IOR/F/4/651/17855

This item consists mostly of copies of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the governments of Bombay [Mumbai] and Bengal. It is the sixth in a series of eight items on the subject of the alleged piracy of the Joasmee [al-Qawasim, also referred to as Joassmee] (the others are: IOR/F/4/648/17850, IOR/F/4/649/17851 and 17852, IOR/F/4/650/17853, IOR/F/4/650/17854, and IOR/F/4/652/17856 and 17857). The main topics covered are:

The military expedition sent to the Persian Gulf in 1819, including:

• The instructions issued by the Government of Bombay to Major General Sir William Grant Keir, commander of the expedition
• The part played by the Imam of Muscat, including the contribution of troops, ships and provisions
• The report from Keir on the taking of Rasul Khyma [Ra’s al-Khaymah] on 9 December 1819, and the capture of the fort of Zayah [Dhayah] on 22 December 1819
• The sending of ships to Bahrain to demand the surrender of alleged pirate vessels reported to have taken refuge there
• Correspondence with the Prince of Shiraz [Prince-Governor of Fars] and the Persian [Iranian] Court regarding certain ports located on the Persian side of the Gulf accused by Britain of cooperating with the Joasmees
• The destruction and capture by British ships of several vessels wrongly accused of piracy at Assaloo [Asaluyeh] and Coongoon [Kangan], and the subsequent decision to offer compensation

The situation of Rasul Khyma following the expedition, including:

• The arrangements for maintaining the necessary provisions, particularly water, for the garrison remaining in the port
• The plans to withdraw the garrison, and the proposal to place Rasul Khyma under the authority of Sultan ben Suggur [Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi]
• A survey and valuation of sixty vessels in the port that were captured, and the question of how they should be disposed of.

The measures aimed at maintaining peace in the Gulf following the end of the expedition, including:

• The articles of a General Treaty [General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf], drawn up by Keir, and the articles of preliminary treaties negotiated with individual tribal rulers
• The plans for a permanent British military establishment in the Gulf, including discussion of where it should be located, with the islands of Kishma [Qeshm, also referred to as Kishme] and Kenn [Kish] considered
• The question of how to respond to the plans of Persia [Iran] and Muscat to send a joint force to attack Bahrain
• The accusations of piracy made against Ramah Ben Jauber [Shaikh Rahmah bin Jabir Al Jalahimah] and proposals for action to take against him.

A request by Captain Francis Erskine Loch for an allowance to be granted for the ships taken and destroyed during his command of the Eden.

The primary correspondents are: Sir William Grant Keir; Captain Francis Augustus Collier; Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay; Captain Loch; William Bruce, Resident at Bushire; Captain Thomas Perronet Thompson; Sir Henry Willock, British Envoy to Persia; Hoossein Allee Meerza [Husayn ‘Ali Mirza Farmanfarma], Prince of Shiraz; Imam of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘id bin Sultan Al Bu Sa‘id].

The title page (f 5) of the item contains the following references: ‘PC 16, Draft 383, 1821/2’; ‘Vol: 6’; and ‘Examiner’s Office 1821’.