IOR/F/4/2107/98713

This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, letters to and from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. It covers a range of topics relating to the Persian Gulf. All of the material in the item dates from 1844-45, except for one letter which is from 1834.

The item begins with discussion of the entry into Brymee [Al Buraymi, also referred to in the item as Braimee] and Oman of the forces of Saad bin Mootluk [Sa‘d bin Mutlaq], on behalf of Ameer Fysul [Amir Faysal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Sa‘ud, also referred to in the item as Fysul Alli Suood and Fysul Bin Toorkee] the Wahabee [Wahhabi] leader [Emir of Najd]. This includes:

• The submission of the local authorities in Brymee to Saad bin Mootluk, and the presentation of gifts to him by several rulers from the Arabian coast of the Gulf
• The demands of Saad bin Mootluk for tribute from Syud Hamood bin Uzan [Sayyid Hammud bin ‘Azzan al-Bu Sa‘idi] and Syed Soowenee [Sayyid Thuwayni bin Sa‘id Al Bu Sa‘id, also referred to in the item as Syed Sooweynee and Syed Thooenee], the Acting Governor of Muscat [Acting Imam of Muscat], and the response of the latter, including a request to Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, for advice
• Correspondence between Hennell, the Government of Bombay and the Government of India regarding the implications of the above events for British interests in the Gulf, and what their response should be.

Also covered in the item is the following:

• The wreck of two ships off Ejman [Ajman], and the actions of Shaik Abdool Azeez bin Rashid [Shaikh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz bin Rashid al-Nu‘aymi], the Chief of Ejman [Ruler of Ajman] in recovering the ships and cargoes and restoring them to their owners
• The question of how to deal with an attack on a ship from Karrack [Jazireh-ye Khark] carried out by Humud bin Mujudel [Hamad bin Majdal], the Chief of the Amaeer [‘Amayir] tribe, who is said to be under the protection of Shaik Mahomed bin Khaleifa [Shaikh Muhammad bin Khalifah Al Khalifah], the Ruler of Bahrein [Bahrain]
• The seizure by Shaik Faris [Shaikh Faris bin Ghayth], the Chief of the Chaab [Banu Ka‘ab], of a ship from Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi], and the mission of Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Assistant Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to Mohumrah [Khorramshahr] to try to persuade Shaik Faris to restore the ship and its cargo
• The negotiations for the establishment of an alliance between Shaik Sultan bin Suggar [Shaikh Sultan I bin Saqr al-Qasimi] of Rasel Khymah [Ruler of Ra’s al-Khaymah and Sharjah], and Shaik Khuleefa bin Shackboot [Shaikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut al-Nahyan] of Aboothabee [Ruler of Abu Dhabi]
• The activities of Shaik Abdoollah bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifah], the former Ruler of Bahrein, who has received asylum from the Chief of Nabend [Damagheh-ye Nay Band] and is carrying out attacks on ships from Bahrein
• The appointment of Housseni Khan [Mirza Muhammad Husayn Khan Muqaddam Maragha'i] as Governor [Wali] of Fars, and the reinstatement of Shaik Nasir [Nasr III Al Mazkur] as Governor of Bushire [Bushehr]
• The arrangements made for the three men accused of the murder of Beebee Aseelah [Bibi Asilu], widow of Meerza Juwad [Mirza Javad Shirazi], the former Native Agent at Shiraz. Two of the accused are to be taken to Tehran, while the third, the victim’s brother, identified as Sultan, son of Hajie Jassem [Haji Jassim], has made a confession (included in the item) and is to remain behind
• A dispute regarding a possible increase in the duty to be charged on the export of horses from Bushire by British merchants, including a petition from the Bushire merchants, and correspondence from Hajee Mirza Aghasee [Haji Mirza ‘Abbas Aghasi], Prime Minister [Sadr-i A’zam] of Persia [Iran] and Mirza Hadayut Allah [Mirza Hidayat Allah], Moostowfaa [Mustawfi] of the Governor of Fars
• The sanctioning of the payment required for a grant in perpetuity of the ground occupied as an English burial place at Karrack
• The need for a new coating of mud on all the roofs of the Residency buildings at Bushire, and an estimate of the expenses this will incur.

As well as those already mentioned, the main correspondents are: Moollah Houssin [Mullah Husayn], Native Agent at Shargah [Sharjah]; Heskeal Bin Yusoof [Hizqial bin Yusuf], Acting Native Agent at Muscat; and Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, Her Majesty’s Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Persia.

The item contains a table of contents (ff 593-598), and the title page (f 592) contains the following references: ‘P C [Previous Communication] 49501, D/t 7557, Collection No. 1 of No. 44’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’. The item was originally divided into two parts, and the title page of the second part (f 694) contains the following reference: ‘P C [Previous Communication] 49501, Vol. 2, Collection No. 1 of No. 54’.