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‘Persian Gulf gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Précis of Katar [Qatar] affairs, 1873-1904.’ [‎37v] (74/92)

The record is made up of 1 volume (46 folios). It was created in 1904. 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. .

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64
APPENDIX 0.
[Underparagraph 200.)
Memorandum by Mr. Block about Turkish claims over Katar,
(Enclosure No. 842 on Secret; E., August 1903^ Nos. 313-402.)
The Turks claim tbe Katar coast as part of the Nejd, to which, in 1871, they
sent a military expedition to assimilate it to the other provinces of the Empire.
We have never admitted the validity of this claim, and we have treated mis
behaviour on the part of the local Chiefs without much regard to Turkish
pretensions, though the Turks have, at the invitation or with the connivance
of those Chiefs, established small military posts at Ojeir, Zobara and El Bidaa.
It does not appear that any remonstrance was addressed to the Turkish
Government against the establishment of the post at El Bidaa, the date
of which is not mentioned, but to which Colonel Talbot alludes in his No.
76 of the 7th May 1893 as having existed, though unrecognised for 20
years or so.
In 1881 British naval officers were instructed not to allow themselves for
the future to be too much hampered by the three-mile limit in pursuing and -
capturing pirates, especially as the Turkish authority on the coast was at many
points of a very shadowy description. The Porte was informed that, as our
remonstrances against unrestrained piracy in Turkish waters had produced no
result, the British naval officers in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. would be authorised, when
necessary, to take such measures as they might think fit for the protection of
British commerce, without reference to the claims of the Sultan to territorial
jurisdiction in those waters.
In reply to a complaint respecting the action of British Consular
Foreign Office No. 173, dated nth May 1883. authorities in regard to the Chief of El
Bidaa, Lord Granville stated to the
Turkish Ambassador on the 7 th May 1883—"I beg leave to remind Your
Excellency that the claim of the Porte to rights of sovereignty over the Katar
coast has never been admitted by Her Majesty's Government."
In 1889 Her Majesty's Embassy represented to the then Grand Vizier
Sir A. Sandison to Sir W. White, 4th July 1889. var i 0US COnS i ( ^ era tionS which made it
very desirable for the Turkish Govern
ment not to extend its military action south of Katif. Whether in respect
of these considerations or for other reasons, the Turks apparently took no
action.
Under instructions from Her Majesty's Government, Her Majesty's
To Sublime Porte, note vtrable. No. 128, dated Embassy asked the Sublime Porte to
9th December 1890. inform it as to the truth of a report which
had reached Her Majesty's Government, to the effect that the Imperial Ottoman
Government intended to establish posts at Zobara and Odeid on the Katr coast,
and that Mudirs had been appointed thereto.
No reply having been received, a further enquiry was made. Her Majesty's
To Sublime Porte, note veralle,No. 28, dated Government COuld not aCQuiesne in f"hp
22nd March 1891. occupation by Turkey of a port which was
regarded by them as a dependency of Abu-Dhabi, the Chief of which was one
of the parties to the Maritime Truce.
Zobara and Odeid are within the Vilayet of Basrah, and have long since
sublime Porte. No. 55, dated 4th July 1891. administered by Kaimmakams and
Mudirs. The Imperial Government has
no knowledge of the Maritime Truce, and cannot recognise it.
Transmits a copy of the Maritime Truce, signed by the Chiefs of Ras-ul-
ToSubiimePorte,No. 76, dated26th August i89i. Abu-Dhabi, Debay, Ejman
j -C a v. tm i. • a.1 /"ii • e and Umalgawin. Odeid being a depen
dency of Abu-Dhabi, the Chief of which is a party to the Maritime Truce, Her

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Content

The volume, stamped ‘Confidential’ on the front cover, is part 1 (historical and political materials) of a précis of Qatar (spelt Katar throughout) affairs for the years 1873 to 1904. It was prepared by Judge Jerome Antony Saldanha of the Bombay Provincial Civil Service, and published in 1904 by the Government of India Foreign Department, Simla, India.

The main subjects of the précis, which is comprised chiefly of extracts from Government correspondence, run as follows:

  • Turkish movements in Qatar, 1873; Chief of Bahrain (spelt Bahrein throughout) advised to keep aloof from complications in Qatar, 1873;
  • British intervention refused to Chief of Debai [Dubai] in case robberies committed against vessels of his subjects on Qatar coast, 1873;
  • Threatened attack on Bahrain and Qatar (Zobarah [Zubara]) by the Bedouin tribes of Beni Hajir, 1874;
  • Complaints of Turkey about Chief of Bahrain’s encroachments in Qatar, 1874;
  • The Beni Hajir attack Zubara and commit piracies, 1875;
  • Aggressive policy of the Turks and establishment of a new Turkish province on the Arabian littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;
  • Plunder of a Bahrain boat by the Beni Hajir and an excessive contribution levied by the Chief of Bidaa [Al-Bidda] on British Indian traders residing there;
  • Claims preferred by the Government of Basrah [Basra] on behalf of the inhabitants of Qatar against certain residents of Bahrain, 1876;
  • Alleged ill-treatment of British Indian subjects, 1879;
  • Piracies at Zubara – destruction of Zubara by Shaikh Jasim [Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī], 1878;
  • Ill-treatment of Indian traders, 1879;
  • Question of suppression of piracies on the Arab coast. Claims of the Turks to Odeid [’Odaid] (1871-81); previous history of ’Odaid, 1837-76;
  • History of ’Odaid continued, question of Turkish jurisdiction on the Qatar coast, and suppression of piracies, 1878-81;
  • Removal of section of the Al-bu-Kowareh tribe from Al-Bidda to Foweyrat [Fujairat], 1879;
  • Threatened attack on Bahrain by Nasir-bin-Mobarik [Nasir bin Mubarak] and Shaikh Jāsim of Al-Bidda, 1881;
  • Shaikh Jāsim’s desire to occupy ’Odaid, 1881;
  • Policy as to the relations to be maintained with Shaikh Jāsim and the Turkish Government in Qatar, 1881;
  • Ill-treatment of British subjects by Shaikh Jāsim and exaction of a fine from him, 1880-82;
  • Protest of the Porte against British proceedings at Al-Bidda. British disclaimer of Turkish jurisdiction in Qatar, 1883;
  • Shaikh Jāsim’s projected expedition against a branch of the Beji Hajirs in 1884;
  • Fight between the Ejman [Ajman] and allied tribes on one side and Morah and Monasir tribes on the other, 1884;
  • Disputes between Shaikh Jāsim and the Chief of Abuthabi [Abu Dhabi], Jāsim’s intentions to occupy ’Odaid and the ill-treatment of Bedouins at Al-Bidda, 1885-86;
  • Outrages against Indian subjects under Jāsim’s instigation, and Shaikh Jāsim made to pay a fine, 1887;
  • Protests of the Porte against British Government proceedings, 1888;
  • Question of withdrawal of the Turkish garrison from Al-Bidda;
  • Turkish expansion along the Arab coast and the policy of the British Government, 1888;
  • Hostilities between Shaikh Jāsim and Shaikh Zaid [Zayed bin Khalifa] of Abu Dhabi, reported movements of the Chief of Jabal Shamer Ibn Rashid towards Oman in order to aid Shaikh Jāsim, 1888-89;
  • Jāsim carrying munitions of war by sea, 1889;
  • Turkish project of rebuilding Zubara, 1888;
  • Turkish measures for establishing their jurisdiction on a firmer basis on the Arab coast. Increase of Turkish forces in Qatar, 1888;
  • Intrigues of Jāsim against Abu Dhabi, 1889-90;
  • Turkish projects for rebuilding Zubara and ’Odaid, 1890-91;
  • Hostilities between Shaikh Jāsim and the Turks, 1891-93;
  • British policy towards Jāsim during the hostilities. Chief of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, 1893;
  • Question of Turkish jurisdiction in Qatar, 1893;
  • Removal by Turkish authorities of the British flag from a boat at Al-Bidda, 1897;
  • Occupation of Zubara by the Al-bin-Ali tribe with the support of the Turks and Shaikh Jāsim. Threatened attack of Bahrain, and the energetic measures taken to expel the settlement, 1895;
  • Arab rising against the Turks in Qatar;
  • Disturbances off the Qatar coast between the Amamera and Al-bin-Ali tribes, 1900;
  • Piracies committed by the Beni Hajir off the Qatar coast, 1900;
  • Reconsideration of our general policy on the Arab side of the Gulf;
  • (1) Proposed British protectorate over the Chief of Qatar; (2) Aggressive action of the Porte in attempted to establish mudirates at ’Odaid, Wakra and Zubara, 1902-04.

The appendices are as follows:

Extent and format
1 volume (46 folios)
Arrangement

The contents of the précis are arranged in rough chronological order, and organised under a number of subheadings, with each paragraph numbered from 1 to 229. Three appendicies follow the main précis. There is a contents page at the front of the volume (f 5) which lists the subheadings with their corresponding paragraph numbers. The appendices are referenced using the volume’s pagination system.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; 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.

Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence, with page numbers located top and centre of each page.

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English in Latin script
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‘Persian Gulf gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Précis of Katar [Qatar] affairs, 1873-1904.’ [‎37v] (74/92), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C243, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023526379.0x00004c> [accessed 19 September 2024]

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