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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [776v] (1569/1814)
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.
450
PERSIA
It was in 1805 that the plunder of British vessels by the Jowasmi
tribe provoked the first British naval expedition for their punish-
Conflicts men B A treaty was concluded in 1806 ; but was so
and scantily observed that in 1809 a second expedition was
necessitated, which took several ports and destroyed a
large number of boats. Piracy, however, continued, not merely with
unabated but with augmented virulence, the traffic in slaves being
the main source of livelihood to these irrepressible buccaneers.
Stronger measures were clearly required, and in 1819 a third expedi
tion under Sir W. Keir Grant was fitted out, with instructions to
crush the pirate power altogether. Ras-el-Kheimah was bombarded
and taken; and in 1820 the first General Treaty was concluded
between the British Government and the combined Arab chieftains
of the coast. 1 Though a decisive check was placed upon kidnapping
by this agreement, it did not prevent the traffic in slaves ; and
accordingly in 1838, 1839, 1847, and 1856, it required to be
supplemented by further treaties, giving the right of search and
confiscation to British vessels, and prohibiting the export of slaves
from Arab ports. These engagements, however, which were mainly
restricted to the slave-trade, were not found to have any effect in
checking the combative instincts of the tribes among themselves,
the loss of an outside field of activity encouraging them to turn
their martial energies upon each other, in which occupation a little
sly piracy was often possible under the guise of tribal warfare.
In 1835 the British Government, visited with a happy inspiration,
induced the combatant Sheikhs to sign a maritime truce by which
they pledged themselves not to engage in hostilities by sea for six
months, provided the British Government did not interfere with
them by land. So successful was this engagement found to be by
all parties that it was renewed in 1836, 1837, and annually till
led an expedition against Sur, hat his entire force was annihilated, consisting of
7 officers and 303 men.
1821, January. A retaliatory expedition of 1,282 European and 1,718 Indian
troops, under Sir L. Smith, sailed against Sur, and fought a battle with the Arabs,
who, after a courageous resistance, surrendered.
1835, 1838, 1839, 1847, 1853, 1856. Further treaties.
In 1809, at the height of their power and depredations, the Jowasmi pirate
fleet consisted of 63 large vessels (some with 40 to 50 guns and 300 men) and 810
smaller craft, manned by 19,000 bloodthirsty ruffians. For incidents of the anti
pirate campaigns, vide J. S. Buckingham, Travels in Assyria^ vol. ii. caps, vi.-viii ;
Captain Mignan, i\inteTs Journey, vol. ii. caps, vii.-x.
1 Aitchison, vol. vii. No. xxi.
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 [776v] (1569/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213849.0x0000aa> [accessed 4 June 2026]
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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