IOR/L/PS/20/FO16

The volume consists of published copies of correspondence between the Admiralty, Government of Bombay, Government of India, Foreign Office, India Office, War Office, British administrative and diplomatic staff, foreign governments and their staff, and private individuals. It was printed for use by the Foreign Office.

The volume contains the following publications:

• 'Part VIII. Further Correspondence respecting the Affairs of Persia and Arabia. January to March 1902.' (ff 4-168)
• 'Part IX. Further Correspondence respecting the Affairs of Persia and Arabia. April to June 1902.' (ff 169-322).

The correspondence concerns affairs in Arabia, including Aden, Muscat, Oman, and Yemen, and Persia [Iran] and the Persian Gulf, as well as activity by foreign countries in the region, particularly France and Russia. It primarily concerns the following:

• Political and diplomatic affairs
• Finance, particularly the question of Russian and British loans and 'financial assistance' to Persia
• Military affairs
• Transport and communications, particularly concessionary arrangements for the construction and maintenance of roads, including a translation of the Ahwaz [Ahvaz] Road and Transport Concession (ff 304-308)
• Customs arrangements in Persia, particularly the ongoing negotiations for a 'Russo-Persian Customs Tariff', including a copy of the tariff (ff 125-129) and tables of duties on imports and exports as per the agreement (f 130 and ff 211-212)
• Naval affairs, including French and Russian activity in the Gulf
• Border and frontier affairs, particularly the joint Anglo-Turkish [Ottoman] boundary commission to delineate the frontier between Yemen and the Aden Protectorate, including a sketch map of the disputed territory, catalogued as IOR/L/PS/20/FO16, f 315.

The following is also included:

• Monthly summaries of events for each month from January 1902 to June 1902
• Reports of 'disturbances' and 'outrages' by Arabs in the country surrounding Mecca
• The murder of relatives of the Sheikh of Bahrein [Shaikh of Bahrain, or Hakim of Bahrain] south of Katif [Al Qatif]
• French influence at Muscat, particularly the flying of French flags by dhows from Sur and the alleged connection of these dhows to the trade in enslaved people
• The possible construction of a Russian oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea through Persia to the Gulf
• An 'Arab rising' in Yemen against the Turkish authorities
• The protection of British and Indian shipping from 'piratical attacks' on the Shatt-el-Arab [Shatt al-Arab]
• The official programme for the Shah [Shāh] of Persia's tour of Europe (ff 203-204).

Material written in French is present throughout the volume. This material primarily consists of diplomatic correspondence.