India and the persian gulf region 1858 - 1907

This study in diplomatic history focusses attention on British policy in the Persian Gulf during the second half of the nineteenth century. It does so through raising a series of questions of interest to the historian: What was the nature of British interests in the Persian Gulf? How were these interests related to the political ties which existed between India and Great Britain? How was British imperial policy moulded? What were the contributions of the governments of India and Great Britain to the shaping of British policy? And, finally : How was this policy influenced, on the one hand, by Britain's position in Europe and, on the other, by India's geographi cal setting in Asia?

In seeking answers to these questions, this monograph throws interesting light on the complex influences which deter mined British imperial policy in the nineteenth century. Since these in fluences were tied up with the relations subsisting between Great Britain and the European powers, and with India's position in Asia, this study does not attempt to examine the Persian Gulf as an isolated geo-politic unit. In stead, it looks upon the Gulf in its Asian and international settings, and seeks to explain politics in the region as being influenced by, and in turn influencing, the wider problems of international diplomacy.