.
to E.O.,
7.2.1851.
Lor. I, 885.
F. O. to Sir
S. Canning,
Constanti
nople, No. 40,
12.2.1851.
Lor. I, 885.
Lor. I, 887.
Aitchison,
Vol. XI,
No. ix, 234.
Lor. I, 887.
Lor. I, 888.
Resdt. to
Bombay,
No. 118,
14.4.1860;
No. 2a,
7.5.1860;
No. 219,
26.7.1860.

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Content

The file concerns the claim of the Government of Iran (generally referred to as the Government of Persia) to territorial sovereignty over Bahrein [Bahrain].

The papers include: the Iranian claim in the light of the Bahrain oil concession; representations by the Government of Iran to the League of Nations, and the involvement of League in the dispute; summary of diplomatic correspondence, 1927-29 (folios 506-511); 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. 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 14 July 1934 - a historical summary of the political status of Bahrain, and Persian claims to sovereignty; the submission of the question by 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. to the Law Officers of the Crown, 1934 (folios 466-472), and the report of the Law Officers of the Crown (folios 400-403), stating their opinion that Persia had no rights of sovereignty or suzerainty over Bahrain; the view of the Foreign Office (subsequently adopted) that references in public pronouncements to the independence of Bahrain needed to be qualified by the statement that the ruler was 'in special treaty relations with His Majesty's Government' (folios 378-380); the status of Tamb and Abu Musa (folio 361); the imposition of Iranian import duty on aviation oil supplied to Bahrain (folios 315-316); the views of 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. on the dangers of submitting the question to international arbitration (folios 308-314); similarities to the dispute between the United States of America (USA) and the Netherlands over Palmas Island [Miangas or Palmas, Indonesia] (e.g. folios 306-307); the views of the Government of Saudi Arabia (folios 268-270); the issue of passports and visas; transcripts of articles in support of the Iranian position in the Iranian and Arabic language press; the effect of the Bahrain nationality and property laws; Italian propaganda in support of the Iranian claim (folio 243); comparison with the Falkland Islands (folio 210); the refusal of the Iranian postal authorities to accept mails from Bahrain (folio 186); the involvement of the United Nations Organisation; Foreign Office 'Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 13 January 1947, substantially based on 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. 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein' of 1934 (folios 97-126); Soviet propaganda over Bahrain (folio 57); the presence in Tehran of a person claiming to represent the Bahrain National Party (folios 50-54); and correspondence dated 1948 concerning the size and position of the Persian community in Bahrain, including a letter on the subject from Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (folios 25-37).

The file contains significant correspondence from the Foreign Office, HM Minister, Tehran (later the British Ambassador to Tehran), and 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. .

The French language content of the file consists of approximately thirty folios of diplomatic correspondence and newspaper extracts.

The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence, dated 1927-31.

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file in 3 parts (519 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: this file consists of three physical parts. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of part one with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover of part three with 525; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-524; these numbers are printed, but are not circled.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain' [‎104r] (212/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3810, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100059426984.0x000019> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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