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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [194v] (396/617)
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.
t‘.s''?/ ns •’ = ’ ".
m^.
British Consul-General at Meshed (m
--- Seistan, which is
and reported
L 2 3
, r^xr wppIcs a.o'O. a special mission con-
the ruler of Kain (to whom ’ a J d the ruler^of Kain endeayouring to
veying presents ^ a h f,ff^’ld "non Seistan himself,
oust his brother and to establish a nom up
4 Since the appointment of a Briti i«sq
consequence of a similar Russian W^rLently ylited
included in the Consul’s jurisdiction has bMn treq^m l [oii ,
U ^°f n d'it^in^^Sihnilt lS Colonel°Yate made a tour thither in 1891 and strongly
^ti* ap^ent of to^
the Russian
native agent
Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government.
, whom He lou ^u-Hpc nf ^pistan the cheanness
He enlarged upon the wheat-producing capabilities ol Seistan, me cneapness
S train there as compared with the dearness outside, the advantage of export-
in/the surplus supply to Quetta, the utility of a postal service from Chaman
Sfseistan to Meshed, in place of the Kandahar-Herat line; and he recom
mended the construction of a line of wells and the planting of levy posts from
Nushki to the Seistan border, so as to open a new caravan loute for Indo-
Persian trade. His report was shown to the Shah, who agreed with Colonel
Yate’s description of the political situation in Seistan, and, in so far as they
concerned Persia, with his recommendations. The Government of India were,
however, at that time under the impression, which has since been abandoned,
that anv evidence of British interest in Seistan or in Eastern Persia would
merely "bring down the Russians (who have come down without it), and would
tempt them to extend their railway southwards (which they have since done
independently of any British move). Accordingly Colonel Tate s jiroposals were
rejected.
5. Two years later Captain McMahon, who had been employed upon the
demarcation of the Baluch-Afghan boundary (in pursuance of the Durand Agree
ment of 1893), submitted a memorandum to the Government of India (dated
June 21st, 1896), in which he strongly recommended the opening of the route
which had been negatived in 1894, and the adoption of proper measures for its
protection, and for the exercise of political authority up to the Persian border.
The Government of India accepted these proposals, and submitted them to the
Secretary of State in a despatch, dated September 16th, 1896. The latter replied
on October 23rd, giving his sanction, and observing that—“ In the interest of the
trade between India and Persia, it seems to me very desirable to further its
development by this route”. In the ensuing month Lieutenant Webb Ware
was appointed Political Officer at Chageh, and was instructed to establish levy
posts, and to take other steps for the prompt execution of the new scheme.
6. This officer started upon his first visit to Seistan in January and
returned in June 1897. He found Russian influence much in evidence in Seistan,
where he pleaded for the early installation of a British Agent. With regard
to the commercial possibilities of Seistan, he reported that “ Seistan’s staple
products are gram ghi (clarified butter) and wool. If facilities for carriage
were to he improved, it is by no means impossible that the future may see an
extensive Perso-Baluch gram-trade called into existence”. Upon his outward,
the hfhirt-n P ° f hlS re i tl i ru ’ j0Urn ? y ’ took ste P s > b y the opening of wells, by
the building of guard-houses and godowns, and by the institution of lew posts
7fiTono C s P rw 0 ^ 0f t th ? n T trade r0Ute ^ and he su ' ,m itted a number
urthei pioposals, with that object m view, to the Government of India.
Maior Brazier t - e rre n ,il 1 We n b . Ware ’?, T: f t to Seistan overlapped that of Surgeon-
by the Government nf' r° r* 1 o fd , tlie same y ea r was hurriedly despatched
that might be required in that n°' iV'' 1 "!’ to , . carr y out an y plague precautions
proceedfngs that Russia hid uel S hbou , rh ood m anticipation of the preventive
His report 9 testifi^'to^he^^reaf'activitv^of °f putting Lo effect,
glowing and hiehlv colmirprl^rn r il ^ ussla 113 Seistan, and contained a
a?’
resources under prop?; eontroi could t hugeV Tn^edlT^f teSmtd
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’ [194v] (396/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x0000c5> [accessed 10 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