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articles to explore
In 1830, the long-term relationship between Prince Najaf Ali Khan Zand and the Government of Bombay was put to the test when the Prince was accused of murder.
The Politics of Foresight in nineteenth-century Anglo-Persian Relations: The Trial of Prince Najaf Ali Khan Zand
Faced with the rise of a new power on land and an increase in attacks at sea, the British response at the start of the nineteenth century would lead to a new era of political and military intervention.
The East India Company, the problem of “piracy”, and the rise of the first Saudi state
Captain Owen’s plan to take over the portal town of Mombasa on the Indian Ocean put British officials in a contentious situation with the Sultan of Muscat and Zanzibar.
Mombasa: Britain’s Shortest-Lived Protectorate?
In 1910, British officials discovered that the Persian authorities at Bandar-e Lengeh were charging travellers a domestic rate to travel to Bahrain, reigniting a decades-long dispute over Persian claims to the islands.
Passports and Politics: Britain and Persia’s Disagreements over Bahrain
At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain’s concerns over a possible French invasion of India through Persia led to its deepening intervention in the Gulf.
The Impact of the Napoleonic Wars in the Gulf: The Franco-Persian Alliance and Napoleon’s Threat to India
Considered deadly to the “European constitution”, the hot and humid climate of the Gulf was blamed for the deaths of countless British officials in the early nineteenth century.
A Deadly Climate
Against a backdrop of bold manoeuvres by different states in the nineteenth century, the British Agent at the Court of the Imam of Muscat wrote numerous letters focused on small matters of prestige.
Soft Power, Harsh Rivalries at the Court of the Imam of Muscat
George Barnes Brucks was the first Englishman to survey the Gulf’s coasts in the 1820s. But while Brucks’s charts were quickly replaced by more accurate maps, his writings offer fascinating historic insight into the region.
George Barnes Brucks and the First English Survey of the Gulf
With the city of Muscat in disarray and growing dissent on the coast, the absent Imam of Muscat had to rely on his close relative to take charge and defend his territories. The person to assume this mantle? Influential, commanding, and female.
In the Absence of Men: Female Leaders in 1832 Oman
Oman’s lease of a major Persian port was defined by obscure origins, and a relationship that was generally uneasy and often contentious – a situation that British authorities were happy to exploit. This is the first article in a series of two.
No Place Equal to It: The Omani Lease of Bandar Abbas, Part 1 – 1794-1848
From its origins as a small London enterprise, the East India Company (EIC) emerged as a powerful commercial and political organisation, whose presence in the Gulf helped shape the region’s modern history.
A Brief History of the English East India Company 1600–1858
During the nineteenth century, the Gulf was a hive of economic activity, with merchant ships carrying precious cargoes back and forth to India, making fortunes for traders. But it could also be hazardous for sailors.
The Perils of Shipwreck
The life and death of Claudius James Rich, author of 'Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan' and the East India Company’s Resident at Baghdad.
Claudius James Rich: Administrator, traveller, author, and collector of manuscripts and antiquities
Wherever European navies sailed, they introduced their own designs of ships and adapted those they saw being used locally. This is the second article in a series of three by the author, providing context and explanation for nautical terminology in the India Office Records.
Part 2 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: European Ships in the Age of Sail
An overview of the records in the IOR/F/4 Series, including how they were created, their format, and subject matter.
Finding Aid: IOR/F/4 Board’s Collections (1620-1859)
The story of a Qatari shaikh from the early days of Doha.
‘Īsá bin Ṭarīf Āl Bin ‘Alī, Governor of Biddah (Doha), 1843-47
An East India Company diary from the early nineteenth century demonstrates some of the challenges encountered when cataloguing older India Office records.
Cataloguing Challenges: The Bushire Residency Diaries 1803-07 as an Example
The first crossing of the Arabian Peninsula by a European, revealed in glimpses by the early correspondence of the Bushire Residency, was indicative of the East India Company beginning to look beyond the Gulf littoral and into Central Arabia.
The Accidental Explorer: George Sadleir and Britain’s Entry into Central Arabia
Looking to strengthen Persia as a potential buffer for the defence of India, Britain provided military assistance to the Crown Prince of Persia in his struggle against Russian expansion into the Caucasus.
Anglo-Persian Relations: The British Military Mission to Persia, 1810-1815
From its foundation at the end of the eighteenth century, the British Residency in Baghdad occupied a strategically important position, linking together various strands of British imperial engagement in the region.
The British Residency in Baghdad
There are many different types of vessels used from the Red Sea to India. All of them have developed over the years to suit the local conditions. This is the third article in a series of three by the author, providing context and explanation for nautical terminology in the India Office Records.
Part 3 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: Non-European Ships in the Age of Sail
Britain’s historical presence in the Gulf was based on a claim to be fighting “piracy”. But what did British officials mean by this, and how was it interpreted by the region’s residents?
“Piracy” in the India Office Records: some historical context
Who were the Bania, and how are they depicted in the India Office Records?
The “Bania” of the Gulf
Ships have always been important in the history of the Gulf, and therefore are prominent in the India Office Records and other documents on the QDL. This is the first article in a series of three by the author, providing context and explanation for nautical terminology in the records.
Part 1 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: An introduction
The remarkable travel journals of an Indian civil servant, who was an eyewitness to the military action at Ra’s al-Khaymah in 1819.
The Manuscript Journals of John Bax
Until the 19th century, European powers considered much of the Gulf coastline to be hazardous, but the 1820 survey recorded vital details that contributed to later British involvement in the region.
Important Work: The British 1820 Survey that Charted the Gulf for the First Time
In the tempestuous history of the British Residency at Mocha, one of the most notable incidents was the bombardment of the city in December 1820. This followed allegations from British officials and Arab leaders of shocking misconduct on both sides.
The ‘disgraceful treatment’ of Lieutenant Dominicetti: The Bombardment of Mocha in 1820
The death of the Persian Ambassador in Bombay almost spelled disaster for relations between Persia and British India in July 1802.
Anglo-Persian Relations: The Death of Hajji Khalil Khan, 1802
Ownership of a medal of the Order of the Lion and Sun becomes the subject of an unseemly quarrel, as related by the British Envoy in Tehran.
An Embarrassing Diplomatic Dispute in Baghdad, 1847
The death of an African sailor who had been severely flogged for attempted desertion, exposes the brutal nature of early nineteenth-century maritime life, in which justice could be as capricious as a strong tailwind.
Crime or Punishment? The Cruel Death of a Sailor at Bushire in 1820
When Captain Francis Erskine Loch arrived in the Gulf, he very quickly made an impact that would continue to have implications for British attitudes to the Gulf for over 200 years.
Francis Loch and the British quest to eradicate “piracy” in the Gulf
Only by mapping and surveying Aden fully were the British able to plan for its reconstruction and fortification, thereby facilitating trade and other shipping to and from India and beyond.
Mapping Aden: The British Occupation of A Vital Trading Port
Archival records on the Qatar Digital Library can help to challenge traditional assumptions and paint a fuller picture regarding the role of women in nineteenth-century Oman.
‘Ridiculous Falsehoods’: Archival Sources on Women in Nineteenth-Century Oman
Against the dramatic international backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, the British in Constantinople, Syria and Persia ensured that they kept one step ahead of a mysterious French officer.
Napoleon’s Agent: Monitoring the Movements of Monsieur Romieu in the East
How did an Agent of the East India Company use his position to collect the manuscripts that went to form the basis of the British Library’s Arabic-language collection?
The Taylor Collection
What do the records created by the British Political Agency at Muscat have to offer us?
Finding Aid: Muscat Political Agency Records
Prior to the construction of the Suez Canal, nineteenth-century British officials explored an alternative route between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
Steaming Ahead: The Euphrates Expedition of 1835-36
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