The center has issued the seventh volume of Qatar and the Arabian Gulf States in the Indian Archive Documents (Selections from the National Archives, Delhi). This volume contains selected documents concerning Qatar and the Arabian Gulf States and their relations with international, regional, and local powers during the period between 1893-1898, as reflected in the reports issued by the British Government and the British Indian Government. The collection includes telegrams and reports exchanged among political residents, political agents, commanders of Indian naval ships, relevant authorities in the Ministry of Indian Affairs and the British Foreign Office in London, as well as letters written by Shaikhs and merchants.
The documents in this volume reveal numerous aspects of Gulf affairs, its states and peoples, and their responses to various events and developments, whether through direct involvement or as witnesses to them. Consequently, the volume addresses a wide range of political, military, economic, and social issues. It also highlights the role of the British Navy in dealing with disturbances around Qatar and traces the movements of some naval commanders, presenting them as the overlap between commercial activities and political considerations whereby the sea served not only as a route for trade but also as a channel for the transmission of influence and correspondence.
