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'MISCELLANEOUS. PERSIA 1882-1898: Maps, Government Papers etc.' [7r] (13/202)
The record is made up of 1 file (99 folios). It was created in 1889-1923. It was written in English and Dutch. 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.
■■■■■■
[This Document is the Property of Her Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
Printed for the use of the Foreign Office. April 17, 1896.
CONFIDENTIAL.
(6765.)
Memorandum on the Persian Situation.
SIR, M. DURAND’S Memorandum displays a
deplorable condition of things in Persia, but not
one that can excite any surprise in those who have
visited the country, or have studied the ques
tion for any length of time. Persia, so long as it
remains under the present Shah, is incurably
rotten, and there is not one of his sons who would
not, in all probability, be a change for the worse.
Patching up so crazy a vessel is an almost hopeless
attempt. Sooner or later it will founder. Only
as it has some useful timbers and a valuable cargo,
there will be salvage worth looking after.
The following seems to me to be the points of
main importance suggested by Sir M. Durand’s
Memorandum:—
1. What to do when the Shah dies .—Two years ago
he as nearly as possible expired, and the rumour of
his death was spread in Tehran; and yet it would
scarcely be believed that our Legation was not only
without instructions of any kind, but had (if I
have been correctly informed) no plan of action
or idea whatsoever, but was prepared simply to wait
and see what might turn up.
Both Russia and England have agreed to recog
nize the Valiahd as the legitimate heir, and as the
least objectionable of the sons. But I have always
thought that in the event of the Shah’s sudden
death, it would be well for the British Minister
at Tehran to have instructions in advance to
communicate with his Russian colleague as to the
steps to be taken to insure a peaceful succession.
No other Power is greatly interested or would
claim to take a hand. We do not want the
Valiahd to ride down from Tabriz with an escort
of Russian soldiers (in the same way as we our
selves brought down Mohammed Shah in 1835),
and to be installed as Shah under Russian auspices,
which would almost certainly happen if one of the
[394] B
About this item
- Content
This file is comprised of a range of material compiled by George Nathaniel Curzon, mainly concerning matters relating to Persia but also relating to other areas in south Asia. It includes the following:
- Three copies of an official memorandum by Curzon (writing as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs), entitled 'Memorandum on the Persian Situation', dated 17 April 1896 and concerning British policy in Persia, including the actions to be taken in the event of the death of the present Shah of Persia (ff 3-10)
- Curzon's copies of official correspondence forwarded to the Marquess of Salisbury (Prime Minister Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil) by Sir Philip Currie, British Ambassador in Constantinople, which includes enclosed letters from British representatives reporting on the condition of Nestorians living in Ottoman Turkey (ff 17-21)
- Three maps, two of which depict Chitral and the surrounding area, while the third shows the recently delimited boundary between Russian and Afghan territories (ff 26-28)
- A selection of newspaper cuttings containing articles relating to Persia, dating from 1889-1898 (ff 30-39)
- A copy of an edition of the Journal of the Society of Arts , dated 16 February 1894 (ff 48-73)
- A copy of the following booklet: Perzie. Overzicht van in de Nederlandsche taal uitegeven werken, gevolgd door een opgave van de voornaamste buitenlandsche schrijvers (an overview of works on Persia published in the Dutch language), by A Hotz, dated January 1897 (ff 74-99)
- A photograph of General Amenkoff (f 100)
The material in the file ranges in date from 1889 to 1923; however, most of the material dates from between 1891 and 1898.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (99 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the file are largely arranged according to type of material; within this system of arrangement items are arranged in approximate chronological order.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 101; these numbers are written in pencil 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 Dutch in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'MISCELLANEOUS. PERSIA 1882-1898: Maps, Government Papers etc.' [7r] (13/202), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/68, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069907410.0x00000e> [accessed 8 August 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/68
- Title
- 'MISCELLANEOUS. PERSIA 1882-1898: Maps, Government Papers etc.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 3r:18v, 25r:25v, 29r:29v, 47r:47v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence