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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.' [‎26r] (56/386)

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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rnndum of tlie communication made on the subject by the Minister.
The Sadr Azam on more than one occasion declared in conyersation that
the Shah had no intention of alienating the Crown lands in Seistan. He
was asked for a formal assurance in writing on the point. This, however,
he declined to give. The Shah, he explained, regarded such a stipulation as
unnecessary and inconsistent with his dignity as an independent sovereign.
For the time, however, the attempt had been frustrated. In July 1903 rumour
once more announced the sale to the Russians of the Seistan Crown lands;
while, in August Customs officers at Nasratabad declared that a scheme was
under contemplation to hand over the khalsa lands to the Belgians. The
Viceroy urged an immediate protest against the adoption of such a measure.
The Grand Vizier emphatically denied the truth of either report. Rumours of
transfer of the lands now gave way to rumours of sale of their produce. It was
reported, and the news was confirmed from various sources, that the Government
share of the Seistan grain had been sold to the Russian Bank or to agents of the
institution. Enquiries at the capital resulted in the issue of stringent orders
to the Governor-General of Khorasan forbidding any such transaction. Still,
however, the rumours continued, and it was reported that one Abdul Karim was
about to start from Meshed for Seistan to take delivery of the grain. In
March this agent actually arrived at Nasratabad, and openly announced the
object of his mission. Once more the Sadr Azam was addressed, and instructions
issued direct to the Acting Governor in Seistan forbidding sale to Abdul
Karim or to any other representative of the Russian Bank. The agent stayed
for a few months at Nasratabad. But the orders from the capital had defeated
the object of his mission, and in August he left Seistan discredited. In the
summer of 1905 the rumour of the sale of the Seistan Crown lands was again
revived and explicit assurances were required of the Shah who was then in
Europe. The only answer that could be elicited was that the lands had not
been alienated, but that they were the private property of the Shah and that he
declined to fetter his right of disposing of them in any way. As nearly the
whole area in Seistan is classed as Crown land, the gravity of the present posh
tion is self-evident.
Russian activity was not confined to Seistan itself, but covered the entire
tract northwards to the Russian border. In 1897, the iirst serious outbreak of
plague occurred in Bombay. The Russian Government seized the opportunity.
Eears were expresssed for the safety of Russian territory; and a quarantine
line was drawn on Persian soil from the desert on the west to the Afghan
frontier at Karez, and thence along the border northwards to the Russian
post at Pui-i-Khatun. Baluchistan and Afghan territory both alike "were
_ ^ ^ free from the disease. The cordon was a
Russian Quarantine or on. violation of the Venice Convention, and
had been established solely for political ends. It afforded means of hamper
ing the trade which Indian Government were endeavouring to foster by the
Nushki route. By restricting passage of the Perso-Afghan border, it served
to divert Afghan trade from Persian into Russian territory. It furnished the
pretext for a system of minute enquiry into the resources of an area already
destined for Russian control. The cordon was placed in charge of Russian
doctors, supported by a force of over a hundred Russian Cossacks. At an
early date, the Russian soldiers were replaced by Persian Cossacks.
But the Russian officers remained, and took their orders from the Russian
Consul-General at Meshed. Attempts to push the cordon southwards
were frustrated by the despatch of a British doctor to Seistan. The
latter officer, after a few months’ stay at Nasratabad, was withdrawn from
Persian territory. But the Russian posts remained, and Indian merchants
constantly complained of the harassment to which they were subjected on
the plea of quarantine. Remonstrances were more than once addressed to
the Persian Government, but with no result. Finally in 1903, it was decided
that the position could no longer be tolerated. Sir Arthur Hardinge was
instructed to present a formal note demanding the withdrawal of the line.
The Shah in turn addressed the Russian Minister. But the Russian
Government remained immovable. In July, Lord Lansdowne addressed the
Russian Ambassador in London. But the
Foreign
Office at St. Petersburgh

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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 3, 11, 13-15, 64-65, and 89.

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.' [‎26r] (56/386), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/533, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070115181.0x000039> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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