Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; the Court of Directors; Captain Atkins Hamerton, British Agent at Muscat; and Captain Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf.The item concerns a claim for indemnification by Saied Abu Bakur [Sayyid Abu Bakr] for an incident of alleged piracy by the Jenaba [Jeneba] tribe on his bugla [baghla] at Soor [Sur, also called Sohar in the item]. There is a discussion of vessels using both Turkish and English colours for different purposes.The item includes a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Collection No.2 of No. 57, Draft 32, P.C. [Previous Communication] 3301, [Season] 1842’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 592 and terminates at f 607, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 2 October 1852, and found at IOR/F/4/2504/142185. It is the third in a series of sixteen items about the Persian Gulf.The item relates to investigations into the plunder of the
Centaur, a merchant vessel under British protection, at Al Khabba [Ra’s al Khabbah, also rendered in text as Alkhabba]. As the vessel was carrying the entire season's worth of indigo, particular attention is given to the location and retrieval of this stolen material. The Government of Bombay receives reports:From Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf, regarding ports where indigo has been imported and the actions he has taken to retrieve the cargoFrom Captain Atkins Hamerton, HM Consul and Company Agent in the dominions of the Imaum of Maskat [Imām of Muscat], regarding the actions taken by himself and the Imaum, Saeid Saeid [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd], amid reports that the principal perpetrators were people of the Beni boo Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] of JalanFrom Kojah Heskial bin Eusoph [Khawājah Ḥizqīl bin Yūsuf], Native Agent at Muscat, regarding the results of his enquiries at Soor [Sur] where he was assisted by the Imaum's nephew, Saied Hamed bin Salem bin Sultan [Sayyid Ḥamad bin Sālim Āl Bū Sa‘īd].All reports contain details of the numerous rumoured perpetrators. Hamerton's report also contains details of political sensitivities surrounding the investigations, including an agreement drawn up between himself and the Imaum (folios 1122-1123).Additionally, the item includes correspondence from parties invested in the retrieval of the cargo: W[illiam?] F[rederick?] Fergusson, Secretary, Insurance General Committee of Calcutta; and Hajee Mahomed Hashim Namajee [Ḥājjī Muḥammad Hāshim Namājī] and Hajee Mahomed Kurrim Namajee [Ḥājjī Muḥammad Karīm Namājī], Persian [Iranian] merchants based in Bombay [Mumbai].The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', 'Draft No. 350 of 1853', 'Collection No. 1 of No. 92', 'Vol: 3', and 'Examiner's Office'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 1103, and terminates at f 1130, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. These political letters appear in IOR/F/4/2302/118727. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Heskiel bin Yusoof [Khawājah Ḥizqīl bin Yūsuf], British Agent at Muscat. It is the twentieth in a series of fifty-one items on the Persian Gulf.This item concerns intelligence communicated by Heskiel bin Yusoof about the movements and actions of Syud Thooenee [Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Governor of Muscat. Syud Thooenee has visited Soor [Sur] and fired on the houses of the Jinaba [al-Janbah] tribe until they promised to pay him tribute and demolish two forts. He also dealt with incidents of theft.The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Collection No 3 of No 144’, ‘Coll[ection]: 17’ and ‘Draft no 465 of 49’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 494, and terminates at f 497, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume contains telegraphs, letters and reports regarding the possibility of establishing a coal trade with the coast of Oman in the district of Sur. The correspondence is mainly between the Consul and Political Agent, Muscat, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, and the Under Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, reporting about the necessity of hiring a geological expert to survey the area of Sur and its neighbourhood, and to examine the coal seams there. British Officials considered the coal found in Oman as a convenient source of supply for their Muscat and Persian Gulf requirements. British officials also reported about the French activities and their interest in the area of Sur.While the Sultan of Muscat was in agreement with the British over their interest in the coal export, the Hanawi tribal confederation in Oman was against any British work in Sur. The correspondence includes reports on Shaikh ‘Isa bin Salih al-Harthi writing to his followers in Sur endeavouring to stir them up against the British and the Sultan’s building operations.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 159; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to the visits of British Navy ships to Muscat and other Oman ports. Most of the papers are notifications of the arrival and departure of HM Ships into and out of Muscat and of the expected movements of such ships within the wider Persian Gulf region. Matters covered by the correspondence include: the nature of visits (official or not); required gun salutes, including the question of whether to fire on Fridays or not; lists of officers aboard; the protocol for visits to other ports in Oman, such as Sur and Salalah; and, if part of an official visit, the programme of social and diplomatic events that will take place. The principal ships mentioned in the file are HMS
Flamingo,
Wren, and
Dalrymple.Correspondence comes from: the Political Agent, Muscat; British Residency, Bahrain; Senior Naval Office in the Persian Gulf; Basil Woods Ballard, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Muscat; and the British Agency, Sharjah.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 87, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file consists of a Military Report on Oman by Captain R L O'Connor, and a letter from the Deputy Director, Military intelligence in New Delhi to the Political Agent at Muscat, enclosing copies of O'Connor's reports on the routes from Muscat to Sohar and Muscat to Sur.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 55; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file follows on from the previous file [IOR/R/15/6/205] in subject matter. It documents actions taken and considered by the Government of Muscat and Oman (with military assistance from the British Government) in order to assert its authority over the coastal town of Sur and the surrounding area, including Aiqa [Al ‘Ayjah], a village inhabited by members of the Bani Bu Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] tribe.The file primarily concerns customs control, and the correspondence discusses at length a dispute between the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and the Shaikh of Aiqa, Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamudah, regarding the Government's attempts to establish a customs post in the village. Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Agent and Consul, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Commanding Officer at Air Headquarters, Iraq Command; the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; Captain Reginald George Evelyn William Alban, Financial Adviser to the Government of Muscat and Oman; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman; Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamudah.The correspondence covers the following: preparations for combined 'punitive operations' (i.e. the naval bombardment of Aiqa's fort and the aerial bombardment of Ja'alan by the Royal Navy and RAF respectively) in the event of Shaikh Ali's refusal to comply with the Sultan's demands; contributions made by the Government of Muscat and Oman towards expenses incurred by the RAF during its recent aerial reconnaissance of the area; a meeting between the Political Agent and Shaikh Ali at Sur on 17 February 1933; the terms offered by the Sultan to Shaikh Ali.Also included in the file is a brief report entitled 'Instructions regarding the Control of Operations including the Employment of Air Forces on the North-West Frontier of India', dated 1 August 1931 and produced by the Government of India (ff 68-72).The Arabic language material mainly consists of correspondence between the Political Agent, Shaikh Ali, and the Sultan of Muscat (English translations are present in almost all cases).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 266; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This volume relates to measures taken by the Government of Muscat and Oman (with the assistance of the British Government) to assert its authority over the town of Sur and the nearby village of Aiqa [Al ‘Ayjah].The correspondence largely concerns customs control and the tense relations between the Muscat Government and the shaikhs of Sur and Aiqa, who are stated as belonging to the Jennebeh [Janabah] and Bani Bu Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] tribes respectively. Discussed at length is the issue of ensuring the collection of customs and the registration of dhows at Aiqa.Most of the correspondence is between the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. Other notable correspondents include the following: the Secretary of State for India; the Commanding Officer at Air Headquarters, Iraq Command; Saiyid Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd], President of the Council of Ministers, and later Sultan of Muscat and Oman; Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamudah, Amir of Ja'alan [Emir of Ja‘lān] and Shaikh of Aiqa.Related matters of discussion include the following: the reported prolonged evasion of customs by the Bani Bu Ali in Aiqa; the level of assistance that should be provided by the British in order to help Muscat assert control in Sur and Aiqa (e.g. whether it is necessary to send HMS sloops to Sur); the interception of an Aiqa dhow by a Muscat State patrol vessel on 12 November 1931; preparations for 'punitive action' against Aiqa by the British – including a planned reconnaissance mission ahead of possible aerial bombardment, and discussion of naval bombardment – in the event of the Shaikh opposing the establishment of a customs post there.The Arabic language material mainly consists of correspondence between the Political Agent, the Shaikh of Aiqa, and Saiyid Said bin Taimur (English translations are present in most cases).All the material dates from the period 1931-1932, with the exception of some brief notes at the end of the volume, which are dated November 1939.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 255; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file relates to two separate subjects. The first is the reported murder of Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Rawaf, a Saudi Arabian subject, by Beni Hasan tribesmen. The second is a trip to Sur, which was recently undertaken by the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat, Major Tom Hickinbotham. The correspondence includes a brief report by the Political Agent of his visit to Sur, as well as his description of a lake near the village of Ghail Shaab, which he highlights as a potential source of fresh water for visiting sea vessels.The Arabic language material consists of letters addressed to the Wali of Sur by Ali bin Abdullah al Hamood [Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamudah, Emir of Ja'alan] and Suleiman bin Abdullah al-Rawaf, son of Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Rawaf.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 18; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file consists of two letters received by the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat, Major Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy, from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, William Rupert Hay. The longer letter is a copy of a letter from the Political Resident to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Dated 24 April 1950, the letter recounts the Political Resident's recent visit to Sur, where he was accompanied by the Political Agent. The shorter letter, written on the same date, is addressed to the Political Agent; it requests details of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman's revenue from Sur.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 6; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: In order to enhance the revenues of the Muscat State there was an attempt to establish a customs post at Aiqa near Sur. Correspondence discusses how the Bani Bu Ali embarrassed the Political Agent, Trenchard Craven Fowle and the President of the Council of State, Saiyid Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr]; this led to censure of the Officiating Political Agent, Trenchard Craven Fowle and Captain Reginald George Alban for taking unnecessary action.Hugh Vincent Biscoe made representations on behalf of the Officiating Political Resident, Trenchard Craven Fowle, to the Foreign Secretary of the Government of India; Biscoe received confirmation that Fowle was exonerated of blame and that concerning the error of judgement of Captain Reginald George Alban no further action was required.Correspondents are Evelyn Berkeley Howell, Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; Hugh Vincent Biscoe, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Officiating Political Resident, Major Trenchard Craven Fowle.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the title page and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Foliation errors: 1 and 1A
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 107 of 1847, dated 31 December 1847. The enclosures relate to British attempts to suppress the 'slave trade' [trade in enslaved people]. They are numbered 3-91 and are dated 11 September to 30 December 1847.The enclosures consist of correspondence, and minutes, resolutions and memoranda of the Government of Bombay. The enclosures also include: an enclosed copy of the treaty between the Queen of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria, and the Sultan of Maskat [Muscat], Saud Saud bin Sultan [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, also written as Syud Sueed in this item], for the termination of the export of enslaved persons from the African dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, dated 2 October 1845 (in enclosure No. 3); and enclosed depositions of ‘liberated’ enslaved African people (in enclosure No. 37).The enclosures concern matters including:The Resident in the Persian Gulf, Major Samuel Hennell, reporting the arrival at Bushire [Bushehr] Harbour of a bugla [baghlah] belonging to a subject of the Imaum [Imam, or Sultan] of Muscat, with ‘some 30 or 40 Negro and Abyssinian slaves’ [Black African and Ethiopian enslaved persons] on board for saleThe recommendation of the Superintendent of the Indian Navy, Commodore Sir Robert Oliver, that the ‘Arabs’ on board buglas detained in Bombay Harbour, which had been captured in the Persian Gulf and found to be carrying enslaved persons, should be allowed a supply of tobacco and coffeeThe Government of Bombay authorising the Superintendent of the Indian Navy to release the buggalows [baghlahs] seized with enslaved persons on board, currently detained in Bombay Harbour, but directing him to warn the nackodas [nakhudas, also spelled naquodahs and in various other ways in this item] that any subsequent infractions of the treaty with the Sultan of Muscat would not be met with leniencyThe Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay, Gregor Grant, reporting that what appears to be smallpox has broken out amongst some of the formerly enslaved persons currently on board the police hulk
ZenobiaThe opinion of the Advocate General, Bombay, A S Le Messurier, on the inability of Government to enforce the treaty concluded with the Sultan of MuscatInstructions issued by the Government of Bombay to the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, and the Superintendent of the Indian Navy, as to the course they should pursue in regard to vessels seized with enslaved persons on boardThe preparation of a letter from the Governor of Bombay to the Imaum of Muscat, congratulating him on the seizure by British officers of enslaved persons on board vessels belonging to his subjects, who were acting in contravention of his orders and the treaty concluded between the two governmentsThe Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay, forwarding the depositions of forty-seven girls and women and twelve boys. Grant writes that these fifty nine individuals are: the ‘slaves recently liberated’; two women whom he is satisfied are the wives of two of the naquodahs, to whom they have been returned; and two boys who state that they were not enslaved and are anxious to return to the vessel from which they were taken. Most of these girls, women and boys, Grant states (with the exception of three or four individuals, who appear to be natives of Zanzibar), appear to be ‘Gallas’ [Oromo people] or ‘Abyssinians’The question of how the formerly enslaved persons should be ‘disposed of’, with the Government of Bombay instructing the Senior Magistrate of Police that as many boys as the Superintendent of the Indian Navy wishes to take should be made over to him for care and naval education, and that if he does not take all of them, then the remainder may go to the polytechnic institution on similar terms, and that the best mode of providing for the girls and women will be for the Senior Magistrate of Police to invite applications from ‘respectable persons’ to ‘entertain’ them as servants, with preference being given to Christian familiesA letter from the Governor of Muscat, Syud Thoenee bin Sueed bin Sultan [Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], to the Governor of Bombay, requesting the release of the buggalows seized for having enslaved persons on boardThe Superintendent of the Indian Navy requesting the sanction of the Government of Bombay for the bugalows detained in Bombay Harbour being allowed to depart without paying harbour duesA letter from the President of the Diocesan Committee of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Corresponding Committee of the Church Missionary Society, the Bishop of Bombay, Thomas Carr, to the Governor of Bombay, submitting an offer from the Committee to take the formerly enslaved persons and have them educated as Christians and provide for ‘their disposal in life’A letter from Mahomed bin Alli [Muḥammad bin ‘Alī, also spelled Mahomed bin Ally in this item], an ‘Arab inhabitant of Bombay’, to the Governor of Bombay, requesting that the formerly enslaved persons be made over to himself, for him to ‘entertain’ them at his own expense for charity, for as long they like, and for him to undertake to marry the grown up young women with whoever they may like, and to allow the rest to go where they may pleaseThe Senior Magistrate of Police reporting that: all the formerly enslaved boys have been made over to the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; the Senior Magistrate invited applications from ‘respectable families’ to house the girls as servants; there were a great many applicants, mostly ‘Mahomedans’ [Muslims], ‘with a few respectable Portuguese Gentlemen’; but only one of the women was persuaded to take service with one of the Portuguese men, whilst the rest refused to be taken in by Christian families; and he ultimately persuaded ‘the greater number of the girls’ to accompany ‘some respectable Mahomedan Gentlemen’ to their housesThe Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, Captain William Lowe, pointing out the inadequacy of the force in that station for the complete suppression of the ‘slave trade’, and the Superintendent of the Indian Navy reporting that he is unable to increase the naval force on the Persian Gulf station, due to the limited number of vessels of war at his disposalThe Resident in the Persian Gulf reporting the arrival of articles sent from Bombay by HMS
Cruizer, but requesting to be provided with a bullet mould and a supply of scarlet cloth, for him to give as presents to ‘Arabian Chiefs’The Resident in the Persian Gulf reporting: his observations on the anomalous position of the Shaik of Koweit, Shaik Jabir [Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Jābir bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Ṣabāḥ], for whilst the nominal supremacy of the Porte [the Government of the Ottoman Empire] over him means that he is exempt from the British political control and surveillance exercised over the other maritime chiefs of the Persian Gulf, Hennell also expects that he will not pay any attention to the Turkish orders for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’; Hennell’s intention to write to the Shaikh of Koweit about Soor [Sur] vessels sending enslaved persons to his town for sale, and to urge him to enforce within his own districts the same regulations which exist at Bussorah [Basra], regarding the suppression of the ‘slave trade’; the issue of Persian [Iranian] vessels and Persian ports engaged in ‘slave dealing’, the different methods of evasion practised by ‘slave traders’ in the Persian Gulf, and his suggestions for measures for the suppression of the trafficThe Government of Bombay instructing HM Consul and Honourable Company’s [the East India Company’s] Agent in the Dominions of the Imaum of Muscat, Captain Atkins Hamerton, to bring to the notice of the Imaum the Soor vessels evading the treaty entered into with him for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’, and to express the conviction of the Governor in Council that the Imaum will adopt the necessary measures for prohibiting the embarkation of enslaved persons in his portThe Government of Bombay requesting the Superintendent of the Indian Navy to issue instructions to the officer commanding the Honourable Company’s brigantine
Tigris, under orders for Zanzibar, regarding the removal and disposal of enslaved persons from vessels which he may have the right to seize, and to gain as much information as he can regarding the Slave Trade and the effect the treaties recently concluded have had upon it.The correspondence is primarily between the Government of Bombay (mostly the Chief Secretary to Government, Arthur Malet, and the Governor of Bombay, George Russell Clerk) and the following: the Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Advocate General, Bombay; the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; the Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay; HM Consul and Honourable Company’s Agent in the Dominions of the Imaum of Muscat; the Secretary to the Medical Board, Bombay, John Scott; the Governor of Muscat; the Imaum of Muscat; the President of the Diocesan Committee of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Corresponding Committee of the Church Missionary Society; Mahomed bin Alli; and the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India, George Alexander Bushby.Physical description: 1 item (168 folios)