IOR/L/PS/5/263, ff 747-804

Despatch from the Foreign Department, Government of India, to theSecretary of State for India, No. 18 of 1869, dated 9 November 1869, containingenclosures dated 29 April-25 October 1869.

The enclosures consist of copies ofcorrespondence relating to events in Muscat and Oman, particularly relating tothe rule of Syud Azan bin Ghes [Sayyid ‘Azzān binQays Āl Bū Sa‘īd] as Sultan of Muscat, including:

• Possible threats to Syud Azan’s rule from his deposed predecessor Syud Salim-bin Thoweynee [Sayyid Sālim bin Thuwaynī Āl Bū Sa‘īd], his brother Syud Nassir [Sayyid Nāṣir bin Thuwaynī Āl Bū Sa‘īd], or their uncles Syud Toorkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and Syud Majid [Sayyid Mājid bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Sultan of Zanzibar
• Considerations over whether the British Government should officially recognise Syud Azan as Sultan
• The capture of Brymee [Al Buraymi] by Syud Azan from Wahabee [Wahhābī] forces
• Reports of a Wahabee force being raised at Khuteef [Al-Qatif] to march against Syud Azan, and fears that it may also pose a threat against Bahrein [Bahrain]
• Instances of British subjects being impacted by new laws introduced by Syud Azan, including a British-owned stockpile of tobacco being seized and burnt at Birka [Barka], British subjects being imprisoned at Salun [Saham] for shaving, and attempts to enforce a ban on music and dancing in Muscat
• Discussions over whether Syud Majid should be expected to continue paying the subsidy paid by the Sultan of Zanzibar to the Sultan of Muscat since the separation of the two realms in 1856
• An incident in which HM Gun Boat Clyde was fired upon from the fort at Muscat
• Concerns over the performance of Herbert Disbrowe as Political Agent at Muscat.

The correspondence also covers eventsin Bahrein, and a dispute between the engineers and officers aboard HMS Dalhousie including the threat of a strike by the engineers.

The primary correspondents are: Syud Azan; SyudSalim; Ali-bin Khalifa [‘Alī bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah], Ruler of Bahrein; thePolitical Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Muscat; the PoliticalAgent, Zanzibar; the Government of Bombay; and the Government of India.