'Memorandum by Sir M Durand on the situation in Persia'

Content

This memorandum was created on the 27 September 1895 by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, Minister Plenipotentiary to Tehran, and printed for the use of the Foreign Office in December 1895. It outlines the current situation in Persia [Iran] and the steps which should be taken to improve the position of the English in the country. The memorandum is 16 pages long and includes appendices totalling a further 26 pages. The main points discussed in the memorandum are as follows:

• financial concerns including the depreciation of the currency and the proposed reform of the currency;
• the perceived character of the Persian people;
• concerns over the behaviour of the Shah and his sons and the inevitable succession;
• the relationships of the country with foreign powers;
• the perceived influence of the English and the Russians in Persia;
• the attitude of the Persian Government towards the British Government and officials
• reforms;
• the delimitation of the Perso-Baluch frontier.

The appendices contain:

1. Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Picot, of the 31 August 1895, enclosing 'Part I, Notes of Persian Administration' and 'Part II, Proposals for Reform of the Central Administration of Government.'

2. Note by Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Hasan Ali Khan on the 'Descent, Biography and Character of Ali Asghar Khan, Sadr-I-Azam'.

3. 'List of the Total Revenues of Persia' by Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Hasan Ali Khan.

4. Memorandum by Lieutenant-Colonel Picot on 'Past and Present Policy in Persia'

5. Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Picot, of the 1 July, 1895, enclosing a Memorandum on the 'News Agencies of Central Asia and the Caucasus' and Notes on the Resht and Tabriz Consulates.

6. Private letter of the 24 June, 1895, from Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Hasan Ali Khan.

Extent and format

21 folios

Written in

English in Latin 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/L/PS/18/C64a

History of this record

Date(s)

Sep 1895 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

International relationsBoundary disputesDebtsCurrency devaluationAdministrative reformRevenue

Places

Persia

People & organisations

HM Ambassador to IranGovernment of Persia, Qajar dynastyMilitary Attaché, TehranMuzaffar Ad-Din

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'Memorandum by Sir M Durand on the situation in Persia', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/C64a, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x00009f> [accessed 5 July 2024]

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