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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [200v] (408/617)
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.
1 1 |,T "
[ ^ ]
, . TT-pvrmn He was also in a position to say that “the
favour of Ins own return to 1 hopelessly handicapped by its natural
disadvaniageis . “ mir a ^ent and Consui-Cienerai ai mesnea. mt
disputed by Colonel Temp , ° . reV erse side of the shield to that
if'if ^o^ ^n^witii a pardonable optimism, been displayed by the various
■which has perhaps, witl P d in L ^ inception or development of the
o£ l C !!.-’file Indian side. In subsequent letters, Captain Sykes reiterated
enterpise from the I t r j^ a “ l 1 ®' .; t y in respect of water, camel-grazing, and sup.
h ] s TtheBunder AbbasToXbut so dr receded from his original attitude as
phes of the Bunde onening on the Indian route for imports of tea
Ind indigo and ttat on political grounds its opening was important, adding,
“ The larger the parties that visit Seistan and the more frequently they appear,
the greater the political effect will he On February 14th, he explained “ how
necessary it is toprovide the funds, by the careful expenditure of which Seistan
i _ in infill and urged that C£ it is of paramount import-
allow
while
adherhm ToliisTiews about the superiority of the Bunder Abbas road over the
Indian route, he nevertheless remarked that ce the Seistams generally, and the
Baluchis in particular, all look towards the East and feouth, while their local
commerce is now mainly carried on with Quetta ”, and that “ the revival of the
Seistan-Quetta route, the buildings erected along it and the other proofs of
British activity, have helped to increase our prestige He now advocated
placing a smart Muhammadan
native agent
Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government.
in Seistan “ to supervise the post
which I earnestly hope will he made permanent” ; and in a later letter, on May
11th, he urged “ the establishment of an Indian Post Office at Birjand, as well
as in Seistan, with a competent news-
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
for each district which c< modest
scheme should he sanctioned and carried out without delay In the last letter
received from him, dated June 1st, Captain Sykes expressed his final opinion as
adverse to the appointment of a British Consul for Kain and Seistan, unless
a Russian Consul were sent (in which case it would become obligatory). It will
he seen, therefore, from a synopsis of Captain Sykes’s reports, that, while
he remains unfavourable to the prospects of the Quetta-Seistan route, as
compared with the old trans-Persian road, he has come round to the
opinion, which no previous traveller in Seistan has questioned, that it is
essential that British interests, commercial and political, should be sustained
in that quarter by an energetic and liberal maintenance of the line of connec
tion with India, hut that, for their support in Seistan itself, it will be sufficient
for the present^ unless a more active course he imposed by Russian initiative, to
rely upon Indian
native agents
Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government.
. These recommendations I have accepted
m the draft despatch to the Secretary of State. I should add that Colonel
Temple, who has throughout disputed many of Captain Sykes’s statements
and dissented from his conclusions—partly owing to a not unfounded suspicion
that Captain Sykes was advising m a spirit of undue independence of Meshed-
has urged, m view of the recent renewal of plague alarms in Eastern ’*
addition whli ^? en ^ ^ Sen ^ ^ r01 ^ ?- n ^ a ’ should be a medical officer, charged m
tf a^ Although I believe these alarms
purposes in 1899 1 i ° W fomented Russia for political
Is to send a Hosn a V S ° ^ acted ll P°? Colonel Temple’s advice
medical reporter for n " f 11 o ^ r0ra ^ ue ^ a Soistan as news-
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
and
sasaras usttiz**- “ <• “»«— *«* - -
its poJiionlrfitsfeatm^T/nV* 1 T* ten that ^istan is, by virtue of
Britain. Situated at the nobit of mu ^ 1 interes t both to Russia and Great
istan, and Batbil^ Afghan-
Gulf,
advance can be made from Khora«an irv n
position upon the exposed flank of AflhanistaTwonTd P Seistan -'
^■igudmstan would render its nnmnaaii
no
Its
render its occupation of
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’ [200v] (408/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740555.0x000009> [accessed 21 July 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