'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.' [‎33v] (71/386)

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Persia wbioh followed Hie ou J> d t jj e i r sanitary powers in respect of the
1897 the Persian Surgeon at Bushire, and consent-
whole Persian coast to the Bn nh lt ! ? , d jn saD i tarv charge of the
ed that British medica! subordinates shoow^p ^ was an
ports of Mohammerah, B«shir , . ’ f it no t only emphasised the
event of no small ^ Po'jt'c^l^n.ficance^to.^^ Gu]f ^ affair * _ but als0
predominant interest of G - ians were ready to avai i themselves for
removed a pretext of which sm all outbreak of plague
political interference aUho from India to cope with
ha\mg occurred at xSus , ^ 1 nnTYirin ic 0rv sanitary precautions excited a
the situation; the prospec 1 - d j the local authorities
popular disturbance at Bushirehutitwasrepressea not A
without having attained ™ s . Vxcept for this slight con-
heyond Bushire town where i 9 ' . ’ tt m 'l- ed smoothlv at all the Persian ports,
tretemps the sanitary arrangements w - 1 . to sup pla n t the British
In 1903, an endeavour by th ® ^"ofVnt pcrsian ports was defeated; and a
medical statf in the sanitary control of fte lers.an po t viee . Consulate in
further atfem,. , made „ 1904 ^ the functions 0 f the British
conpinction wdh tfie Customs am o and shi i was equally unsuc-
Besideney Surgeon at Bushim to ^ (he arrangement of 1897 were coun-
cessful. ^ • Government, and the encroachments of the Customs
officials did' not finally cease until a stern diplomatic protest had been addressed
by thtBritish Minister at Tehran to the Persian Government.
The introduction of sanitary precautions at Maskat and Gwadur was
attended by some difficulty on account of the opposition of the Sultan of Gman ,
attended uy sun c j cmdnallv brought to a reasonable view of the
situation and feWOO lie voluntarily placed Us preventive establishment under
the eontrofof the British Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. Surgeon at Maskat. A sanitary system was
iuoTn"] at Bahrein in 1897 under British advice but ^ -re ;
more than neutralised by the covert opposition of the Sheikh, and in 1900 the
Government of India were constrained to insist upon its abontion ; in U05, on
the reappearance of plague in Bahrein, a subordinate of the Indian mednal
establishment was sent tl.ere to take charge of measures which the Indian Gov
ernment had resolved to introduce, hut the disease disappeared before his arrival
and no further steps were taken. The Victoria Memorial Hospital m Bahrein,
founded by private subscription in 1901 and opened in 1905, was taken over by
the Government of India who are now responsible for its maintenance ; and in
1904 a dispensary was opened at Koweit in connection with the British loliticai
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. established at that port.
of Itussia from 1900 onwards to capture a
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , in view also of the increased
mercantile activity in the Gulf of Ger
many and other nations, it was important
that no means of strengthening the predominance of British commerce should
be neglected. The steps taken to foster British trade included the execution
of new marine surveys, the acceleration of passenger communication^ and
mails, the improvement of telegraphic facilities, and the despatch to Persia of
two commercial missions which also served to some extent the interests of
trade in the Gulf. A number of these measures were advantageous to foreign
as well as to British merchants, but the prestige of their execution remained
with Great Britain, and British trade being the largest in volume benefited most
by the improvements. The subject of the commercial missions has already been
disposed of and we accordingly deal here with the remaining subjects only.
The principal points in the Gulf at which it was sought to increase the
conveniences for merchant shipping were Bushire, Koweit, Bahrein and the
mouth of the Shat-el-Arab; the survey
Marine surveys. 0 £ sou thern approach to Bassidore,
which has already been mentioned under another heading, was also in part
commercial. The resurvey of Bushire harbour was chiefly for the purpose of
ascertaining whether large vessels could be brought into the inner anchorage;
it was carried out in 1904 with the consent of the Persian Government; and
the result was to show that, while the deepening of the inner harbour and its
In view of the endeavours
larger share of the trade of the
British navigation and commerce.