!['ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [‎89v] (185/798)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000912.0x0000db/IOR_L_PS_20_CA10_0185.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [‎89v] (185/798)")
'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [89v] (185/798)
The record is made up of 1 volume (395 folios). It was created in Dec 1869-Dec 1870. 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.
/
174
greatest cause of anxiety for the peace of the Gulf. Khalifa bin
Suleman died in 1834, and was succeeded by his son, Mahomed bin
Khalifa. Between him and his grand-uncle, Sheikh Abdoolla, there
had always been jealousy, due in the main to the imperious way in
which the latter had kept the administration of affairs in his own
hands. Being foiled in a project which he had enter
tained of establishing himself separately at Kuteef and
Lahsa, he retired to the Guttur coast, whence he secretly intrigued
against his relative. To add to the Sheikh’s troubles, more than one
of his sons had openly defied his wishes, whilst their exactions for
years past in Bahrein had been so flagrant that trade had suffered
most seriously. Matters came to a crisis in 1842, the ostensible
cause of the rupture being the opposition raised to the marriage of
Ahmed, one of Sheikh Abdoolla’s sons, to a daughter of a kinsman,
for whom another husband had been already destined. Mahomed bin
Khalifa espoused the cause of the latter, and soon after his return to
Bahrein was driven from his fortress of Menama. He fled first to
Guttur, and thence to Lahsa and Riadh, at which places he busied
himself in collecting forces to renew the strife. The Wahabee Chief
endeavoured to arrange matters amicably, but without success. The
British Government decided to let the matter be fought out, pro
vided that the belligerents did not transgress the “ restrictive sea
line.” Early in 1843 the fort of Menama was recovered, and Mahomed
bin Khalifa, aided by reinforcements from Guttur and Kenn, imme
diately afterwards attacked Sheikh Abdoolla in his stronghold of
Moharrag. Driven thence, the Sheikh fell back on Demaum, and
after making overtures to various persons, amongst whom the
Wahabees were included, he twice visited Bushire in the hope of
obtaining support from Persia, or the intervention of the British
Government. Though he lingered long the second time, he failed in
his object of playing off one power against the other. From Bushire
AD 1844 he P roceeded towards Demaum, which was then being
closely besieged by the Wahabees in concert with his
rivals, and endeavoured to throw supplies into it. In this he did not
succeed, and was obliged to fly to Koweit for his life. With the
capitulation of Demaum his downfall was complete. He sought
eventually an asylum at Nabend on the Persian coast, and though the
presence of his sons was tolerated at Moharrag, the victorious party,
at the head of which was Mahomed bin Khalifa, would allow them no
share in the Government.
Sheikh Abdoolla, though in exile, did not the less endeavour to
enlist the sympathy of Persia. To check any movement in his favour,
the British Resident was desired to acquaint the Persian Ministers
that, “ unless the right of the Shah to take part in the quarrels of
“ riva | claimari ts to the possession of Bahrein were beyond dispute,
the interference of His Majesty would be viewed with much jealousy
“ ^ the British Government in India, and might possibly lead to
About this item
- Content
Confidential printed abstracts of letters received 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. from the Government of India, and from senior officials in certain areas outside India, during the year 1870. The letters are dated December 1869-December 1870. The abstracts each have one of the following titles:
- Abstracts of Secret Letters received from India
- Abstracts of Letters received from India
- Abstracts of Military Letters received from India
- Abstracts of Letters received from Zanzibar and Muscat
- Abstracts of Letters received from Aden
- Abstracts of Letters received from Muscat
- Abstracts of Letters received from Bushire [Bushehr]
- Abstracts of Letters received from Aden and Zanzibar
- Abstracts of Letters received from Bushire and Aden
- Abstracts of Letters received from Zanzibar and Aden.
Each abstract contains summaries of one or more letters from the specified source, each with a title giving the subject of the letter. Letters from India are divided within each abstract by the branch or department of the Government of India they originated from. The correspondence covers issues including:
- Pay, pensions, recruitment, and other personnel issues in the Indian Civil and Military establishments
- Public works, including: railways, including a proposed railway from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; roads; canals; irrigation; docks; and river embankments
- Revenue, expenditure, and taxation
- Land issues, including: the cultivation of cotton, cinchona, and silk; forestry; and coal mining
- Education
- Banking
- Telegraphy, including international telegraphic links to India
- Affairs concerning Princely States, including internal administration, debts, allowances, issues of succession, investment in railways, and territorial claims
- Issues around emigration from India to British and French colonies
- Legislative and judicial affairs, including the question of jurisdiction over British subjects in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
- Military affairs, including the organisation and supply of military units and a proposed naval force for the Indian seas and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
- Frontier affairs: relations with tribes on the Northwest and Northeast Frontiers and frontier raids
- Affairs in Persia [Iran], including: Persian claims to sovereignty over Bahrein [Bahrain] and objection to British actions in Bahrein; frontier disputes around Khelat [Kalat], Mekran [Makran], and Seistan [Sistan] and proposed arbitration of the Persian-Afghan border; anticipated food shortages and subsequent disturbances involving British subjects exporting grain from Bushire
- Affairs in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, including: the consolidation of and challenges to the rule of Syud Azan [Azzān bin Qays Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; debates around British policy towards Syud Azan; confrontation between Muscat and the Wahabees [Waḥabī movement]; the issue of the Zanzibar subsidy; and Syud Azan’s claims to Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ‘Abbas], Gwadur [Gwadar], Charbar [Chabahar] and other territories on the Mekran Coast
- Affairs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including: the campaign of Colonel Lewis Pelly in Bahrein and the installation of Esau bin Ali [‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah] as Ruler; trade and shipping in the Gulf; the desire of the Shah of Persia for a naval presence in the Gulf; Dutch and Turkish [Ottoman] activity in the region; and tensions between Bahrein and the Wahabees, including Wahabee inroads in the Guttur peninsula [Qatar]
- Affairs in Affghanistan [Afghanistan], including relations with Bokhara [Emirate of Bukhara] and Russia
- Central Asian affairs, including the Russian advance in the region, trade and communication from India to Central Asia via Cashmere [Kashmir] and Ladak [Ladakh], and affairs in Eastern Turkestan [Xinjiang]
- Affairs in Zanzibar, including the slave trade, relations with Muscat, the death of Syud Majid [Mājid bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], and the accession to the throne of Syud Burgash [Barghash bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd]
- Affairs in and around Aden Settlement, including: relations with neighbouring polities, including Lahej [Laḥij Sultanate], Houshebi [Ḥawshabī Sultanate], Fodtheli [Faḍlī Sultanate], and Kathiree [Kathīrī Sultanate]; the purchase of Little Aden; the defences of Aden; an attack on Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] from Aseer [‘Asir] and the threat to Lahej from the Zaidees [Zaidīs]
- Affairs in the Red Sea, including attempted French, Austrian, Turkish, and Egyptian inroads in the region
- Affairs in Burmah [Burma/Myanmar], Bhootan [Bhutan], and Nipal [Nepal].
The primary correspondents are:
- The Government of India
- The Viceroy and Governor-General of India
- The Resident at Aden
- 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 Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Muscat
- The Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Zanzibar.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (395 folios)
- Arrangement
The abstracts are arranged in roughly chronological order. A detailed index of subjects, places and people mentioned in the correspondence is included on folios 384-393.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 395; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.
Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [89v] (185/798), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/CA10, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100135113391.0x0000ba> [accessed 31 July 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100135113391.0x0000ba
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_100135113391.0x0000ba">'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [‎89v] (185/798)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100135113391.0x0000ba"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000912.0x0000db/IOR_L_PS_20_CA10_0185.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_100000000912.0x0000db/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/CA10
- Title
- 'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:116v, 119r:395v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence