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Coll 34/7 'Slavery: Slave Traffic and Gun-running: Right of search by H. M. ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf' [201v] (402/576)
The record is made up of 1 file (286 folios). It was created in 11 Dec 1929-3 Feb 1948. 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.
No. 28 .
fE 10846/10031/441
The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston to Sir G. Clerk (Prague).
(No. 507. Secret.) ^
Sir, Foreign Office, November 0, ]92.>.
A BRITISH firm recently applied to His Majesty s Government for assistance in
obtaining a concession from the Turkish Government for the establishment of a
factory
An East India Company trading post.
in Turkey for the manufacture of propulsive and blasting powder.
2. After due consideration it was decided that there were serious objections to
His Majesty’s Government giving any encouragement to this scheme, the principal one
being that until Turkey has subscribed to the Arms Traffic Convention—which she
may do on joining the League of Nations—it is undesirable, both on moral grounds
and for practical reasons, to support any scheme for the supply of arms to lurkey, or
for the manufacture of munitions in Turkish territory.
3. The whole of Turkey, excepting Constantinople and Eastern l hrace, comes
within the prohibited zone under the Arms Traffic Convention. It was included
because it was generally agreed that if Turkey should be able to become au arms
exporting State, such arms would inevitably reach Arabia, Mesopotamia. Ac., in fact,
the very countries at which the Arms Traffic Convention was aimed. It is true that
owing to the defection of the United States the convention has not been ratified. It is,
however, put into operation by informal agreement by many of the principal Powers
concerned.
4. The firm was therefore informed that His Majesty’s Government could give it
no assistance or encouragement in obtaining this concession, and the acting British
High Commissioner at Constantinople was instructed to refrain from giving any support
to the enterprise should the firm attempt to proceed with the negotiations, notwith
standing the opposition of His Majesty’s Government.
5. I now learn from a very secret but reliable source that a Czechoslovak group is
also competing for this or a similar concession. While Czechoslovakia was an original
signatory of the Arms Traffic Convention, she is not actually a party to the agreement
for its informal application, and is therefore under no obligation to withhold arms and
war material from Turkey.
6. I shall be glad if you will take an opportunity of informing the Czechoslovakian
Government of the policy of His Majesty’s Government in the matter of the supply of
war material to Turkey from this country. You should at the same time express the
hope that they as a signatory of the Arms Convention may find it possible to adopt a
similar attitude towards their own nationals.
I am, Ac.
CURZON OF KEDLESTON.
[A 6645/37/1] No. 29.
The Marquess of Crewe to the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston.—[Received
November 10.)
(No. 2535.)
My Lord, Paris. November 9, 1923.
IN accordance with the instructions contained in your Lordship’s despatch
No. 3043 of the 22nd September, I addressed a note to the French Government relative
to the annual quota of arms to be imported into Abyssinia.
I have the honour to transmit herewith a copy of the reply received, in whic
M. Poincare states that he has no objection to the resumption of discussions betweei
the three Allied Ministers at Addis Ababa with a view to the submission of detailec
proposals regarding the annual number of rounds of ammunition to be supplied wit!
the rifles imported into Abyssinia and regarding questions of detail connected with th(
supply of arms to that country. M. Poincarfi proposes, however, that as an act Oi
deference for the League of Nations, of which Abyssinia is now a member,- the
Government of the latter country should be asked to nominate a representative to
attend these discussions.
M. Poincare adds that, whilst he considers that the proposed basis for the annual
quota of arms to be imported into Abyssinia is insufficient, nevertheless he entrusts the
About this item
- Content
Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and notes relating to arms and slave traffic in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Principal correspondents include officials at 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. , Foreign Office, Colonial Office, and Admiralty. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, comes from: the High Commissioner (later, 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. ), Baghdad; the Political 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bushire; the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Division; the British Legation, Tehran; Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; Commander-in-Chief of HM Naval Forces, Mediterranean Station; British Legation, Jeddah, and the Board of Trade.
The majority of the file concerns the discussion of arms smuggling in the region, with a particular focus on the right of HM ships to search vessels for arms and slaves. Matters that are discussed include the following:
- Arms traffic across the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. into southern Persia, thought to be supplying the Qashqai rebellion taking place there
- Persian complaints about British sympathy for the Qashqai rebellion
- Revision of naval instructions concerning powers to search and detain vessels in the region
- Arms traffic into Palestine via Akaba [al-Aqaba].
Papers of note included in the file include the following:
- Convention for the Control of the Trade in Arms and Ammunition, and Protocol, signed September 10, 1919 (folios 270-287)
- Record of an interdepartmental meeting held at the Foreign Office on the 24 April to consider the instructions to be issued to the Senior Naval Officers in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , regarding the search by HM ships of Arabian, Persian, and Iraqi vessels for slaves and arms (folios 92-103).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (286 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the back to the front.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 287; 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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 34/7 'Slavery: Slave Traffic and Gun-running: Right of search by H. M. ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf' [201v] (402/576), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/4094, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100066488402.0x000005> [accessed 23 June 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/4094
- Title
- Coll 34/7 'Slavery: Slave Traffic and Gun-running: Right of search by H. M. ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:246r, 247v:256v, 259r:259v, 266r:269v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence