IOR/L/PS/9/15

The volume consists of despatches to the Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State for India, from Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire [Bushehr], dated 27 February-6 November 1869. The despatches contain enclosures comprising correspondence sent and received by Pelly, dated 18 February-4 November 1869.

The majority of the correspondence relates to political affairs in the Persian Gulf, particularly that of:

• Muscat [sometimes written Muskat] and Oman, including: the rule of Syud Azan [‘Azzān bin Qays Āl Bū Sa‘īd, also written Sayid Azzan in this volume] and whether it should be recognised by the British or an alternative ruler be found; social and trade conditions in the country under Azan's rule; various disagreements between the Political Agent at Muscat, Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Disbrowe, and Syud Azan; relations between Muscat and Zanzibar; Syud Azan's capture of Bereymee [Al-Buraymi, various spellings in this volume] in July 1869
• Persia [Iran], including: the appointment by the Persian Government of Hajee Ahmed [Ḥājjī Aḥmad Khān], minister of the former Sultan of Muscat and Oman, as Governor of Bunder Abbass [Bandar-e Abbas, also written Bundur Abbass in this volume]; the status of the lease of the Bunder Abbass granted to Muscat by the Persian Government; changes to the governorship of southern Persia; the appointment of a British Agent at Shiraz; the question of jurisdiction of British authorities in Persia, and the possibility of granting such authorities judicial powers; the brief occupation of Bunder Abbass by a Sheikh Saeed [Shaikh Sa‘īd], believed to be under the orders of Syud Azan; a cholera outbreak at Bushire and the measures taken by the Residency; an attack on the crew of HM Steamer Dalhousie at Bushire and the punishment of the soldiers and governor responsible
• Bahrain, including: an agreement with Guttur [Qatar] for the combined payment of tribute to the Wahabee [Wahhābī] Government; the deportation by the Shaikh of Bahrain, Ali bin Khuleefah [‘Alī bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah, various spellings in this volume], of his brother, Mahomed bin Khuleefah [Muḥammad bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah] for intriguing against him; several conflicting accounts of the attack on and plunder of Manamah [Manama], Bahrain, by Mahomed bin Khuleefah, and the effort to evacuate British subjects and protected peoples; the murder of Mahomed and Ali bin Khuleefah and the seizing of power in Bahrain by Mohamed bin Abdullah [Muḥammad bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Khalīfah]; the assembly of a naval expedition force at Angaum [Jazireh-ye Hengam] with the aim of ousting Mahomed ben Abdullah and restoring the peace.

The papers also cover a number of other matters, including:

• The movements and influence of the Wahabee Ameer [Amīr], Abdullah ben Feysul al Saood [‘Abdullāh bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], throughout the Arabian Peninsula
• The question of recognising Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] as a separate 'port of entry' and whether to establish a custom house there
• Alleged fraud being carried out at Ottoman Turkish custom houses in the Persian Gulf, where goods are falsely represented as destined for India
• Arrival of the Dutch Consul at Bushire in March 1869
• The destruction of a Persian craft by HM Steamer Dryad for suspected trafficking of enslaved peoples, the denial of this by the Governor of Mogo [Bandar-e Moghuyeh], and the investigation into the incident
• A number of 'piratical' incidents
• Tribal migrations in Guttur
• Proposals to expand the Political Residency at Bushire
• Precautions taken by the Residency during the Islamic holy day of Ashoora [‘Āshūrā']
• An attack on Rasul-Khyma [Ras al-Khaymah] by the Ruler of Shargah [Sharjah]
• The condition and development of trade in the Gulf
• The threat of a strike by the engineers on board HM Steamer Dalhousie in August 1869.

As well as the Political Resident, correspondents include: George Andrew Atkinson (from April 1869, Lieutenant-Colonel Disbrowe), Political Agent, Muscat; employees of Messrs Gray Paul and Company; Hajee Ahmed, Governor of Bunder Abbass; Captain Edward Charles Ross, Assistant Political Agent, Gwadur [Gwadar]; Ali ben Khuleefah, Shaikh of Bahrain; Charles Alison, Minister, Tehran; Syud Azan, Imam of Muscat and Oman; Mahomed ben Sanee [Muḥammad bin Thānī Āl Thānī], Ruler of Guttur; Hajee Abdul Rahman [Ḥājjī ‘Abd al-Raḥmān], Native Agent, Shargah; Abdullah ben Feysul al Saood, Wahabee Ameer of Najd; and Ronald Ferguson Thomson, HM Chargé d'Affaires, Tehran.

The volume contains a list of British subjects and those under British protection at various places along the Persian coast where the British had a presence (folios 474-495), with details of names, caste, occupation, birthplace, and reasons for British protection where appropriate.

The Arabic language material comprises a letter from Syud Azan to Lewis Pelly, dated 26 May 1869.