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Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05 [‎32v] (69/602)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (299 folios). It was created in 1884-1906. 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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24
ADMINISTEATION EEPOET OF THE PEESIAN GULP POLITICAL
APPENDIX B TO PART II.
The Portuguese in Eastern Arabia, by Lieutenant-Colonel 8. B. Miles.
It was very early after the Portuguese had commenced their career of conquest in the
East upon the discovery of the Cape route to India, that they turned their attention to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
When Albuquerque returned from his first voyage to India in 1504, he advocated a
policy of conquest and aggression, and appears to have been the originator of that scheme of
extensive annexation and occupation of the Indian seaboard which the King, Dom Manoel
was eventually induced to adopt, and which Albuquerque himself was selected to carry out'
This scheme was not adopted without much opposition from Saldanha and others, who
propounded a more cautious plan for the maintenance of the new commerce. The future policy
of the nation m the East was indeed hotly discussed at Lisbon, and the King's decision was for
a long time doubtful.
There was one point, however, on which all parties were agreed, and that was the im
portance of obstructing the old lines of commerce by the Arabian and Persian Gulfs and
of securing the entire monopoly of the trade by diverting it to the new route; and to this
end immediate and determined efforts were resolved on.
In the year 1306 three fleets were despatched from Lisbon to the East, one of which
consisted of sixteen vessels nnder Tristan da Cunha with Alfotso d'Albnquerqne as second
m command. The instructions given to do Cunha were to proceed to' the Island of Soeotra
and there construct a fort, which, while protecting the Christians supposed to inhabit that
island, should also serve as a dep6t for the use of the fleets destined to oppose the Egvpto-
Venetian confederacy and to blockade the Red Sea.
On the completion of the fort, da Cunha was to proceed to India with his share of the
fleet leaving Albuquerque with a small squadron to attack Jeddah and Aden, and to obstruct
the Moorish trade.
■ 1 Albuquerque had, no doubt, at once perceived the uselessness of Socotra for the purpose
intended and was well aware that his flotilla was too small for him to attempt capture of
Aden. As will be seen presently, therefore, he thought fit, after the departure of Tristan
da Cunha, to deviate somewhat from his instructions, and sailed away to the north-east intent
upon the capture of Hormuz, then the chief emporium of commerce in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .'
■ 1 P dld " ot re< l u i r e the genius of an Albuquerque to perceive that the acquisition of this
island would, by giving him the entire command of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. route, be of greater
Sab. the temporary blockade of the Eed Sea and the bombardment of
, . Albuquerque's expedition against Hormuz was only partially successful, owing to the
defection of some of his officer; but the importance of his achievement was fully recognised
death satisfaction of returning and completing his work there before his
It was on his way to reduce the city of Hormuz, and with the avowed object of destrovine
nval sources of trade, and leaving no hostile states in his rear, that he paid his attenZ to
Oman, and laid in rums the principal towns on that coast from Kilhah to Khor Pakan
Some of these towns were sooner or later occupied and fortified, and with vaiyin. fortune
remained in possession of the Portuguese for about a centurv and a half when their
having greatly declined throughout the East, the Arabs were able at length'to overcome Zm
wrrve ^ Tbe 0f tMS 0CCUI>ati0n iS - the following
A complete account of the Portuguese conquests in the East would perhaps form one of
the most instructive and entertaining chapters in the history of the world butThZlT k
written though there is an extensive literature on theLbjeS a^^h 'm / rich
materials awaiting investagation in the archives of Lisbon, Goa, and Madrid. The na ve
annalists of Oman as might be expected, maintain a discreet silence respecting the arr 7a
and conquests of the infidels in their country; but some of the contests that took placeTa
later period, when the increasing feebleness of the Portuguese garrisons encouraged insurrection
are frequently and exultingly recorded, as well as their final expulsion, fn I okTng back

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Content

The volume contains printed copies of Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Administration Reports. The Reports are incomplete (according to the introductory letters and lists of contents). Some of the Reports bear manuscript corrections. The following Reports are represented :

The Reports include a general summary by 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. (covering the constituent agencies and consulates that made up the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , and topics such as the slave trade, piracy, the movements of Royal Navy ships, official appointments, and the weather); meteorological tables; separate reports on Muscat (also referred to as Maskat); reports on trade and commerce; and a number of appendices on special topics, such as supplementary notes on the care and culture of date trees and fruit (Report, 1883-84), historical sketch of the Portuguese in eastern Arabia (Report, 1884-85), notes on a tour through Oman and El-Dhahireh [Al Dhahirah] by Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles (Report, 1885-86), notes on cholera in Persia (Report, 1889-90), report on the cholera epidemic in Maskat, Matrah, and Oman (Report, 1899-1900), and information on individuals and tribes.

Extent and format
1 volume (299 folios)
Arrangement

The Reports are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume. There is an introductory letter/table of contents at the front of each Report, but these show that the Reports are not complete.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation system in use commences at 3 on the second folio after the front cover, and continues through to 299 on the back cover. The sequence is written in pencil, enclosed in a circle, and appears in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05 [‎32v] (69/602), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/709, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023373225.0x000046> [accessed 1 December 2024]

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