'File 9/11 Grant of Passports and Permits by the Bahrain Government and Treaty with Persia relative to withdrawal of claim to'

Content

The file contains correspondence and other papers related to Persia's withdrawal of claims to sovereignty over Bahrain. The majority of the file's correspondence takes place between the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Barrett until November 1929), and 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. at Bahrain (Geoffrey Prior).

The withdrawal of Persian claims over Bahrain raised a number of implications for British representatives in the Gulf, and these comprise the contents of the file. The main implications were: the treatment of Persian subjects in Bahrain; British representation of Persian subjects in Bahrain; the question of whether there should be an official or non-official Persian representative in Bahrain (which both the Resident and 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. were strongly objected to); and passports and certificates of identity for Bahrainis travelling within and beyond the Gulf.

In response to a request from Barrett, Prior compiled detailed notes on the Persian communities in Bahrain. His official typewritten response (with handwritten notes) are included in the file (folios 43-47, 48-56). These notes include comments on Persian Sunnis and Shias in Bahrain, their relations with the Āl Khalīfah family, animosity between Nejdis [Saudis] and Persians, Persian schools and property in Bahrain, and the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. 's ability to represent Persians in Bahrain. Further notes on the Persian communities, sent to Prior by the Advisor to the Bahrain Government, Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave, are also included (folios 60-61A). A letter in English and Arabic, from Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah to Prior, dated 23 April 1930, is an undertaking not to attack Persian sovereignty or to violate Persian independence (folios 67-68).

Extent and format

1 file (73 folios)

Arrangement

The contents of the file have been arranged in approximate chronological order, running from the earliest items at the front of the file to the latest at the end.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The file is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 61a. There is no folio 1.

There is minor insect damage throughout the file, which is not sufficient enough to impair the legibility of the file contents.

Written in

English, French and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/2/138

Former external reference(s)

Confidential Office Files: 9/11

History of this record

Date(s)

1 May 1929-14 Jul 1930 (CE, Gregorian)

Context of creation

Between 1928 and 1932, negotiations took place between the Governments of Great Britain and Persia (led by the Persian First Minister of Court, Abdolhossein Teymourtash), with the aim of regularising relations between the two countries. Persia's diplomatic claim to sovereignty over Bahrain formed part of these negotiations.

Related material

Subjects

Travel documentsRights of statesEconomic reformPolitical reformLaw reform

Places

Persia

People & organisations

Adviser to the Government of BahrainKing of BahrainBahrain Political AgencyPolitical Agent, BahrainĀl Khalīfah (Family)

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Cite this record in your research

'File 9/11 Grant of Passports and Permits by the Bahrain Government and Treaty with Persia relative to withdrawal of claim to', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/138, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/node/9362> [accessed 16 February 2025]

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