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'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [92r] (190/798)
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.
179
[ Her Maje^
; he firs t weeki,
'th the«Sinjii
t >” to call tl,
ted. Mahonifd
! of Bahrein t,
^ve forfeited ki,
bin Khalifa, hfe
ervedly, agreed
gard Mahomed
Jipation in tlie
fitory ; he also
ie event of liii
of which those
oyed. Having
ces for future
iue in power,
ief of Guttur
to keep the
fa, whilst the
d for pardon,
five thousand
fa had arrived
ill bin Khalifa,
er capital, on
onsible for his
ched the Shah’s
6 p. 82 of 1869), y
> time of our in-
uch an assertion
i, under fear of
asions nominal!)'
rein. The same
f Bahrein to fc
Government, an!
moment by sucli
which concluded with a statement that “ Her Majesty’s Government
“ have decided that Bahrein should be regarded as independent, and
“ subject neither to Turkey nor to Persia.” Mr. Alison was also
informed that “ it was found absolutely necessary, for the preservation
“ of order and of those rights which the Government of India is bound
“ to protect, to inflict chastisement summarily on those offenders as a
“ punishment for the past, and as a warning to all others in the
“ future.” Mr. Alison had himself, in 1862, intimated to our Resident
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
that he considered himself “ precluded, under
“ instructions from the Foreign Office, from entering into any discus-
“ sions on the subject of Bahrein with the Persian Government.”
Lord Cranborne, in 1867, held the same view, on the occasion of
Persia renewing her claim to the island, and expressed his approval
of Mr. Alison having been informed by the Viceroy that “ the British
“ Government are not prepared to admit the Persian pretensions to
“ sovereignty over it.” Colonel Pelly, in recalling this to our notice,
took the opportunity to make the following remarks:—“ The Persian
“ Foreign Minister would pretend to dread that we may use force
“ against Persian islands. The simple reply to this is, that Persia
“ owes the possibility of trade in the Gulf and the tranquillity of her
“ Gulf littoral wholly to the British maritime police of the Gulf.
“ Persia has not a gun afloat to protect her own shore, and the Arab
“ Chiefs have, on more than one occasion, expostulated with me for
“ preventing their old sea raids, and have frankly admitted that, if it
“ were not for the British Resident, they would seize every Persian
“ merchant craft and plunder the Persian seaports. My opinion,
“ based on many years’ observation and experience, is that, if we
<c were to abandon our maritime protection of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, trade
44 in these waters would soon become impossible, and the ports on
“ the Persian littoral would become subjects to hostile attack, and
“ perhaps fall into the hands of Arab Chiefs.”
Your opinion on this question, as conveyed to Her Majesty’s Secre
tary of State for Foreign Affairs, was that 44 to substitute the distant
“ and ineffective authority of Persia for the direct responsibility of the
“ local Chief to the power which controls the maritime police of the Gulf
“ would be fatal to the policy which has so long and advantageously been
“ maintained in that part of the world.” But you were willing that if,
on any future occasion, it became needful to call the Chief of Bahrein to
account for any breach of his engagements to the British Government,
and to coerce him, information should, as a matter of courtesy, be
conveyed beforehand to the Persian Government. To this suggestion
Lord Clarendon agreed, and a clause to that effect was inserted in a
letter addressed by the English Foreign Office in April last to the
Persian Charge d’Affaires at the Court of St. James. In accordance
therewith, when it was determined to resort to hostile operations
against the pirate Chiefs towards the close of last year, intimation of
our intention was, as a matter of courtesy, conveyed to Mr. Thomson
11603. - 3 I
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
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'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [92r] (190/798), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/CA10, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100135113391.0x0000bf> [accessed 2 August 2026]
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- 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