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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [194v] (391/1814)
The record is made up of 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios). It was created in 1892-1924. It was written in English, Urdu and German. 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.
210
PERSIA
Sea, a total distance by caravan march of 1,500 miles, and occupy
ing a camel four months of time . 1 Second is the route from
Bunder Abbas on the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
to Meshed, of which there are
two variations : the shorter journey via Kerman, It ah war, Nahiband
and Tun, a distance of 940 miles, or 40 days by mule and 75 days
by camel; and the longer deviation via Yezd, which is occasion
ally taken by merchants, because of the greater abundance of
transport and the additional chance of finding a sale in the busy
mart of Yezd. The third, and by far the most direct and shortest,
route for Indian merchandise, would be via the Bolan Pass by rail
to the British frontier at Chaman in Beluchistan, and thence
by Kandahar and Herat to Meshed, a distance from the Indian
frontier of 30 stages only, or 670 miles. This route, however,
which was once a crowded trade artery, has practically been killed
by the exorbitant transit dues charged by the Amir of Afghanistan , 2
whose fiscal policy is conceived on the strictest protectionist
principles, and is coldly indifferent to the convenience or the com
merce of his neighbours. Of the two former or practicable routes,
that from Trebizond was utilised by British merchandise in 1889
to the value of 23,400^., that from Bunder Abbas by Anglo-
Indian merchandise (excluding the China tea) to the value of
60,870Z.
By treaty between Great Britain and Persia, only five per cent.
ad valorem can be charged upon British merchandise, at the port
import or l° wn of entry. Thus British goods will be called upon
duties f or i m p 0S t Tabriz (having passed through Trebizond,
in transit, duty free), and Anglo-Indian goods at Bunder Abbas.
But as in the case of Khorasan there are no British merchants at
the destination or at the big towns en route, the Persian Custom
house officials take the opportunity of screwing a little more than is
their due, and subjecting foreign merchandise to the same system
as prevails for native goods, viz. the payment of a customs duty at
each large city. Thus British goods from Trebizond after paying
their five per cent, at Tabriz will, after passing into the hands of
The freight-charge of each camel-load from Trebizond to Meshed is 27^
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
, i.e. 71. 175.; from Bunder Abbas (via Kerman) to Meshed, 9
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
, i.e.
21. 115. 6 ^.
The Amir levies 21. 2s. upon every cwt., and the cost of each camel-load is
further 21. 7s. On the Kabul road he is reported to levy 80
rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
( 5 £. 135. 4<7.)
on every camel-load of Indian goods in transit to Bokhara. This is not Protec
tion, but Prohibition.
I
$
About this item
- Content
These two volumes are George Curzon's own personal annotated copies of both volumes of his book Persia and the Persian Question , which was published in 1892. Alongside the volumes are various loose papers relating to Persia [Iran], consisting of the following: received correspondence; newspaper cuttings; publishers' press releases; cuttings from various booksellers' catalogues; various journal and magazine articles; two items of printed official British correspondence; several prints of photographs and sketches; and a few handwritten notes by Curzon.
In most cases these papers, which range in date from 1892 to 1924, relate to the chapters in the book where they were originally inserted, suggesting that they were kept by Curzon with the intention of using them to inform a revised edition of the book.
Of particular note among the small amount of correspondence are two letters received by Curzon in 1914 and 1915 from retired schoolmaster and Islamic scholar Sayyid Mazhar Hasan Musawi of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India (ff 5-9 and ff 44-53). These letters, which are written in Urdu and are accompanied by English translations, discuss in detail several inaccuracies found in the Urdu version of Persia and the Persian Question .
The various prints of photographs and sketches, which were originally inserted into volume two, are of different locations in the Gulf region. Several of these appear to have been produced in preparation for the publication of the second volume of John Gordon Lorimer's Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Oman and Central Arabia (i.e. the 'Geographical and Statistical' section) in 1908, as they are identical to the versions found in that volume.
Also of note among the loose papers are an illustrated article from Country Life dated 5 June 1920, entitled 'The People of Persia' (ff 36-37), and a printed family tree of the Shah of Persia [Aḥmad Shah Qājār], produced in preparation of his visit to Britain in 1919 (f 233).
Volume one of Persia and the Persian Question contains a map of Persia, Afghanistan and Beluchistan [Balochistan], which is folded inside the front cover (f 1).
The German language material consists of a publisher's press release for two books authored by German archaeologist Ernst Emil Herzfeld (ff 29-30).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this shelfmark consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the first folio of volume one (1-463), and terminates at the last folio of volume two (ff 464-898); 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. Each volume contains a large number of loose leaves, which have been foliated in the order that they were inserted into the volume; for conservation reasons, these loose folios have been removed from the volume and stored separately. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers of the two volumes.
Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Urdu and German in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [194v] (391/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213843.0x0000c6> [accessed 5 April 2025]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/33
- Title
- Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Questionby George Curzon, with Inserted Papers
- Pages
- 54r:135v, 147r:149v, 158r:180v, 183r:221v, 224r:224v, 227r:246v, 248r:257v, 259r:260v, 268r:362v, 364r:364v, 367r:388v, 390r:400v, 402r:416v, 419r:432v, 434r:444v, 448r:462v, 464r:471v, 475r:481v, 483r:513v, 516r:525v, 527r:544v, 546r:563v, 566r:598v, 600r:622v, 624r:656v, 658r:665v, 667r:675v, 678r:684v, 687r:688v, 691r:691v, 693r:693v, 695r:708v, 711r:721v, 724r:726v, 728r:729v, 731r:736v, 742r:742v, 746r:757v, 759r:761v, 763r:763v, 765r:765v, 772r:777v, 780r:789v, 793r:794v, 797r:809v, 811r:821v, 825r:840v, 843r:898v
- Author
- Curzon, George Nathaniel, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
- Usage terms
- Public Domain