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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [176r] (360/617)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (301 folios). It was created in 22 Jun 1896-3 Mar 1900. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
pLft^he'stefaroftvfoetcllSe toukfeff ^ ^ retluCtion of the former
possible to utilize a part of that savin- f eff ?i ? arSe - Sa ™i s ’ antI P crIja Ps it might I)e
Tabriz. 1 tllat bavin « towards improving the position of the post at
Consulate-General o^a ^ p rf“ S ‘ 0 ^ abS ° k ' telj - neCesSa ^ to P la - Her Majesty’s
officet whh htr^tl^eat 6 shiirhe"'™ 11 - TiT' 8 L tSdf to - that an
a-year would be S a matter of no great moment? PP01 ’ t0 Wh ° m the l0SS ° f 200i or 30W ’
(Signed) H. PICOT, lieutenant-Colonel,
Tehran, Tune 30, 1895. Military Attach^
Consulates in Northern Persia: Resht.
Co N i S a^t tshf
this Consulate^ccn^d*render little^or^'assistancer ° f RUSSian m ° VementS “ the CaS P ian:
an officefoTthTranlfnfT led i ni f t0 ( l u f ti ° n necessity or advisability of maintaining
at thfpTace L q ^ n " P ° St “ interests Can be so little ^ed a?
including S in a 5dp t nf R ,l Sht COnSiSt J 0f Tn? 0nSUl and a native Assi ^ant; the total cost, not
extend to Z P expenses being 750/. per annum. The duties of Her Majesty’s Consul
commerciah ^ S ° Mazanderan and GiIan > aad are presumably both political and
r>JZ the ea i St 1S lm P ortant town of Astrabad, with its port of Bander Gez. There
Banrler^Cp 7 ^ ^ by a C ° nsul at and a Vice-Consul at
consist nf fe nei ’ a y - tbe agent ° f tbe ] ^ ercui T Company line of steamers). The exports
consist of cotton, raisins, rice, wool, &c.; the imports of sugar, cotton goods, tea
petioleum, &c. British trade is hardly worth mentioning, and our interests are sufficiently
served by a
native agent
Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government.
, who sends information of tribal movements on the Atrek and
Crurgan, and general reports on the state of the province.
Mp^Zv? 11 ° n this ? ide ° f the Cas P ian Pty from Ozanada to Bander Gez and
Mesned-i-bar. They proceed no further west, the consequence being that Astrabad has
become an outpost of Tehran, not of Resht, and all reports are sent direct to Her
Majesty s Minister at Tehran. Once every two or three years the Consul makes a tour to
Astrabad, and renews his acquaintance with the province.
The next port, and the more important, is that of Meshed-i-Sar, the outlet for
xSarfurush and Mazanderan. _ Here again Russia does a large export and import trade.
Kesht, as already explained, is a town lying 20 miles inland from the port of Enzileh.
Ine trade is almost entirely with Russia. English merchants compete on a small scale in
difficult C aSS6S co ^ on g 0 °ds, a competition becoming every year more and more
^jtish enterprise is further represented by a branch of the Imperial Bank of Persia,
established to facilitate exchange operations. This business has so far not been very
lucrative. J
It is possible that a second branch may be opened at Meshed-i-Sar, as the manager
has an idea of profiting by the large exchange, and of engaging directly in the trade with
Russian houses; however, this is entirely problematical.
Commercially, therefore, it would appear that our Consul has but little chance of
pushing British trade.
Politically, his influence is still more questionable. At one time Astrabad was thought
politically to be a place of importance, owing to its proximity to the countries of the
Yamut and Tekke Turkomans. This led to tbe Consular appointments of Captain
Lovett and Colonel Stewart; but whatever importance the place may have had in the past,
such has entirely ceased with the Russian occupation of the Trans-Caspian regions, and this
was so far recognized as to lead to the abolition of the Consulate some years ago.
Resht is even less favourably situated, and the presumption that the Consul can be
of any political value may be dismissed as incorrect.
There may be other reasons, of which I am in ignorance, necessitating the main
tenance of an officer of the rank of British Consul at Resht; but, as regards our commercial
interests, I am of opinion that equally good and sufficient service could be performed by a
Vice-Consul.
(Signed) H. PICOT, Lieutenant-Colonel,
Military AttacM.
Tehran, June 30, 1895.
About this item
- Content
The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.
The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.
Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:
- Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade route
- Number 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)
- Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.
The file also includes:
- Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for India
- A letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)
- A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position there
- Copies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draft
- Copies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and Seistan
- Handwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.
In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (301 folios)
- Arrangement
Most of volume A is arranged in reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume (from folios 6 to 76); volume B is arranged is rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); 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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [176r] (360/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x0000a1> [accessed 17 August 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/350
- Title
- ‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’
- Pages
- front , back , spine, edge , head , tail, front-i, 2r:32v, 34r:62v, 64r:84r, 86r, 89r:93v, 96r:96v, 99v:100v, 101v:128v, 129v:149v, back-i, front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 152r:186v, 188r:189r, 190r:299v, 303r:304v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence