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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [258r] (523/617)
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
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[ 27 ]
that may he required for up-heep and renairs nmrl fm* • •
hv'S^BusU^: P1 ' eseut natiTe a§ent - duri “s’ the time that UieResident is
82 We are heartily in accord with Sir M. Durand in thinhine that a -Rrit;^
officer shou d be appointed to Bunder Abbas, with charge of the Gulfnort
cast of Bushire, and of British interests in the maritime provinces of South
eastern Persia. The necessity of such an appointment was mooted, as long a "o as
lh79 ’ a hat time British Hesident at Bnshire. It was raised
again m 1882 1884,1885,1888 and 1892, and on the majority of these occasffins
was supported by petitions from the not insignificant Himlu and Khoja popula-
tion engaged m trade at Bunder Abbas. In 1893, the appointment af v^e-
Consul of an Englishman engaged in business at that port was agreed to by
the (lOvernmem of India and was sanctioned by the Secretary of State (Lord
Kimber ey), but was subsequently dropped upon the inexplicable grounds that
the estimated cost of Rs 50 a month or £10 a year could not be saved out of
the Bushire
Residency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
funds In 1-96, the question was again discussed
between the Government of India and the Resident (Colonel Wilson) • and the
former so far departed from their former attitude as to say that the* proposal
must be held over until the normal conditions of trade had been restored by
the withdrawal of the Russian sanitary cordon. These conditions have since
been fulfilled, and we are prepared to look with a more favourable eye upon a
proposal, the intrinsic recommendations of which are not open to dispute.
W e are willing to accept the financial responsibility for the proposed appoint
ment, although we think that it may he possible to meet it without additional
cost by the transfer to Bunder Abbas of the Political Assistant now stationed
at Meshed. Sir M. Durand suggests that the officer appointed to this post
should pass the summer months at Yezd (Bunder Abbas being an impossible
site of residence during the hot season), taking the place there of the present
unpaid Commercial Yiee-Consnl. Upon this point w r e would propose to consult
Her Majesty’s Consul at Kerman, which is in close connection with Bunder
Abbas and the coast; and we will submit to Your Lordship at a later date our
final views upon this subject.
83. Sir M. Durand mentions, as a matter affecting exclusively the Govern
ment of India, the possible appointment of a British officer at Bahrein. We
do not hesitate to state to Your Lordship that such an appointment is in our
opinion both desirable and obligatory. Trouble, similar to that which we have
1 o t/ /
already incurred in Maskat, is brewing in Bahrein, the treaty engagements of
which petty State with Her Majesty’s Government provide no legitimate
excuse for such complications. It is necessary to anticipate them by placing
a British officer permanently in the island; and we are at the present time
awaiting Colonel Meade’s definite proposals on the matter. We are inclined
to think that it will probably be sufficient to nominate an officer of a sub
ordinate class. Brom time to time he will also visit Koweit. It remains to be
decided whether he should also have under his political jurisdiction the Trucial
Chiefs of the Arab or Pirate coast, or whether these should be placed under
the officer at Bunder Abbas. We incline to the former opinion, hut reserve this
matter for subsequent decision.
84. We have now dealt with each one of Sir M. Durand’s specific pro
posals, and have stated our own views in support, in amendment, or in
supplement of them. It remains for ns to mention some additional proposals
of our own, and to comment upon certain independent suggestions submitted
by Her Majesty’s Minister. We entertain, and have already in the present
year acted upon, the opinion that Her Majesty’s naval forces should be more
strongly and frequently represented than they have hitherto been m the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, and that there should he recurrent visits from the Admiral of the
East Indian station. During the past spring Admiral Douglas, at the request
of the Viceroy, paid such a visit, and Ins presence was of material assistance
dnrino- the recent crisis at Maskat. We are doubtful of the wisdom of the
existing system, under which the political charge of the Makran coast, and the
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’ [258r] (523/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740555.0x00007c> [accessed 5 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