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File 351/1904 'Persian Gulf:- Erection of British flagstaffs at Musandam’ [41r] (86/454)
The record is made up of 1 volume (221 folios). It was created in 1902-1908. 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.
[ s ]
correct and straightforward. lie has, however,
lately been unpopular with the community
at Lingah and with the local authorities at
Bushire owing to the fact that, during the last
few months, an unusual number of negroes
have taken refuge with him claiming freedom,
and have subsequently been manumitted
according to the usual procedure.
The Belgian Customs Director, M.
Bourgeois, has evidently been backing the
Deputy Governor in his attitude, for, apart
from our Agent’s reports, the Darya Begi’s
Mustofi showed to the Political Besident’s First
Assistant a certificate which His Excellency
had received from his Deputy Governor,
furnished and signed by M. Bourgeois, and
stating that the Laris had not besieged the
British
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
, but had taken “ bast” there, or
words to that effect.
It seems to be the Darya Begi’s intention
to depose his Deputy, but Major Cox has asked
Sir Arthur Hardinge to press for the Deputy
Governor’s removal at Tehran if the Darya
Begi endeavours to back out of it, as he perhaps
will, if Haji Taleb Khan offers him a sufficient
inducement.
23. Kerman.—{Vide paragraph 20 of
Memorandum for .Tune 1905.) A petition bear
ing 377 seals was received by the British Consul,
objecting to the appointment of the Amir-ul-
Umra (a Sheikhi) as Vizier, and asking him to
approach the Governor-General with a view
to the Vizier’s dismissal. On 2nd June, when
His Majesty’s Consul informed the Governor-
General of the petition he had received, he
was told that Amir-ul-Umra had resigned the
post of his own accord. A Council of five
members was organised on the resignation of
the Amir-ul-Umra, but one of its members
has since resigned.
24. A Mulla who had been turned out of
Kerman and sent to Meshed by Shabab-ul-
Mamalik, ex-Deputy Governor, on account of
his preaching against Sheikhis, Parsis, and
Faranghis, has been brought back by the
insistance of the people. He is living with
Aga Bakir, a big Mulla of the place, and the
people visit him in large numbers.
25. ( Vide paragraph 21 of Memorandum
for June 1905.) The Customs masters of
Cheroo and Kelat who returned to their posts
were forthwith expelled by the inhabitants.
The Customs master of Mukam was not allow
ed by the people to enter the Custom House
and was told that, if he remained in Mukam
and was killed, they would not be responsible.
The Customs masters then repaired to
Lingah in order to complain of the treatment
they had been subjected to. The matter is
now before the Director of Customs.
About this item
- Content
The volume comprises correspondence and other papers relating to the erection (and subsequent abandonment) of flagstaffs at the head of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , on the Maklab [Maqlab] Isthmus at Musandam (Musandam spelt with numerous variations throughout the file), Telegraph Island [Jazīrat al Maqlab], and Sheep Island [Jazīrat Umm al Ghanam].
The correspondence includes:
- a report of the Viceroy of India’s tour of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. in 1903, dated 21 January 1904 and signed by several individuals (including George Nathaniel Curzon and Horatio Herbert Kitchener) containing proposals for the erection of naval bases, coaling stations, and telegraph facilities in the Gulf (ff 213-215);
- proposals and arrangements for the erection of flagstaffs by HMS Sphinx in November 1904, made by Major William George Grey, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Muscat, Lieutenant William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Assistant Resident and Acting British Consul at Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], Captain Thomas Webster Kemp, Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Commander of HMS Sphinx , including reports submitted by Shakespear and Kemp describing the erection of the flagstaffs, including accounts of the discussions held with the inhabitants of the areas around which the flagstaffs were erected, and a map indicating the location of the flagstaffs (ff 112-114, 119-121);
- questions of whether to fly the Union Jack or Blue Ensign on the flagstaffs;
- Government concerns that the flagstaffs were situated in territory claimed by the Sultan of Maskat [Muscat];
- Admiralty objection to the flagstaffs, on the grounds that it would be the Navy’s responsibility to protect them;
- the decision of the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) to maintain the flagstaff at Telegraph Island, but abandon the flagstaffs at the Maklab Isthmus and Sheep Island;
- further reconsideration of the proposal to fly a British flag on Telegraph Island, in the wake of investigations by John Gordon Lorimer which assert the Sultan of Muscat’s sovereignty over Musandam;
- deferral of the decision on the flagstaff at Telegraph Island until the outcome of the Hague Tribunal on vessels at Muscat flying the French flag; the removal, in October 1905, of the flagstaffs on the Maklab Isthmus and Sheep Island;
- final instruction from the Foreign Office to the Government of India, in May 1908, that the remaining flagstaff on Telegraph Island should be no longer maintained.
The file also includes a report of the survey of Khor Kawi [Khawr al Quway‘] by HMS Sphinx , dated 31 December 1903, with a map showing water depths in Khor Kawi (ff 190-192), and a letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station, Vice Admiral George L Atkinson-Willes, to the Government of India, dated 5 September 1905, recommending that Khor Kawi be used as a new British naval base, rather than Elphinstone Inlet or Telegraph Island (ff 34-35).
The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in it arranged by year. This divider is placed at the front of the volume (f 3).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (221 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 225; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 351/1904 'Persian Gulf:- Erection of British flagstaffs at Musandam’ [41r] (86/454), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/23, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026361062.0x000057> [accessed 6 March 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/23
- Title
- File 351/1904 'Persian Gulf:- Erection of British flagstaffs at Musandam’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:119v, 121r:139v, 141r:190v, 193r:224v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence