'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part II. J G Lorimer. 1915' [‎2641] (1158/1262)

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trade which is equally beneficial to this country and to yourselves. I am glad that
reisia returns the compliment by Bending a large number of her own gifted and
intelligent subjects to trade in the ports of British India; for these relations are
meieJy the continuance in modern times of a connection between Iran and India that
has lasted for centuries, and that is based not merely upon geographical proximity
alone, but upon original affinities of civilisation, language, and race. Bandar 'Abbas,
both under its present name and under its former title of Gombrun, has also been
innmately bound up with the history of British mercantile enterprise in Persia and
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and I suppose that there is hardly a scene in the world that has
witnessed more struggles for commercial supremacy, or has experienced more startling
vicissitudes of political fortune, than the waters and islands that we can see from this
very spot.
Should ^ any one enquire why the Viceroy of India, while in the discharge of the
duties of his office, should visit this place, the answer may be found in the facts which
I have^ already mentioned, namely, in the uninterrupted historical connection which
has existed between this locality and India for hundreds of years, and in the residence
here of a flourishing colony of British Indian traders and trade. But the explanation
goes much further than that, both in its local and in its general application ; for
here we are at the mouth of a sea which has been one of main and most beneficent
areas of British exertion in the continent of Asia. The great maritime highway of
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. has never failed to attract these nations who held, or aspired to hold,
the ports of India ; and having embarked upon the Indian enterprise in which tbey
ultimately out-distanced all other competitors, it fell naturally to the British to
pursue their successful activity in this direction, and thus gradually to acquire an
ascendancy of trade and interest in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. which has never wavered until
the present day, and which has been so far from selfish in its operation that it has
brought wealth and security to the States and communities that are to be found upoia
these shores, has smoothed the path of every ship that navigates these waters, and has
won for us the friendship and gratitude of the principal Governments, such as that of
His Majesty the Shah, with whom we have been brought in contact.
The ascendancy of which I have spoken is demonstrated by the fact that out of a
total value of trade in the Gulf—including under that designation the ports on the Arab
as well as on the Persian Coast, and embracing Muhammareh in the latter, but not
including Basrah—amounting to nearly 6| millions sterling in the last recorded year,
1901, close upon 5 millions of which was external trade, that is, trade with ports
outside the Gulf, the British percentage of this external trade was 77, and the corre
sponding percentage of British steamers leaving and entering the Gulf ports was 97.
If we restrict our observations io the Persian ports alone, we find that the total volume
of trade in 1901 was close upon 4J millions sterling, of which £4,232,000 was external,
and that of the latter the British proportion was 66 per cent., and, the shipping by
which it was carried 97 per cent. These figures show that, even in the much more
acute competition that now prevails, the commercial superiority so long enjoyed by
Great Britain in these seas still exists, if not unchallauged, at least unimpaired. On
the other hand there are circumstances in the trade and position of Bandar 'Abbas
which shew that the keenest efforts will be required to retain for this port the advan*
tages which it has hitherto eojoyed.
You have called attention to other symptoms of Indian interest in Bandar Abbas^
My Government is represented here by an officer, appointed for the first time since I
came to India, to safeguard the interests of British Indian trade in this place, and I
am glad to learn from you that his arrival has been followed by an extension in
certain aspects of your business, and that you 1 ave already derived benefit from his
labours. It is to be remembered that Bandar 'Abbas, though it^ has been shorn of
much of its ancient fame, is the starting point from which almost immemorial caravan
routes penetrate far into the interior, carrying what are for the most part British and
Indian goods to the great towns of Central Persia on the north and west, and to the
bazaars of Khurasan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia on the north-east and east.
This is a very important outpost, therefore, of Indian trade.
Again, let it be remembered that India is no remote country which is here busying
itself at a great distance from its base. On the contrary, we are the nearest neighbours
of Persia along her entire eastern frontier, firstly in the territories of Baluchistan, and
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