IOR/F/4/2475/138723

The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, an extract of a Political letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 31 March 1852. It is the first in a series of eight items about the Persian Gulf.

The letter makes brief references to recent events in the Gulf. Related enclosures can be found at: IOR/F/4/2475/138724; IOR/F/4/2475/138725; IOR/F/4/2475/138726; IOR/F/4/2475/138728; IOR/F/4/2475/138729; IOR/F/4/2475/138730; and IOR/F/4/2475/138731.

The item also contains correspondence from Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the Government of Bombay regarding his imminent departure from the role of Resident and his last tour of the Arabian Coast of the Gulf, on which he is accompanied by his successor, Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball. Hennell's correspondence includes reports on his conversations with numerous rulers on the coast, including:

• Shaik Sultan bin Sugger, Joosmee 'Chief', of Shargah [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī, Leader of al-Qawāsim tribe, of Ra’s al-Khaymah and Sharjah]
• Shaik Abdoollah bin Rashed, leader of Amulgavine [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Rāshid al-Mu’allā, Shaikh of Umm al-Qaywayn]
• Syed Saeed, Imam of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Imām of Muscat]
• Shaik Saud bin Thanoon, Chief of Aboothabee and Shaik of the Bunyas [Shaikh Sa‘īd bin Ṭaḥnūn Āl Nahyān, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi and the Banī Yās tribe]
• Shaik Mukhtoom of Debaye [Shaikh Maktūm I bin Buṭṭī Āl Bū Falāsah, Shaikh of Dubai].

The conversations cover several topics, notably:

• Acts of 'piracy' committed by Abdool Ruheem bin Sabir [‘Abd al-Raḥīm bin Ṣābir] and Soheil bin Ateesh [Suhayl bin ‘Uṭaysh]
• The upcoming expiration of the current maritime truce
• Complaints by Shaik Abdool Ruhman of Kishm [Shaikh ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Ṣaqr al-Mu‘īnī, Shaikh of Qeshm]
• Relations between past and current rulers of Bahrein [Bahrain]
• Recent tensions between Syed Saeed and Syed Ges bin Azan of Sohar [Sayyid Qays bin ‘Azzān Āl Bū Sa‘īd of Suhar].

The item also contains minutes by the Governor of Bombay, as well as a copy of Hennell's instructions for James McAllister, Civil Surgeon, who is in charge at Bushire [Bushehr] during Hennell and Kemball's absences.

Hennell is also referred to as the Resident at Bushire. There are multiple spellings for individuals’ names and place names.

The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', 'Draft No. 733 of 1852', 'Collection No. 7 (in 8 volumes)', 'Vol: 1', and 'Examiner's Office'. Originally, the Collection number was given as '1 of No. 35' but this has been crossed out.