Skip to item: of 798
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [‎353r] (712/798)

This item is part of

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.

Apply page layout

t
sen tence, aniji
waD^
it of Bomt^ |
of de ath,aiilii
rho appareotlyta.,
had been Wj
aing authority, i|
re has been,
The whole difti
curing to dispose!
hat seems waoi
an Order in Co*
vhich shall infest I
jabia and Persia
h, those doties i
)w that want ofp
egment of the cii
Writing on thissutf
ithority “that in P
^ered either by if
suppress the
- fordetainin?o r ^
ce at sea witt' 6:
e no authorit,' i* 1 -
QO ng officers^®’
neither to
be dispel ^
that civil "f
unauthori» J »!'
697
perhaps the principal inconveniences might in large measure be met
by providing—
1st. That there shall be adequate lawful authority for the dis
charge of judicial and other functions;
2d. That there shall be unity of authority, whether local or
controlling; and
3d. That this authority shall reside in one and the same Depart
ment of State.
No. 490.
Muscat. (See p. 679.)
October 22—It appears from reports I have received that Syud
Toorkee, joined by the Debaie Chief and others from the Arab littoral
of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , attacked the Fort of Beraymee, where he was
opposed and defeated by the Aboothabee Chief and others in the
interest of Syud Azan. On his defeat, the Debaie Chief deserted
him.
It is further reported that Azan, while descending the passes via
Zunk, for the purpose of subduing the tribes on his north-west frontier Region of British India bordering Afghanistan. ,
fell into an ambuscade, and his army was totally routed. He and
Ibrahim fled to Sohar, and Sheikh Saleh to Muscat.
Nos. 491 and 492.
Bahrein.
October 22d .—Numerous complaints have been made of the Chief
of Bahrein obstructing various craft in their ingress to the Wahabee
port of Kateef. Captain Downing, commanding Her Majesty’s gun
boat “ Clyde,” having remonstrated with the Chief, he argued that the
Wahabee Ameer has long harboured the pirate Chief, Nasir bin
Mobarck, who still only awaits an opportunity to make another attack
on Bahrein; that the Ameer is not a party to the maritime truce,
and has on more than one occasion instigated attacks on Bahrein with
impunity; that, under these circumstances, Bahrein has no alter
native but either to remain open to surprise, or else to guard the
channels leading from the Wahabee ports; and that, to render this
guard efficient, it is essential that craft should not pass up the narrow
channels leading to the walls of Kateef, where they might be com
pelled to receive on board armed bodies of men, who might then sud
denly overpower the guard boats, and surprise Bahrein. There is
doubtless much force in this argument; and I am confident that the
Bahrein Chiefs and people would be only too glad to be left alone,
and pursue their industry in peace. At the same time, it is incon
venient that this blockade should obtain. The only order under which
I could at present prevent maritime action is that of 10th January
1869, enjoining that operations by sea are to be prevented by force, if
12305. 9 U

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:

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
Cite this item in your research

'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [‎353r] (712/798), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/CA10, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100135113394.0x000071> [accessed 13 August 2026]

Link to this item
Embed this item

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_100135113394.0x000071">'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [&lrm;353r] (712/798)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100135113394.0x000071">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000912.0x0000db/IOR_L_PS_20_CA10_0712.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

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

Use and reuse
Download this image