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'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part II)' [152v] (12/45)
The record is made up of 1 file (21 folios). It was created in 1 Sep 1879. It was written in English and French. 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.
16th September 1876,* of which the material
paragraphs were as follows :—
The acts of piracy which have lately been com
mitted on the Guttur coast by the Beni Hajir tribe,
and which have been reported, for the information
of His Excellency the Governor General in Council,
render it very necessary, in my opinion, to consider
the steps which should be taken to check pro
ceedings which may not only seriously affect British
interests, but may possibly arouse the old lawless
spirit which, under overwhelming pressure, has
long lain dormant among the Arabs of the Gulf,
but which it would take but little encouragement to
resuscitate.
" These proceedings have up to the present been
confined to a small stretch of land and its neigh
bouring waters, and the reason that they have been
committed is that British influence is no longer
paramount in that quarter, as it formerly was.
Until our influence is regained, I fear there is but
little chance of securing permanent tranquillity upon
the Guttur coast.
At the small port of El Bidaa, which properly
belongs to a well disposed Sheikh, whose lawful
authority has been usurped by his son, there is
stationed a detachment of 30 Arab Zaptiehs or
gendarmes, commanded by a Turkish Officer.
Although at first sight this small force might seem
to be a guarantee for the maintenance of order, it
is not too much to say that if it were withdrawn,
the recent piracies and murders which I have
reported would not have been possible.
* Enclosure No. 10, as
above.
*
" In a matter where our interests are so largely
involved, and considering the relative positions of
the British and the Turkish Governments, it would
perhaps be scarcely prudent to ask the Porte 4 for
e what portion of the coast they undertake to be
4 responsible; ' but I would, with much deference,
su §)£> es ^ that the policy which was so successfully
followed in Yemen might, with advantage, be
adopted in the Gulf, and that the British Govern
ment should, in some formal way, recognize pre-
tensions of Turkey to territorial sovereignty upon
the Arab coast up to a certain point, and no
farther.
" Fortunately the limits within which Turkish
pretensions might be confined are capable of beino-
defined with much greater geographical precision
than was possible in Yemen. The Turkish ports
on the Arab side of the Gulf are Koweit, Kateef
and Ojair. The last is the port of !Lahsa, and is
necessary to the Turks to enable them to maintain
their communications with Nejd. On the other
side of a deep bay extends a large promontory
which is chiefly composed of stony, sandy desert
and is only inhabited by.a few bands of rovins
Bedouins The seaward side of this promontory fs
known as the Guttur coast, and on it are situated
J
j
j
About this item
- Content
A memorandum, written by Adolphus Warburton Moore, Assistant Secretary of the Political and Secret Department of the 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. , 1 September 1879.
The document is a continuation of ' Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part I)' (IOR/L/PS/18/B19/1) and broadly addresses the same issues, namely, what to do about Turkish claims to sovereignty along the southern coast of the Gulf that could potentially impinge on Britain's treaty commitments with local rulers and their security responsibilities at sea (the suppression of piracy), and whether to come to some kind of comprehensive arrangement with the Ottoman Government to settle the matter. To support this, the document gives a history of recent affairs in the region, making extensive use of correspondence and memoranda mostly written between 1874 and 1879. The principal correspondents are from the Government of India, the Foreign Office, the 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. , and various political and diplomatic offices in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. , and Constantinople. The matters covered by the document concern events at Bahrein [Bahrain], Guttur [Qatar] - including Zobarah [Al Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. ], Odeid [al-‘Udaid], and El Bidaa [Doha] - Lahsa [al-Hasa], and the Trucial states A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .
The memorandum concludes by outlining the position of the Foreign Office, the Government of India, and the 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. (represented by the author) on the following four matters:
1. The status of Odeid;
2. The need to better define areas of responsibility and jurisdiction with the Porte, and whether to hold them responsible for order along the coast under their authority;
3. A revision of Britain's treaties with Bahrain, the Trucial chiefs, and Muscat;
4. The arrangement of Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. business between the Bushire 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 the Baghdad Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. .
The author quotes extensively from the correspondence and other sources, notes on which are to be found in the margin throughout.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (21 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 148 and terminates at folio 168, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right 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.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part II)' [152v] (12/45), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B19/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023557944.0x00000e> [accessed 6 March 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B19/2
- Title
- 'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part II)'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 148r:168v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence