‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [12v] (23/949)
The record is made up of 1 file (475 folios). It was created in 7 Nov 1901-23 Aug 1905. 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.
cwts. Wheat was formerly obtained from Persia, but scarcity in that
country in recent years has created a demand for Indian wheat.
Building Timber, carried mostly by sailing craft, now comes from British
East Africa.
Tombac (not tobacco) is imported from Persia.
Exports.
Pear/s.—Pearl fishing is the chief industry of Bahrein, and it is said that over
3,000 boats and 30,000 men collect for the fishing season. The Bahrein
fleet is much the largest. Koweit also furnishes a strong fleet, and the
smaller ports in the Gulf send their contingents. The fishing season is
from May to September, and operations are carried on at many different
places along the coast, the grounds being open to all comers under
condition of conforming to traditional rules. The shells are collected
by divers, opened by knife, and thrown overboard after removal of the
pearls, which are disposed of in Bahrein to dealers, many of whom come
up from India for the season. Ereight to Bombay by mail steamer is
one half per cent, on value. The annual value of pearls exported is
estimated at 350 , 000 £. to 400 , 00 (B.
Shells.—T \iq trade in oyster shells, long neglected, is now attracting more
attention ; but the bulk of the shells brought to the surface have to be
thrown overboard after search for pearls, as the boats cannot carry to
market more than the shells collected during the last three or four days
before returning to port. Those disposed of in Bahrein are mostly
oyster shells; mussel and mother-of-pearl shells are more found in Persian
waters.
Bates, chiefly from the mainland, are disposed of in India and Bed Sea ports.
The average annual export is about 60,000 cwt.
Horses.—A few horses, also from the mainland, are sent to India.
Textiles. —The weaving of sail cloth is a small native industry, in which Bombay
yarns are employed.
Customs.
The Customs are farmed out for an annual rental of about 10 , 000 /. Customs
duty is 5 per cent, ad valorem.
Coinage.
The Maria Theresa dollar is the currency of the Arab mainland, and
transactions with Bedouins are usually based on it. The Indian rupee is,
however, in general use in the islands, and the employment of it for both
quotations and payments is steadily extending. The Indian subsidiary silver
coins are widely used for divisional money. The Turkish lira (gold) is also
frequently employed as a means of effecting payments.
Large quantities of
rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
and dollars are needed every year by the pearl
dealers during the fishing season, and are imported from Bombay. They
filter back to India through the coast ports of the Gulf in payment for
imported commodities. In good pearl seasons handsome profits used to be
made on these specie operations, but the regular weekly steamer service now
tends to keep margins nearer the actual cost of transmitting coin.
JPeights and Measures.
Weights are—
1 Bubaa= 4 T 14 lbs. avoir.
1 Man = 57'6 lbs. avoir.
1 Bafaa =576 lbs. avoir.
The lineal measure in the bazaars is a yard of 18 } inches.
Course of Trade.
Bice and other provisions, which form a very important part of the
imports, are necessarily supplied from India, and as the piece goods trade is
About this item
- Content
This part contains papers mostly relating to British interests in Persia [Iran] and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
It includes a copy of the Board of Trade Commercial Intelligence Committee ‘Report received from Mr. H. W. Maclean, the Special Commissioner appointed by the Commercial Intelligence Committee of the Board of Trade, on the conditions and prospects of British trade in Persia.’
A handwritten note at the front of the file, on folio 5, states ‘Spare copy of notes & correspondence of the “Helmand Control” file (with maps)’. Folio 110 consists of handwritten notes, including one dated 27 April 1904, which states ‘The secret Helmand papers have been printed up, and a set, with necessary maps, is submitted for H.E. the Viceroy to take to England.’ Much of the file concerns the question of controlling the water of the Helmand river and irrigating its whole delta, and the work of the Seistan Arbitration Commission to arbitrate between Persia and Afghanistan on the question of rights to the water of the Helmand in Seistan.
The file also includes reports by W A Johns on reconnaissances of potential railway routes made while he was attached to the Seistan Arbitration Commission, and other papers relating to railways and roads in Persia.
In addition, the file includes copies of the following Government of India Foreign Department Proceedings, which reproduce received Foreign Department correspondence on the following subjects: ‘Selection of a British naval base in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .’, November 1901, Nos. 74-83; ‘Visit of His Excellency the Viceroy to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. during November-December 1903.’, February 1904, Nos. 33-127; ‘Establishment of telegraphic communication with Henjam. Question of the selection of a naval base in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Aggressive action of the Persians at Tamb and Abu Musa; their claim to the Islands.’, June 1904, Nos. 300-388; ‘Reports of the Commercial Mission to Persia.’, June 1905, Nos. 45-111; ‘Question of retaining flagstaffs erected in the neighbourhood of the Musandim Promontory’, August 1905, Nos. 288-307.’
The file also includes: brief handwritten notes written by Curzon on headed paper belonging to the Viceregal Lodge, Simla, relating to Seistan and to Lord Kitchener’s planned reforms for the reorganisation and redistribution of the Indian Army; and a printed copy of the report ‘A Note by Major H.L. [Herbert Lionel] Showers, C.I.E., on the present state of affairs in Kelat and a review of the system of Administration now being pursued.’
The file includes four maps: ‘Map of the Tail waters of Helmand River’ (13 July 1903), f 122; ‘Plan Shewing Proposed Routes for a Railway from Nushki to Afghan Frontier near Robat’ (10 April 1903), f 139; ‘Extract from Admiralty Chart No. 753. (Entrance to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ).’ (October 1901), f 219; and ‘Sketch of route Ram Hormuz to Fellahieh.’ (April 1904), f 230.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (475 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in no apparent order, apart from the Government of India Foreign Department Proceedings, folios 231 to 474, which are arranged in chronological order.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [12v] (23/949), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/359/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100093227828.0x000018> [accessed 26 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100093227828.0x000018
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100093227828.0x000018">‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [‎12v] (23/949)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100093227828.0x000018"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003c3/Mss Eur F111_359_0026.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003c3/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/359/1
- Title
- ‘Persia – especially Seistan’
- Pages
- front, 2r:194v, 195v:196r, 197v:199v, 200v, 201v, 203r:272r, 273v:275v, 277r:405v, 408r:408v, 409v, 411r:413v, 414v:419v, 420v:424v, 425v:432v, 433v:435v, 436v, 437v:443v, 444v:471v, 473r:475v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence
![‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [‎12v] (23/949) ‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [‎12v] (23/949)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003c3/Mss Eur F111_359_0026.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)