'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From January 1863 to December 1864. (Edited by the Secretary.) Volume XVII.' [‎53] (218/524)

AROUND THE SHORE LINE OF THE PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . 53
G9. I pass Southward to the 3rd Class of territories ; among these
the principal port is
Bunder Abbass, with its adjacent districts Northward Bunder Abbass. The
to a point near Lingah, and Southwards to a tract
whose political jurisdiction is not determined under trade Ol this port IS
Treaty entered into and recognised by everybody con- variously estimated,
cerned. Island of Kishm and dependencies.
All admit it to he
thriving. I am inclined to suppose it may he three-fourths as large as
that of Bushire, perhaps even more.
70. The means for collecting any detailed account of the trade of
Bander Abbass are not at my disposal, this port being temporarily
farmed by Muscat, and thus excluded the region of communication
with this 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. . It is, however, the principal port of entry for
piece goods into Persia. It imports also coffee, tea, sugar, spices, and
miscellaneous goods. Among its exports are wool and fruit, the latter
drawn from a fertile district a little inland.
71. I have noticed that Bunder Abhass has been somewhat decried
as a port; hut I am of opinion, that it is the point where trade coming
to and fro a vast area of southern Central Asia, naturally meets the sea.
At present its trade is said to he in a partially abnormal condition,
owing to its following a route which, if Bushire were less interfered
with, would not fall to Abhass. For instance. Bunder Abhass in some
degree supplies the Shiraz market; and this, although the road
thither is twice as long as from that town to Bushire, besides being
less safe. In its normal condition, perhaps the proper sphere of
Bunder Abbas trade would be along the Yezd and Kerman routes to
points found along a line extending from Furrah, through Herat,
Ghayn, Tong, Tubbus, Meshed Nishepoor, and so to Teheran. The
Bunder Abbass trade should in brief be a central one, meeting the
Kurrachee trade via Candahar on its Eastern flank, the Russian trade
of the Oxus and Caspian on its North, and the Tabreez and Bushire
trade on its Western side. No doubt a large area in the region thus
described is at present comparatively desert; while those portions of
it known politically, such for instance as the States of Herat, Khion,
and Bokhara, are poor consumers. Still the total area to be supplied
is so extensive, that even an infinitessimally small trade per 10 square
miles would endow Bunder Abbass with a rich commerce. Moreover,
some of the states referred to were once comparatively wealthy, and
still contain the soil, the-positions, and the men for becoming so again.