IOR/L/PS/9/16

The volume consists of despatches to the Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State for India, from Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 7 May-30 December 1870. The despatches contain enclosures consisting of correspondence sent and received by the Political Resident, dated 2 March-30 December 1870.

Much of the volume relates to the rule of Syud Azzan ben Gais [‘Azzān bin Qays Āl Bū Sa‘īd] as Sultan of Muscat, and plans to depose him by Syud Torkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], including:

• The movements of Syud Torkee on the Persian [Iranian] coast and at sea
• Promised or actual support given to Syud Azzan or Syud Torkee by other rulers, including those of Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi], Debay [Dubai], Ojman [Ajman], Omulgowain [Umm al-Qaywayn], Rass-ul-Khymah [Ra’s al-Khaymah] and Shargah [Sharjah]
• Money and a warship sent to Syud Torkee by his brother Syud Majid [Mājid bin Sayyid Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Sultan of Zanzibar
• Money promised to the Wahabee [Wahhābī] Ameer Abdullah ben Fysul [‘Abdullāh bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, Emir of Najd] by Syud Majid on the condition of occupying Sohar [Suhar] in support of Syud Torkee
• The occupation of part of the town of Soor [Sur] by supporters of Syud Torkee
• Syud Torkee’s landing at Khor Fekkan [Khawr Fakkan] and march to Beraymee [Al Buraymi]
• A victory over Syud Torkee by Zayed ben Khuleefa [Zāyid bin Khalīfah Āl Nahyān], Ruler of Aboothabee, at Beraymee, and a victory over Syud Azzan by supporters of Syud Torkee at Tunk [Dank]
• Syud Torkee’s dismissal of most of his supporters due to lack of funds after the death of Syud Majid.

Also covered significantly in the volume are events related to the ongoing strained relations between Abdullah ben Fysul and Esau ben Ali [‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah], Ruler of Bahrain, including:

• Esau’s welcoming to Bahrain of Abdullah’s brother Saood [Sa‘ūd bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], from where he plans to attack and depose Abdullah
• Abdullah’s protection of the ‘pirate’ Nassir bin Mobarek [Nāṣir bin Mubārak], who has previously attacked Bahrain
• Abdullah’s demand for tribute payments from Esau, and Esau’s demand for tribute payments from Wahabee inhabitants of Guttur [Qatar]
• A Bahraini blockade of the port of Kuteef [Al-Qatif], supposedly as protection from a potential attack by Nassir, and incidents in which British and Turkish [Ottoman] ships have been prevented from landing at Kuteef
• A claim by Esau that Wahabee forces are gathering at Guttur, and his plans for a pre-emptive attack
• Saood’s defeat of Abdullah and Nassir’s forces and occupation of Lahsah [Al-Hasa] and Kuteef.

Other topics covered in the volume include:

• An abandoned plan by Abdullah ben Fysul to attack Aboothabee
• An incident in which HMS Bullfinch was fired upon from the fort at Muscat
• Reports on the trade of ports in the gulfs of Persia and Oman with Bombay [Mumbai], Calcutta [Kolkata] and Kurrachee [Karachi] during the 1860s (ff 122-157)
• Considerations over appointing British Agents at Bahrain and Yezd [Yazd]
• A disturbed state of affairs at Bushire [Bushehr] caused by grain shortages and exacerbated by the town being without a Governor, efforts to ban grain exports and to force stored grain to be sold ‘at a fair price’, and complaints by British Indian grain merchants over the subsequent reduction in their profits
• A new steam boat service between Constantinople [Istanbul] and Busreh [Basra] via the Suez Canal
• Postal arrangements for official British correspondence within Persia and the Gulf
• Queries over individuals claiming to be British subjects, and the eligibility requirements for British protection within the Gulf
• A report into the causes of an increased workload for staff at the Political Residency in Bushire (ff 632-647)
• An incident in which a British gunner aboard the British steamer SS Nada was injured during the firing of a salute in Bushire harbour, and a subsequent investigation into the ship’s ownership (ff 739-792).

As well as the Political Resident, the primary correspondents are: Syud Azzan; Syud Torkee; Esau ben Ali; Saood ben Fysul; Mahomed ben Sani [Muḥammad bin Thānī], Ruler of Guttur; Hajee Ahmed Khan [Ḥājjī Aḥmad Khān], Governor of Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e Abbas]; Mirza Mahomed Khan [Mīrzā Muḥammad Khān], Persian Foreign Agent at Bushire; the Assistant Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the British Minister in Tehran; the Political Agent and Consul, Muscat; the Native Agent, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh]; the Native Agent, Shargah; the Native Agent, Shiraz; Messrs A and T J Malcolm and other grain merchants at Bushire; W S Downing, Commanding HM gun boat Clyde; and J E Winckler, Commanding SS Nada.

There are two documents in Arabic, folios 543 and 728, both of which are accompanied with English translations. There is also a single folio in French, folio 581, a request from the Commander of the Turkish steamer L’Assour to enter the port of Kuteef.