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File 4011/1923 Pt 2 'PERSIAN GULF: NEGOTIATIONS 1928 HENJAM' [918r] (1842/1934)
The record is made up of 1 volume (962 folios). It was created in 6 Jul 1926-25 Jan 1934. It was written in English and French. 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.
39
Origin of Maskat s i itle to the Kishm and Ormuz Islands and Bunder Abbas, etc.
19 The following report, dated 14th August 1821, of Dr. Jukes, Political
Agent, Kishm, as to the origin of the connection of the Imams of Maskat with
Kishm, Ormuz, Bunder Abbas, and other parts of the Persian Coast near that
place, will be read with interest:—
. The Persian Minister having expressed their dissatisfaction at the small detachment of
British troops being stationed on the Island of Kishm, and considering that it was likely to
become a subject of future discussion between myself and the Persian Government, I have
lost no op pm tunity of obtaining every information I could collect from the best authorities
as to the sovereignty of the island, both at Maskat and Kishm, and although the informa’
lion I have obtained is not so complete and satisfactory as I could wish, I beg leave respect
fully to submit it to the consideration of the Honourable the Governor in Council.
2. The Bini Maainee tribe originally resided at Koong on the Persian Coast, and it is
now about 70 or 80 years since Shaikh Abdulla Maainee took the Island of Kishm from
Mull a Aly Shah, who was then Chief of the Island, on behalf of the Persian Government;
and Shaikh Abdulla y/V crwtirds jcirni6(1 Hundsv ^1 bussc c and its dependencies from Nadir
Shah.
The Bini Maainee tribe remained in possession of the island for many years, and
after Nadir Shah’s death, continued to pay tribute to the present reigning family of
Persia, for Bunder Abassee and its dependencies which they still retained.
4. About 26 or 27 years ago the inhabitants of Kishm, being dissatisfied with the
tyrannical system adopted towards them by Mulla Hussan Maainee, their Chief and Gov
ernor, solicited His Highness Syed Sultan, the Imam of Maskat, to take the Islands under
his government and control; the Imam proceeded accordingly with an army, and by force
of arms took possession of the Islands of Kishm, Bunder Abassee and Ormuz, from Mulla
Hussein, and it has ever since remained under the general control of the Imam of Maskat.
5. Syed Sultan, notwithstanding he had taken these places by force of arms from
Mulla Hussein Maainee, continued to farm Bunder Abassee, and its dependencies from the
Persian Government, as the Bini Maainee tribe had done before him, and his son Syed Saeed,
the present Imam of Maskat, continues to do the same; he pays four thousand
Tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
annually for the town and dependencies of Bunder Abassee, including Meena Humeel and
Khumeer. Syfe bin Mubhaun, an Arab Chieftain, is at present Governor of Bunder
Abassee on the part of His Highness the Imam, and his younger brother is the Governor
of Ormuz. Shaikh Abdul Rahman Maainee, the Governor of Kishm, is related to
His Highness by marriage, so that the Government of all the principal places farmed by
the Imam of Maskat is entirely in the hands of the Arabs at present, and I do not know
whether the Persian Government would venture to risk the attempt of taking these places
forcibly from them, under any circumstances, but as the Imam has several ships, and
could command the sources of a great number of buggalas and boats belonging to the
different Arab tribes in the Gulf, it is almost certain, I think, that the Imam would be able
to retain the Islands of Kishm, Ormuz and Larak, in spite of every exertion of the Persian
Government.
6 The whole of the Persian shore of the Gulf is in the possession of different Arab
tribes and though they may have little differences and quarrels among themselves, they
would cordially unite to repel any attack the Persians might make to accept or subdue any
one of them.
7 It is quite impossible that the Arab tribes and the Persians can ever cordially blemi
their interests and act in concert together. The habits of the people are very different, the
independence of an Arab Shaikh submits reluctantly to the . ersian vove, anc ic n r '
of religious feeling effectually prevents anything like a cordial co-operation between
8 I reoret extremely that neither at Maskat nor at Kishm, have I been able to obtain j
a sight of one of the old Persian Furmauns by which His Highness tlm fmam far ,
Bunder Abassee from the sovereign of Persia, in order to ascertain what P are pa 1
larly specified, as constituting its dependencies. I think it unlnvciy the ^
document as the grant, or Funnaun of the King of Persia, by
Imam, farms so large a portion of territory and for which he pays 4,°00 iomawns ^ ^
should not be in existence; it ^ — *>y ^
Maskat or it might have been in— ^ - -+ 1 ,^ moh™ nor
Abdul Kahir, His Highness’s confidential Secretary, that “ eltl e „ ’ , A the
Larak are spbified on the receipts annually granted by th J n rXeh”te o,rt lo be
stipulated sum paid to them; and in reply to a series o 'li 1 ’' ^ Kahir to His Highness
answered at Maskat, and which I know were b y Sy Ah ^
the Imam himself, it was expressly declared tha t C ■ T
belonged exclusively to the Inigin.
(aJJ
i $' u y
About this item
- Content
This volume relates to British policy regarding the Gulf island of Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām], occupied in part, on and off, by the British since the late nineteenth century.
Interdepartmental correspondence refers to the establishment of a British telegraph station on the island in 1868, following a concession from the Persian Government, which was abandoned in 1881 but re-established in 1904. The correspondence also acknowledges that further developments since then, including the establishment of a wireless station and a naval coal depot, represent an encroachment by the British Government.
The main topic of discussion is the extent of the British claim (or lack thereof) to Henjam, and the continued use of the island as a fuelling and recreational station for British naval forces in the Gulf.
Related matters of discussion include the following:
- The possibility of consolidating the British position at Henjam by offering to surrender Basidu to Persia
- The British response to Persian forces expelling the Arab Shaikh of Henjam from the island in May 1928, in retaliation for the Shaikh attacking and looting the island's customs office the previous year
- The drafting of a protocol (as part of wider Anglo-Persian negotiations, which are referred to throughout) in 1929 between the British and Persian governments, setting out the terms for the British Government's surrender of its claims to Basidu and Henjam, in return for continued access to facilities at Henjam, possibly in the form of a lease
- The consideration of alternative locations for a naval station, in the event of it being necessary for the British to relinquish their hold on Henjam
- Whether the British should be prepared to offer the Persian Navy docking and refitting facilities at Bombay or Karachi, on 'favourable terms', in return for their continued use of the facilities at Henjam
- A request from the Persian Government in September 1932 for the immediate withdrawal of the British naval establishment, following the Persian Government's decision to use Henjam as the location for six recently purchased naval vessels
- The possibility of the British naval depot at Henjam being relocated either to Basidu or Bahrein [Bahrain].
The volume features the following principal correspondents: the British Minister in Tehran, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and officials of the Admiralty, the Foreign Office, and 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. . Other notable correspondents include the following: 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 Viceroy of India; the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs; officials of the British Legation at Tehran and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.
Also included in the volume are the following: a précis of printed correspondence relating to British positions at Basidu and Henjam, covering the period 1821-1905 (ff 898-941); an 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. memorandum entitled 'Henjam. Position and Rights of His Majesty's Government in the Island of Henjam', dated 26 September 1928 (ff 723-726); copies of the minutes of two meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 17 December 1931 (ff 249-262) and 10 October 1933 (ff 12-28); a copy of a memorandum by the Admiralty and the Foreign Office on the British naval depot at Henjam, dated 23 February 1932 (ff 197-208).
The French language material consists of correspondence from Belgian customs officials writing on behalf of the Persian Government, as well as articles from the aforementioned draft protocol, and correspondence between the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs and the British Minister at Tehran. English translations are included in some but not all cases.
The volume includes two dividers which give the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (ff 4-5).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (962 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 4011 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Negotiations) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/1094-1095. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 964; 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.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 4011/1923 Pt 2 'PERSIAN GULF: NEGOTIATIONS 1928 HENJAM' [918r] (1842/1934), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1095, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100081391301.0x00002b> [accessed 4 April 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1095
- Title
- File 4011/1923 Pt 2 'PERSIAN GULF: NEGOTIATIONS 1928 HENJAM'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:7v, 10r:46r, 47v, 49r:60r, 61r:68v, 71r:104v, 106r:117v, 119r:192v, 194r:241v, 243r:283v, 285r:288v, 290r:368v, 370r:401v, 405r:406v, 408r:422v, 425r:471v, 475r:487v, 489r:490v, 492r:516v, 521r:532v, 534r:565v, 572r:610v, 612r:612v, 615r:627r, 629r:654v, 660r:668v, 678r:692v, 694r:792v, 794r:802v, 805r:812r, 813r:854v, 855ar:855av, 855r:859v, 862r:870v, 873r:877v, 880r:911r, 912r:921r, 922r:922v, 924v:932r, 933v:939v, 940v:963v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence