IOR/R/15/1/135

The volume is a political diary recording ‘native’ correspondence sent and received by the Residency, visits made by the Resident, visitors received at the Residency, and other occurrences of note. All of the correspondence detailed in the volume was sent to or received from Arab and Persian inhabitants of the region, chiefly Britain’s Native Agents on the Arab coast (Bahrain, Sharjah, Muscat) and Persian towns (Bandar-e Lengeh, Shīrāz), representatives of the Persian Court and Persian Government, and the rulers of the Arab coast.

In each instance of correspondence, details of the date the letter was issued or received are recorded, along with the name of its recipient or sender, and a detailed synopsis of the letter’s contents. In each instance of a visit made or received, the name of the visitee/visitor is recorded, along with the nature of the visit. Most weeks noted visits by ‘merchants and masters of vessels on their own affairs’. Many weekly entries also record the arrival and departure of vessels from Bushire. Occurrences record a variety of events including: the arrival or departure from Bushire of significant individuals; political and military actions carried out in Bushire or in the surrounding area; appearances of cholera in the town; construction of the town’s fortifications.

Some folios at the end of the volume (folios 128-32) are out of sequence, being related to earlier intervals (28 December 1850 to 6 February 1851 and 9 February to 3 April 1852), during which time the Resident was away from Bushire on his tour of the Gulf, and receiving/sending letters independent of the Residency.