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'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎9v] (23/386)

The record is made up of 1 volume (189 folios). It was created in 1907. 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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the de patch of numerous medical officers to Basra, Bushire, and Bunder
Abbas The islands and coasts of Southern Persta bad been v.sited and
furveyed by Russian officers, and reports bad been current of Russian des.gn.
upon the island of Ivishm. . , , .
Simultaneously there had been evidence of special activity on the part of
Simultaneously mer otber p owe rs.- In 1896 France, the
Activity of Other European Powers. a ^y 0 f Russia, had organised a State-
aided service of merchant steamers in the Gulf. In 1897 a Prench Vice-
Consul had been appointed to Bushire. Designs were entertained for
obtaining a footing in Arabistan. A French agent had been posted to Lingah
Negotiations had taken place for a French loan to the Persian Government
nnon the securitv of the Customs of the Gulf ports and a promise of a railway
monopoly in the Shah’s dominions. Germany too had displayed an increasing
interest in the Gulf. For long her policy bad aimed at the control of the
Drincipal railways in Asia Minor. The natural corrollary was the continuance
of this system to the shores of the Gulf. Already she had secured a concession
for a road from Khanikin to Tehran. A German Consulate had been
established at Bushire. Specially chartered German vessels had made their
appearance in the Gulf, and a German ship of war had followed in their
wake These were our foremost rivals. But Turks, Spaniards, and Belgians
had also appeared upon the scene in furtherance of commercial or political
designs.
Individually these symptoms of external, and notably of Kussian or of
Russophil, interest in Southern Persia might be of small importance. Collec-
iivelv they indicated the policy and ambitions of other Powers in a manner
which was open to no misinterpretation, and provided unmistakeable evidence
1 of the determination of other nations to
Russian objects. challenge the special position acquired
bv Great Britain in an area, by land and sea, which with good reason had
been regarded by the British Government as falling within their sphere
of influence. In particular, the Government of India could not but regard
with grave apprehension the advance of Russia across the desert w^hich forms
a natural harrier of division between Northern and Southern Persia, and the
prospect of the appearance of the Russian flag in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. brought
with it a novel elemeut of unrest into a situation that at no time had been
without its anxious features. It was evident that Russia regarded with
unconcealed aversion the opening of the British commercial route from India
to Seistan and Khorasan, and intended to spare no effort to rob it of success,
and further that she viewed with an interested eye the future of Seistan
itself, and was preparing the way for the eventual inclusion within the
Russian sphere of that portion of the Shah’s dominions. The object of
their policy was no less apparent. Russia was determined not merely to
block a promising avenue of Anglo-Indian trade, and to acquire a position of
potential menace to British interests on the western flank of Afghanistan,
but was also bent on the prosecution of an advance which could not be
expected to terminate until it brought her to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The
acquisition of a warm water port has long been the goal of Russian
ambitions. To free commercial access to the ports of Southern Persia her
claim is unassailable. But more than this is needed to satisfy her ambitions,
which aim at the obtaining of a fortified base upon the Indian Ocean connected
by a direct line of railway with European Russia, and defended by a fleet
in the waters of the Middle East. Such a port would constitute au insupport
able menace to British interests, would involve the ruin of the hard won
position of Great Britain in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and would necessitate the
maintenance of a British fleet which would lay an intolerable burden upon the
resources of India.
More than half a century before there had been exchanged between the
Governments of Great Britain and Russia, and they had more than once been

About this item

Content

Printed at the GC [Government Central] Press, Simla.

The volume is divided into three parts: Part I (folios 5-47) containing an introduction; Part II (folios 48-125) containing a detailed account; and Part III (folios 126-188) containing despatches and correspondence connected with Part I Chapter IV ('The Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ', folios 28-47).

Part I gives an overview of policy and events in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region during Curzon's period as Viceroy [1899-1905], with sections on British policy in Persia; the maintenance and extension of British interests; Seistan [Sīstān]; and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Part II contains more detailed accounts of selected topics, including sections on British policy in Persia, customs and finance, quarantine, administration, communications, and British and Russian activity in Seistan. The despatches and correspondence in Part III include correspondence from the Government of India in the Foreign Department, the Secretary of State for India, and the Viceroy; addresses and speeches by Curzon; and notes of interviews between Curzon and local rulers.

Mss Eur F111/531-534 consist of four identical printed and bound volumes. However, the four volumes each show a small number of different manuscript annotations and corrections.

This volume contains manuscript additions on folios 11, 40-41, 47, and 142-146.

Extent and format
1 volume (189 folios)
Arrangement

The volume contains a list of Parts I-III on folio 4; a table of contents of Part I on folio 6; a table of contents of Part II on folio 49; and a table of contents of Part III on folios 127-129, which gives a reference to the paragraph of Part I Chapter IV that the despatch or correspondence is intended to illustrate.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 191; 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.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎9v] (23/386), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/532, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070112822.0x000018> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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