![‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [‎127] (139/160)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0001b8/IOR_L_PS_20_C238_0140.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [‎127] (139/160)")
‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [127] (139/160)
The record is made up of 1 volume (80 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
127
474. His Excellency Sir C. Drury's reply was as follows (letter dated 2~tli
April 1903) :—
f< In reply to your confidential letter No. 675-E., of the 16th April, be pleased to
inform His Excellency tlio Viceroy in Council that I consider that the agreement^ made
with thp Sheikh of Bahrein iu 1861, to abstain from any act of aggression or retaliation by
sea should still be adhered to as, if it was cancelled, complications might easily arise.
I would desire to point out that in my opinion the results achieved by the use of armed
dhows in the Gulf of Aden have not been as great a success as is generally supposed, and it
is very demoralising service for officers and men.
The best course appears to me to be that I should be informed every year when the
pearl fishery is to begin and end, and I would then endeavour to arrange for a gun-boat to
police those waters during the time the fishery was being carried out.
If it is decided that an armed
dhow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
is necessary, I am of opinion that she should
be commanded by a Royal Indian Marine officer who would require a commissim fr 0 ™. ^
Admiralty ; the vessel would fly the white ensign and be under the orders of the Naval
Commander-in -Chief on this station, and be a tendered to the Senior Naval Officer's ship m
the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
.
She m'^ht be provided and maintained by the Sheikh of Bahrein and partly manned
by his subjects, as his interests are primarily affected, but he could have ahsolutely no control
over her movements and actions on the high seas.
With regard to paragraph 3 of vour letter, the Consul General at Berbera has recently
bought and^equipped two armed dhovrs, and could give you all details, so as to enable
an estimate of the cost of one to be arrived at.
As far as I am aware, thev have each one 3 pounder quick-firing gun. Two Europeans,
one as Captain and one as Mate. The Captain receives £ 120 a year.
The services of his dhows are confined to the territorial waters of British Somaliland.
The dhows recently employed by the Royal Navy in the Gulf of Aden for the suppression
of J jis traffio were hired by us at the rate of E b. 325 a month, which moluded the serv.ce.
0fth r;:r fi tt ing9 , etc., were supplied by the ships to which the dhows were
atoached. Curzon visited Bahrein and liad an interview with the
on 26th November 1903, the latter said that there had been no piracy m
jt ^ fM n ot mention the matter of the armed
dhow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
then or later.
KrarAdrairal Atkinson Willes told His Excellency that the difficulty was that
Hear Adraual aik n not operate beyond his territorial
an armed
dhow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
under tlie hneu Government of India shamed arm, the
waters. The admual suggcted that the that t]le matter might
—.s" •»«—*• mos ' - «• 18
of Secret E., January 1904, Nos. 118-1 9.) f roTn Mr
476. So far as the Turkish Government » ^tugust 1903,
Bnd.pro. So. 138. that the Mutassarif of Hasa took measures
* a-uw^ Vn'n.Snlman but without any success,
for the Persian and capture of Ai TTis break by default before the
and that he had fled towards Koweit side. His break by
Court of Cessation in Ne 3 d was P^ Jf ^ BSaik Arabs came to a place
477. In March 1903 a large b Tharani sout h of Katif, whose
No. 128. obiect, it was feared, was to commit
. . , - toats and other boats, plying between Bahrein,
piracies on the pearl filling 10 , f permission to attack them
Katif and Ojair. Tbe chief ot Bahrem asked lor p, ^ coast rid of their
wftfc the double purpose of taking re g request being granted,
presence. 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.
^s opposed tojms r^^ ^ . s
but suggested that migbt be ?iv en P December (Telegram dated 22nd
paragraph of his letter JNo. xoi, ua
May 190o). Government of India tele-
No. 129. graphed back to him on 26th May—
. , -R^oiL' Arabs If Bahrein is threatened or there
« Bahrein chief raust ® hould b e asked to take necessary precautions/
is risk of serious piracies, naval autnoiibies suo
About this item
- Content
Part 1 of a Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. gazetteer of historical and political materials, a précis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs. The précis was prepared by Jerome Antony Saldanha, whose preface (under which his surname is erroneously spelt Saldana) is dated 25 November 1904, and published by the Government of India Foreign Deptartment, Simla, India.
The preface is an historical outline of the struggle for political dominance in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including Portuguese, British, Wahabi [ Wahhābī A follower of the Islamic reform movement known as Wahhabism; also used to refer to the people and territories ruled by the Al-Saud family. ] and Turkish expansion. The chapters (titles shown in italics) deal with the subject in an roughly chronological fashion:
1. Early history of Hasa and Katif , including: references to the area in Arabic writing; the first known Arab colonists; and early references to the area in British (East India Company) records;
2. Conquest of Hasa by the Wahabis and Turkish expeditions into Nejd [Najd] and Hasa, and their results 1800-1865 , including: conquest of the area by the Wahabis; Turkish expeditions to the area, 1811-19 and 1836-40; Amir Feysal’s [Fayṣal ibn Turki Āl Sa‘ūd] nominal dependence on Turkey, 1855; troubles in Katif, 1859-62; Turkish protest against British proceedings at Damaum [Dammām], 1862; the British war against Amir Feysal, 1865-66; obsolete title of award of Arabia by an Abbasid caliph to the Ottoman Porte; Ottoman ambitions in Arabia (Holy Ottoman Empire);
3. Turkish expedition to Nejd and Hasa, 1871-72 , including: origins of the expedition; intelligence from 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. , Colonel Lewis Pelly; British policy in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and effects of the Turkish expedition on that policy; Turkish assurances to Britain, communicated to Bahrain (spelt Bahrein throughout) by Pelly; Turkish promise of non-interference with the rulers of the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; narrative of the events leading up to and including the landing of the expeditionary force in Nejd; Turkish designs on Katar [Qatar], and their hoisting of the Turkish flag at Budaa [Al-Bidda]; Turkish naval activity in the Gulf, and Britain’s naval response; murder of a suspected Turkish messenger at Bahrain; reasons for the non-interference of the British Government in operations on land; further narrative of the expedition and affairs in Nejd; evidence of Turkish designs on Bahrain; Turkish assurances; relations between Turkey and Abuthabi [Abu Dhabi]; close of the Turkish expedition;
4. Internal affairs of Hasa and Katif, 1872-1904 , including: administration and internal organisation; and a list of governors at Hasa, including events of significance occurring during their rule;
5. Survey of the Katif coast, 1873-74 , including: British intentions and permission gained from the Ottoman Porte; complaints of British survey officers landing on the Nejd coast; written permission to land to undertake surveying.
6. Increase of Turkish military and naval forces in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Turkish policy , including: a memorandum by Captain T Doughty on the state of affairs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;
7. (1) Trade Relations of Hindu and other traders of Bahrain with Katif, and their disabilities , and (2) Proposal appointment of a consular officer at Katif ;
8. Piracies , including: piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters, 1878; ; revolt in Hasa and piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters, 1878-81; Turkish responsibilities and jurisdiction for the purpose of suppressing piracies in Katif waters, 1878-81; piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters in 1883; piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters in 1886; piracies in 1887-88; piracies in 1891-92; piracies in 1899-1900; piracies in 1902 and the proposal of the Chief of Bahrain to maintain an armed dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. for the pursuit of pirates, 1902-03;
9. Murder of Sheikh Selman-bin-Diaij-el-Khalifa [Shaikh Salman bin Diaj Āl Khalīfah] , a cousin of the Chief of Bahrain and his party about 40 miles south of Katif. Question of satisfaction and compensation for it ;
10. Turkish designs on Oman and the rest of the East Arabian Littoral, 1888-1899 ;
11. Summary of British declarations against Turkish encroachments in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and of the Porte’s assurances, 1871-1904 .
The cover of volume, on which the title is printed, also has a number of different pencil and pen annotations, marking former external references or numbering systems (‘P.2557/29’, ‘No.5’, ‘C238’).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (80 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged into eleven chapters, preceded by a preface. Each chapter is organised by subheadings, and its paragraphs numbered. The paragraph numbers are continuous throughout the whole volume, beginning on 1 at the start of the first chapter, and ending on 553/553A at the end of the eleventh chapter. A contents page at the front of the volume (ff.4-5) lists the chapters by their headings and subheadings, with each referring to paragraph, rather than page, numbers.
- 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 hand 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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [127] (139/160), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C238, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023514031.0x00008d> [accessed 13 March 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C238
- Title
- ‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’
- Pages
- front, front-i, i-r:ii-v, 1:4, 1:2, 1:35, 37:40, 42:80, 82:108, 110:144, iii-r:iii-v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence