IOR/L/PS/20/C237

The volume, stamped ‘Secret’ on the front cover and frontispiece, is part 1 (historical and political materials) of a précis the arms trade in the Persian Gulf, covering the years 1883 to 1904. It was prepared by Lieutenant Cecil Hamilton Gabriel of the Indian Army, and published in 1904 by the Government of India Foreign Department, Simla, India.

The précis comprises copies of correspondence relating to: the nature and extent of the arms traffic between various parts and ports of the Gulf and the wider Indian Ocean region: chiefly in and around Maskat [Muscat], but also on the Mekran [Makran] coast, the route between Zanzibar and Maskat, Bahrein [Bahrain], Koweit [Kuwait], Oman and Somaliland [Somalia], and between the Persian Gulf and the northwest frontier [Afghanistan]; reports of the seizure or surrender of arms, or vessels carrying arms, including the seizure of the SS Baluchistan in 1898, and arms traded by the company Fracis, Times & Co.; agreements between the British Government and local rulers for the suppression of the arms trade; the issue of licenses for the export of arms; arms traffic in the Gulf, in relation to French, Italian, Persian and Turkish Governments; instructions for naval officers in the Persian Gulf in relation to the arms traffic.