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File 1749/1921 ‘Persian Gulf:- Residency news summaries 1921-25’ [‎129r] (272/494)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (240 folios). It was created in 17 Mar 1921-29 Mar 1926. 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. .

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3
His Majesty’s Government had given to the Sheikh of Mohammerah, and defined the
limits of a general statement which 1 was authorised to make if questioned on the
subject. This instruction fortified me in the opinion that a full discussion with
the Minister for War had best be avoided, and in view of the latter’s statement to
Mr. Havard that no movement was imminent, and of the probability of my receiving
information of any definite preparations to initiate one, it seemed best to leave matters
where they were for the time being.
Shortly afterwards the Sheikh of Mohammerah, acting on my advice, appointed an
agent in Tehran to endeavour to settle his accounts with the Persian Government, the
individual in question being a former agent of the Ministry of Finance in Arabistan,
and gave him carte blanche within the limits of a certain fixed sum to settle the matter.
I have kept in frequent touch with this individual through Mr. Havard, but though he
seems to have made an honest endeavour to reach an agreement with the Persian
Government, owing no doubt to the insatiable greed of the latter and of the officials
concerned, who expect some of the money transferred to stick to their own hands, I
regret to say that no settlement has yet intervened.
On the 18th July, to my astonishment, I learnt late in the evening that a
detachment with guns and machine guns had left Ispahan for Arabistan and had
already passed a few stages along the road to Bakhtiari. From information subsequently
received, it seems clear that special precautions had been taken to keep any news of the
formation and despatch of this force from reaching the ears of any British official or
any of the Bakhtiari khans ; moreover, Sardar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Asbjaa, the Bakhtiari Governor-General
of Ispahan, incredible as it may seem, was in total ignorance of the movement.
I at once sent Mr. Havard on the morning ot the 19th July to see Sardar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Sepah
and the Prime Minister, and directed him to represent to them in a vigorous manner
that, in my opinion, the step they were taking was in the highest degree unwise and
injudicious ; to explain the situation in Arabistan, both as regards the various tribes
and the paramount interests of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, whose operations,
owing to their delicate and complicated nature, could be seriously prejudiced even by a
threat of local disturbance ; and to use all his best efforts to dissuade them from the
step, and induce them to recall the detachment. Sardar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Sepah’s attitude was not
unreasonable ; he argued that it was awkward to suspend the movement, which had
been initiated with the approval of the Cabinet, and that he could not take it on
himself to do so without an order from the Government. Kawam-es-Sultaneh was
much more obstinate, and said that it was difficult for the Government to cancel the
movement without serious loss of prestige ; a long discussion ensued, in which his
Highness stubbornly defended his point of view, by assertion rather than argument, but
in the end he authorised Mr. Havard to assure me that the movement would be
suspended anyway for two months, and that the troops would be directed to remain
where they were. Mr. Havard requested his Highness to repeat this assurance before
taking leave of him, in order that the matter might be perfectly clear.
On the 21st July the Prime Minister called on me, and began by saving that the
emphatic nature of the language used by Mr. Havard had taken him somewhat by
surprise, as he was not aware that the matter of despatching a comparatively
insignificant bodyguard for the Governor-General of Arabistan was one of such deep
interest for us, and he was therefore anxious to hear my own views on the subject. I
gladlv availed myself of this invitation, and stated the objections which 1 felt in great
detail. I pointed out all the dangers of introducing a new element of force into a
situation like that in Arabistan, and said that the movement was both useless and
dangerous. I could not understand the necessity of imperilling the peace of a tranquil
region at a moment when the Persian Government had a large-scale rebellion on hand
in Azerbaijan, when the Jangali trouble had broken out again in Gilan, when forces
were needed to check the depredations of the Lurs, and when there were half-a-dozen
trade routes, now infested by brigands, the scene of frequent robberies of merchandise,
which badly needed to be policed. Having given his Highness a dozen good reasons^
for not sending the force, I challenged him to give me a single good one in favour of
its despatch. All his Highness could say was that the Governor-General had repeatedly
asked for an army escort in order to sustain his authority ; that the Persian Government
desired to send the detachment in order to prove that it could do so, and to “ show the
flag ” : that the Cabinet had approved the step and that the prestige ot the Govern
ment was seriously involved. I replied that the ground of prestige seemed to me a
very weak one to oppose to the weighty arguments which 1 had used ; if it was merely
a question of that, it was easy enough to save the Government s face by saying that
the summer heat of Arabistan was bad for the health of the troops and that it had

About this item

Content

This volume mainly contains copies of printed monthly summaries of news (Bushire 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. Diary entries) received by the British 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. , and 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. Political Department minute papers prefacing and commenting on the news summaries.

The news summaries cover the period January 1921 to December 1925 (there is no summary for February 1921). Summaries from January 1925 to July 1925 cover fortnightly rather than monthly periods. The summaries were compiled 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Prescott Trevor, Acting 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. Stuart George Knox, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Beville Prideaux, and Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Gilbert Crosthwaite, respectively).

The summaries cover areas in Persia [Iran] including: Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], Dizful [Dezful], Ahwaz [Ahvāz], Ispahan (Isfahan), Shiraz, Behbehan [Behbahān], Bushire, Bunder Abbas [Bandar Abbas], Kerman, Mekran [Makran], Shushtar, Bakhtiari, and Lingah. They also cover Muscat, the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , Bahrain, and Kuwait.

The summaries cover various subjects, including: movements of British officials, Persian Officials, non-officials, and foreigners; health; Persian ports; arms traffic; military affairs; the Anglo-Persian Oil Company; the Shaikh of Mohammerah; and roads.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (240 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 1749 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. :- 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. news summaries 1921-25) consists of one volume only.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 237; 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.

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File 1749/1921 ‘Persian Gulf:- Residency news summaries 1921-25’ [‎129r] (272/494), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/977, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069882614.0x000049> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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