Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 9 January 1874 and received by the India Office via Brindisi on 2 February 1874, forwarding copies of two further letters from the Political Agent, Zanzibar, relating to his visit to Mombassa, [Mombasa] Melindi [Malindi], and Lamo [Lamu]. The Political Agent reports the actions he has taken, and their results, with regard to enslaved persons owned by the Indian communities in those places. The accounts also include information about the local Indian populations, geography and economy at those places, including the trade in ivory at Mombassa and the millet and sesame seed trade in the country between Melindi and Mambrui. There is also a description of Takaunga [Takaungu]. The despatch is in continuation of Political No. 228 of 26 December 1873 (IOR/L/PS/6/114, ff 392-396a).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 65, and terminates at f 73a, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence contains three foliation anomalies: f 65a, f 69a, and f 73a.
