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File 4011/1923 Pt 1 'PERSIAN GULF NEGOTIATIONS 1928-33. BASIDU.' [‎14r] (32/1306)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (649 folios). It was created in 22 Oct 1923-29 Nov 1933. It was written in English, French and Arabic. 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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' - t!S DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
PERSIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
November 9, 1933
Section 1.
[E 6833/1273/34] No. 1 .
Lan Officers of the Crown to foreign Office.—(Received November 9.)
Law Officers' Department,
Royal Courts of Justice,
November 9 1933
WE were honoured with your commands signified to us in Mr. G. W. Rondels
letter of the 2 hth October, submitting for our opinion a question which has arisen
as to whether British Basidu, Persia, can be held to be British territory in full
sovereignty, or, if not, whether His Majesty’s Government can claim the right
to occupy the concession with armed forces, and to exercise jurisdiction over the
area and adjoining territorial waters.
We have taken the matter into our consideration and, in obedience to your
commands, have the honour to report that—
( a )—L In our opinion the Imam of Muscat was not in a position at the time
of the grant of ls 20 to cede sovereignty over the Island of Qishm or any part of
it. W e doubt very much whether the Imam intended by the grant to do more than
give his consent to the removal of British troops from another place to the island
for a particular purpose, namely, that of checking piracy. But in any case, the
facts as narrated in Papers A and B fall far short of the evidence which we
think any tribunal would require before being satisfied that at the material date
the sovereignty of the Island of Qishm was in the Imam of Muscat. The high-
water mark of Muscat supremacy seems to have been reached in 1794, when it
is to be noted the victors used their victory—not to claim sovereignty by right of
conquest—but to obtain a revenue lease from Persia in respect of territories
which, we assume, included Qishm. Between 1794 and 1820 nothing is recorded
which, in our opinion, altered the position thus brought about. We therefore
answer the first question in the negative.
2. The nature and duration of the occupation of British Basidu have not
been such as, in our opinion, to establish a claim to the area in question as
British territory by prescription or otherwise. So far as the principle of
prescription is concerned, there is a substantial body of opinion amounting to a
balance of authority in favour of including prescription among the methods of
acquiring sovereignty over territory. It is generally recognised that in order
to establish such a title, there must have been a continuous and undisturbed
exercise of sovereignty over a sufficient period, but there is great uncertainty as
to what is a sufficient period. In some circumstances a period of fifty years has
been regarded as sufficient. In the case of the dispute between the United States
of America and Mexico in 1910 concerning the Chamizal tract, the period relied
on by the United States was from 1848 until the year 1895, but no opinion was
expressed by the International Boundary Commission as to the sufficiency of that
length of time, their view being that, in any event, upon the evidence adduced
it was impossible to hold that the possession of the territory in question by the
United States was “undisturbed, uninterrupted and uncliallengedso as to
found a prescriptive title.
In the present case we cannot regard the occupation which followed the grant
of 1820 as amounting to an exercise of sovereignty. The occupation, in our
opinion, continued to be occupation under the grant of the Imam down to the
time when, as we are informed in Paper B (paragraph 45), the lease granted by
Persia in September of that year was automatically determined and was never
thereafter renewed in favour of Muscat. We have not overlooked the fact that
notwithstanding the provisions of the firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). of 1855 (articles 13 and 14) and
the undertaking contained in the Treaty of Paris of 1857 (articles 2 and 14)
Basidu remained in British occupation without complaint by Persia. This is
strong evidence in support of a prescriptive title or, as it might be put, of estoppel
against Persia by reason of unchallenged possession. Article 6 of the Telegraph
[971 i— 1 ]

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Content

This volume relates to the British occupation of Basidu, situated on Kishm [Qeshm] Island in the Gulf, close to the south coast of Persia [Iran], and occupied by the British since the early 1820s. It is stated in the correspondence that the site had been used mainly as a coal depot for British naval vessels until 1913, and that since then it has been retained on 'political grounds', as a potential bargaining asset in negotiations with Persia.

The correspondence primarily concerns the British claim (or lack thereof) to Basidu, in the event of the Persian Government questioning Britain's ongoing occupation. It covers the history of Basidu's status and the various existing agreements that relate to it, as part of an attempt by the British to gather documentary evidence to support their claim. Also discussed are a number of reported incidents at Basidu, involving British representatives and the local Persian authorities, mainly regarding customs, taxes, and the presence of the British naval guard. In addition, the correspondence touches on Anglo-Persian relations in general, with occasional references being made to ongoing treaty negotiations between the two countries.

The volume's principal correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the British Minister in Tehran; the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; officials of the 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. , the Foreign Office, the Admiralty, and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department. Other notable but less frequent correspondents include the following: the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; the Viceroy of India; the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station; the Law Officers of the Crown.

Included with the correspondence are several related documents, including the following: two sketch maps (f 622); copies (in English and Arabic) of a treaty dated 1856 between Muscat and Persia, in which the Imam of Muscat acknowledges Kishm Island as being part of the Persian Empire (f 179 and ff 221-223); draft and final copies of an 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. memorandum dated 18 October 1933, outlining Britain's understanding of the history of the status of Basidu from 1720 to 1928, including extracts from nineteenth century reports and related correspondence (ff 46-54 and ff 123-159); a submission of reference, prepared by the 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. and the Foreign Office, for the Law Officers of the Crown, requesting the latter's legal opinion on the strength of the British claim to Basidu (ff 43-45 and ff 67-83); a copy of a secret report on Basidu, prepared by the Commander-in-Chief at the East Indies Station, containing extracts from the East Indies Station's records and notes from the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (ff 16-38).

The Arabic language material consists of the aforementioned treaty text. The material written in French consists of small extracts from correspondence and treaty articles. It should be noted that there is no material covering the years 1924 and 1925.

The volume includes two dividers, which give a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (ff 4-5).

Extent and format
1 volume (649 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 4011 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Negotiations) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/1094-1095. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

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 651; 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, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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File 4011/1923 Pt 1 'PERSIAN GULF NEGOTIATIONS 1928-33. BASIDU.' [‎14r] (32/1306), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1094, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100077104051.0x000021> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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