Persian Gulf Affairs [68r] (47/84)
The record is made up of 1 item (42 folios). It was created in 26 Apr 1839-12 Jun 1839. 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. .
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The item mainly relates to affairs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . It chiefly comprises copies of despatches of Captain Samuel Hennell, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , to John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, Bombay [Mumbai], with relevant enclosures, such as letters to and from Hennell, reports, and translations of letters. It also includes: Willoughby’s acknowledgments of receipt; Hennell’s reports to the Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. of the Court of Directors The London-based directors of the East India Company who dealt with the daily conduct of the Company's affairs. , EIC; and Willoughby’s communications with Thomas Herbert Maddock, Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General. Hennell’s despatches were sent from the island of Karrack [Khark, also known as Kharg, also spelled Karrak in this item], the 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. having relocated to the island following a dispute with Mirza Assad, the Governor of Bushire [Bushehr].
The main subjects covered are:
- Arrangements for strengthening the defences of Karrack, by repairs to the wall and fort of the town, organisation of the ammunition stores and the erection of new buildings; departure from Karrack of Sheik Nasir [Shaikh Nāṣir Āl Mazkūr II, a former Governor of Bushire]; conversion of the island into a military post and imposition of martial law
- Hennell’s efforts to monitor and influence Khorshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. [Khūrshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ], Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Forces in Nedgd [Najd, also known as Nejd], in view of the latter’s recent encroachments on the coastline of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and purported plan to conquer the island of Bahrein [Bahrain], including: sending letters of ‘warning’ to Khorshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ; dispatching the Assistant Resident, Lieutenant Thomas Edmunds, to Bahrein and Koweit [Kuwait]; instructing HM Consul in Egypt to demand an explanation from the ruler of Egypt, Mahomed Ally [Muḥammad ‘Alī Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. al-Mas'ud bin Āghā] of his policy in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; ascertaining the policy of Abdoollah ben Ahmed [‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], Sheik of Bahrein [Shaikh of Bahrain], and the sheik's estimation of the likelihood of an Egyptian invasion; ascertaining the ‘disposition, the strength and the relative interests’ (f 62) of the main rulers in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. towards Khorshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. (see ff 62-66) and influencing them against assisting the Egyptian force in obtaining supplies of grain
- Consideration of the possibility of Khorshid Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. turning his attentions to Bussorah [Basra] and Mohumrah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah] if there is a rupture of relations between Egypt and the [Ottoman] Porte and a battle between Ibrahim Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. [Kavalali] (unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan) and Hafiz Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. [Hafiz Osman Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ] in Syria
- Aversion of a possible war between Bahrein and Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi] over the ‘fugitive’ from Bahrein, Esa bin Tareef [Shaikh ‘Īsá bin Ḥamad bin Ṭarīf Āl Bin ‘Alī al-‘Utbī], and members of his Alli Ally [Āl Bin ‘Alī] tribe, who are residing in Aboothabee, and news that the Shaik of Bahrein has signed a treaty of peace with Kuleefa bin Shakboot [Shaikh Khalīfah bin Shakhbut Āl Nahyān], the Shaik of Abothabee [Shaikh of Abu Dhabi]
- Rumours of a Persian force marching from Tehran into Khorassan [Khorasan] to occupy Herat
- Delays in the transmission of overland (mail) packets, notably with regard to events in Syria between [Ottoman] Turkey and Egypt, and investigation of different routes, including via Damascus, transmission times, charges and possible couriers.
There is a note at the beginning of the item stating that the ‘Enclosure in Bombay Secret Letter No. 75, dated 12th June 1839, are missing from this Collection’.
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- 1 item (42 folios)
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Persian Gulf Affairs [68r] (47/84), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/5/376, ff 45-86, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100108178309.0x00008f> [accessed 4 April 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/5/376, ff 45-86
- Title
- Persian Gulf Affairs
- Pages
- 45r:86v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence