IOR/L/PS/9/25

The volume consists of despatches to the Marquis of Salisbury, HM Principal Secretary of State for India, from Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Ross, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 30 July-31 December 1874, forwarding copies of his letters to the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department, Calcutta [Kolkata]. The despatches contain enclosures consisting of correspondence, telegrams, reports and other papers sent and received by the Political Resident, chiefly comprising: his communications with Major Samuel Barrett Miles, HM Political Agent and Consul in Muscat; and reports of the News Writer at Bahrain [also spelled Bahrein in this file], the British Agent at Shargah [Sharjah], and the British Government Agent at Shiraz. Correspondents also include the rulers of Bahrain and Muscat, local officials, tribal leaders and British naval officers.

The despatches are grouped by date and are separated by Political Department dividers which state the date the despatches were received (7 October 1874-16 February 1875) and the principal subjects covered. The dividers are often annotated with comments by India Office officials.

The volume notably covers and includes the following:

• The settlement of affairs on the Batinah coast with the Yal Saad [Yāl Sa’d] ‘rebels’, including: the expedition to Burka [Barka] by Miles and Abdool Azeez [Sayyid Abdul Azīz bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], brother of Seyyid Toorkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] the Sultan of Muscat, accompanied by a naval squadron; the relinquishment of Musnaah [Al-Musannah] and its fort; the Yal Saad Elders’ agreement to pay a $10,000 indemnity for the ‘plunder’ of British subjects at Musnaah; and measures subsequently undertaken by Abdool Azeez and the Sultan to enforce payment of the indemnity including the taking of hostages and imprisonment of some Yal Saad leaders
• Miles’s proceedings concerning the ‘outrage’ committed by members of the El Jaaferah [al Ja’farah, also spelled El Jaafirah in this volume], a sub-tribe of the Beni-boo-Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī], on British Indian vessels at Hellaneeya [Al-Hallaniyah, also spelled Hillaneeah in this file] one of the Kooria Mooria [Khuriya Muriya] Islands, including his correspondence with leaders of the Beni-boo-Ali and the imposition of a $600 fine on the offenders
• Arrangements by the Sultan of Muscat for a monthly allowance of $500 to be paid to his brother Seyyid Adbul Azeez
• The general state of affairs in Oman, including: dissensions between tribes, notably the Hinawis [al-Hināwī] and Ghafirees [al-Ghāfirī]; the settlement between the Sultan of Muscat and Seyyid Ibrahim bin Kais [Sayyid Ibrāhīm bin Qays al-Būsa‘īdī] and the payment of a monthly allowance to the latter; monetary advances to the Sultan by the British Government; the Sultan’s successful expedition to the interior against the Beni Reyam [Banī Riyām] and Nizars [Nizari], or Ghafirees, of Izki [also written Zyki] and Nezwa [Nizwa]; and news of a religious movement and potential uprising among the Hijrieen [El Hijreen?] tribe in the El Sharkiyeh [Al Sharqiyah] area
• Disputes by land between the rulers of Debay [Dubai] and Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi] on the one side and the rulers of Shargah [Sharjah] and Ras-el-Khymah [Ra’s al-Khaymah] on the other, including details of retaliatory cattle raiding incidents, fighting and killings
• Potential threats to the security of Bahrain, including: the alleged intentions of members of the Beni Hajir [Banī Hājir] tribe assembled at El Bidda [Al Bidda] on the Guttur [Qatar] coast to attack Bahrain, and their prevention by the leaders of El Bidda; the alleged complicity of Turkish [Ottoman] officials and Jassim bin Mahomed bin Thanee [Shaikh Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thāni, also spelled Jassem in this file], son of the ruler of El Bidda, in the Beni Hajir’s acts of ‘plunder’ against Bahrainee [Bahraini] vessels and renewed plans to attack Bahrain; the attempt of the Beni Hajir to capture the fort of Zobarah [Al Zubarah] and their defeat by the occupying Naeem [al-Na’īm] tribe, allies of the Ruler of Bahrain; the threat of aggression against the Ruler of Bahrain by his relative and rival, Nasir bin Moobarek al Khaleefah [Nāṣir bin Mubārak bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Khalīfah], recently arrived on the Guttur coast; the Ruler of Bahrain’s wish to reinforce the Zobarah fort and British insistence that he refrain from ‘interfering’ in mainland matters; and Turkish naval and troop movements along the Kateef [Al-Qatif] coast, and British surveillance intended to prevent Turkish ‘interference’ in Bahrain
• The activities of Abdur Rahman bin Feysul [‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal, also spelled Abdool, Abdul and Faisal in this file] following his release from Baghdad by the Turkish authorities, including: Turkish complaints that the Ruler of Bahrain permitted his residence in Bahrain and ‘encouraged’ his anti-Turkish intentions; Abdur’s subsequent defeat of Turkish forces in El Hassa [Al-Hasa, also spelled Lahsa and Hasa in this file] province, Nejd [Najd]; his attempts to gain Turkish sanction as the new Governor of El Hassa; and his departure towards Kateef with a force to confront the Turkish expedition currently assembling there to recover El Hassa
• Précis of intelligence from the British Government Agent at Shiraz, covering a variety of political, military, judicial, financial and civil matters.