Page 35 - The Persian Gulf Historical Summaries (1907-1953) Vol IV_Neat

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abstain from prosecuting war, piracy, and
slavery by sea, and tbc .British Government on
their part engaged to maintain the security of
his territory against foreign aggression.
Her Majesty’s Government, having concluded
this Treaty with the Sheikh as an independent
Mr. ilorialct's ruler, informed the Persian Government of what
iMi'iiienimluni of had taken place, and refused to concur in a pro­
March 1871. p. 13.
posal inado by the Shah that the sovereignty of
Bahrein should he transferred to the Persian
Crown. Sir II. Rawlinson, then Her Majesty’s
Minister at Tehran, expressed in forcible terms
1801).
how indispensable the maintenance of tho
Sheikh’s independence (of Persia) was “ to the
successful working of those plans of maritime
police in the Persian Gulf which wo have been
at so much pains and expense to establish.”
3808. In 1808, in eonscqucuco of tho intrigues of
the Persian Government, who had encouraged
the piratical faction, it was necessary for tho
Indian Government to tako forcible action
against the olfeuding Chiefs, and a naval demon­
18G9. stration took place. In November 18G9 further
measures had to he adopted, two of the Chiefs
were incarcerated in an Indian fortress, and,
finally, Esa-hin-Ali, a member of the Khalifa
family, was installed as ruling Sheikh of Bahroin,
and has remained in power ever since.
In 1870 the Government of India wrote a
full despatch reviewing the history of the island
and emphasizing the importance of allowing no
Persian claims to sovereignty to pass without
firm remonstrance The l)ukc of Argyll, then
Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for
India, concurred in this view.

1871. In the autumn of 1871, during the progress
of the Turkish expedition against Nejd, the
murder of a Turkish messenger by order of the
Chief of Bahrein re-opened tho question of the
Ottoman claim to the island. This claim Her
Majesty’s Government had already refused to
recognize on three occasions, in 1839, 1851, and
1870. At the request of llor Majesty’s Ambas­
sador, the Ottoman Minister for Poreign Affairs
eventually repeated the verbal assurances, for­
merly given by Aali Pasha, that tho Porte
did not entertain any intention of obtaining
supremacy over Bahrein, Muscat, or the inde­
pendent tribes of Southern Arabia, nor con-
[1098] I