Notes on questions relative to the interior of central Arabia discussed before the Royal Geographical Society 22 February and 4 March 1864 and published 28 April 1864

Content

The notes contain an extract of a letter from Pelly to the Political Secretary to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. regarding the lack of awareness of the interior of Arabia, the lack of scientific accuracy in the location of the Wahabee [Wahhabi] Capital and other points of interest and the assumption made by the society.

These assumptions included the perceived difficulty for Europeans in entering Arabia, which he intended to correct or dispel by his journey through Khuwait [Kuwait] to visit the Ameer of the Wahabees at his capital Nejd [Najd] in order to develop polite terms, and potentially more friendly relations with the Wahabee Government and to attempt to mediate the differences between the Wahabees and the Sultan of Muscat.

Pelly also makes reference to the duties of Dr Colvill, 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. Surgeon, on the trip, who was responsible for collecting plants and rocks as samples to be sent back to England for study.

Extent and format

2 folios

It is part of

Material concerning papers presented to meetings of the Royal Geographical Society by Pelly

20 images

Ref: Mss Eur F126/67

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Note

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

Mss Eur F126/67, ff 9-10

History of this record

Date(s)

28 Apr 1864 (CE, Gregorian)

Related material

Places

East AfricaArabian PeninsulaCentral AsiaBaroda StateIranKalat StateMysore StatePersian GulfRajputanaRiyadhRussiaSindUdaipur StateZanzibarGohadMuscat

People & organisations

Royal Geographical SocietyBombay ArmySir Lewis Pelly, KnightMalhar Rao Gaekwad, Maharaja Gaekwad of BarodaWilliam Henry ColvillClement Joseph Philip Pen De BodeSir Henry Bartle Edward FrereSir Frederic John Goldsmid, KnightSir William Henry Rodes Green, KnightEdward Brodie HoareJohn JacobSir Robert Phayre, KnightSir Dinkar Rao, KnightHenry WillockSir Owen Tudor Burne, KnightThomas George Baring, 1st Earl of NorthbrookSir William Lockyer Merewether, KnightWilliam Gifford PalgraveSir Charles Umpherston Aitchison, KnightArthur William RobertsSir Edward Charles Ross, KnightÁrmin VámbéryCharles Kenneth Mackenzie Walter

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Notes on questions relative to the interior of central Arabia discussed before the Royal Geographical Society 22 February and 4 March 1864 and published 28 April 1864, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/67, ff 9-10, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024117671.0x000003> [accessed 23 June 2026]

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