Qeshm Island, Persia (Gulf of Hormuz), 1847

The largest island in the Persian Gulf, the strategically important island of Queshm lies on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf, opposite Oman, in at the narrow Straits of Hormuz. It was identified as an ideal trading base by the East India Company representative John Malcolm on his visit there in 1800. The island was then under the control of the Imam of Muscat (to whom a local sheikh paid tribute). It was subsequently lost to the Omanis, prompting the taking of the island by the Bombay Marine in 1809-10. Ten years later Qeshm was the rendezvous point for a joint force, composed of the Bombay Marine, under the command of Major-General Sir William Grant Keir, and Sayyed Sa'id, the Sultan of Muscat, that effectively put an end to Arab competition in the Persian Gulf trade. As a result of the General Treaty of Peace signed on 8 January 1820, Bâsidu, called Bassadore in English accounts of the time became the base of operations for the Bombay Marine (renamed the Indian Navy in 1830) in the Persian Gulf until 1863, and a hospital and other facilities were erected there. A detachment of sepoys was stationed at Bâsidu until 1879, but by the late 19th century the British presence was reduced to a coal depot supervised by a Native Agent "responsible for the flag".