1. ‘Persian Gulf. Proceedings relative to the trial of the Pirate Ahmed Dad Kurreem by the Muskat authorities.’

Description:

Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, consultations, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; the Court of Directors of the East India Company; Major Samuel Hennell, British Resident in the Persian Gulf; and Khojah Hiskael [Khawājah Ḥizqīl bin Yūsuf], British Agent at Muscat (also written Muskat).The item concerns the trial and execution of Ahmed Dad Kurreem [Aḥmad Dād Karīm] by Syed Soweenee [Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Governor of Muscat]. Kurreem was convicted of burning the vessel which was employing him as nakhoda [nakhuda], murdering some of the crew, and stealing the treasure on board the ship.The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft no 567/49’, ‘Coll[ection]: 2’, and ‘Collection No 5 of No 35’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 803, and terminates at f 811 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.

2. ‘Persian Gulf. Affairs.’

Description:

Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 3 July 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the eighth in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item contains letters from the Government of Bombay to Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, responding to his earlier reports on his tour of the Gulf.The item also contains correspondence regarding:Commanding Officer of the Company ship, Mahi, Lieutenant Macdonald's intervention in a ‘piratical’ attack against a bugla by members of the Chaab [Banū Ka‘b] tribePotential inconveniences of affording assistance to British subjects who loan money to local authorities and governors in Persia [Iran], as discussed by Hennell and Lieutenant Colonel Sheil, HM Minister at the Court of TehranRequests by merchants of Bombay [Mumbai] for protection of their merchant ships when travelling to Bahrein [Bahrain], copies of which can be found at folios 289-290 and 291-292Discussions between Hennell and the Government of Bombay with regards to arrangements for the trial of Ahmed Dad Kurreem [Aḥmad Dād Karīm], and in particular whether he should be tried by the authorities in Muscat or tried in Bombay at the High Court of Admiralty.Copies of the above correspondence are forwarded by the Government of Bombay to the Government of India, along with Hennell’s proposal that Lieutenant Arnold Burrows Kemball should replace Major Rawlinson during his temporary absence from the Baghdad Residency.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48’, ‘Collection No. 2 of No. 87, Vol: 8.’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 272, and terminates at f 304, 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.

3. 'Vol: 1. Affairs of the Persian Gulf'

Description:

Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the East India Company Court of Directors and the governments of Bombay [Mumbai] and India. It is the first in a series of two items on general affairs in the Persian Gulf (the other is IOR/F/4/1596/64626), with some of the enclosures to the political letters contained in the second item.As well as the above, principal correspondents include: Samuel Hennell, Assistant Resident (also called the Acting Resident) in the Persian Gulf; Thomas Elivon, Commodore in the Persian Gulf; Captain John Pepper, Commander of the Amherst; and the Native Agents at Shargah [Sharjah], Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], Bahrein [Bahrain], and Muscat.The item covers several subjects. The majority of the item relates to acts of 'piracy' committed by inhabitants of Debaye [Dubai] and Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi], including details of:The measures taken by Hennell to force the Chiefs of Debaye, Obed bin Saeed ['Ubayd bin Sa'īd Āl Bū Falāsah] and Mukhtoom bin Bustey [Maktūm I bin Buṭṭī Āl Bū Falāsah] to give up the offenders and pay compensationThe 'piracy' committed by a fleet from Aboothabee on a number of different vessels including the Duriah Dowlut[Daryā Dawlat], a ship from Bombay flying under English coloursThe engagements undertaken by Company ships, notably the Amherstand the Elphinstone, to suppress the 'pirates' and exact compensation from Shaik Khuleefa bin Shackboot, Chief of Aboothabee and the Benyas [Shaikh Khalīfah bin Shakhbūṭ Āl Nahyān, Ruler of Abu Dhabi and of the Beni Yas]The compensation agreed on by Shaik Khuleefa after being threatened with the destruction of the Benyas' forts, boats and the blockade of their ports; details of which can be found at ff 266-267The subsequent trials of the 'pirate chiefs' Mohummud bin Suggur bin Zeb [Muḥammad bin Ṣaqr bin Dhīb] and Mohumed bin Mirhud [Muḥammad bin Rāshid ?] at Bombay, including a detailed report by the Advocate General on the latter's trial which can be found at ff 345-354.To a lesser extent, the item also contains information on:An attack on a boat belonging to Kasaab [Khaṣab] by people from Juzeerat ool Humra [Al Jazīrah al Ḩamrā’] and a request by the Shaik of Kishm [Qeshm] for the British to interveneAn attack on Soweek [As Suwayq] by Shaik Humood bin Azan [Shaikh Ḥamūd bin Azan Āl Bū Sa‘īd] during the Imam of Muscat's absence, including Hennell's concerns about the retaliations ordered by the Imam's son and nephew who have been left in charge as governors of MuscatA six-month truce arranged by Hennell between: Obed bin Saeed; Shaik Shakboot (the father of Shaik Khuleefa); Sultan bin Suggur [Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī, Ruler of Ra's al Khaymah and Sharjah] and Rashid bin Humeed [Rāshid I bin Ḥumayd al-Na'īmī], Shaikh of Ojman [Ajman], the terms of which can be found at ff 263-264Events at Bushire relating to claims on the governorship by Shaikh Nasir [Shaikh Nāṣir II Āl Mazkūr], who is supported by the chiefs of Brazgoon [Borāzjān], Shubunkrah [Shabānkāreh] and Rohilla [Rūd Ḥillah]A request from the Prince-Governor of Shiraz for the British to help capture the fugitive sons of the late Prince of Shiraz.Other matters briefly referred to include:Claims for salvage of the Duriah Dowlutby the crew of the AmherstThe communication chain between the Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Government of BombayMinor updates on events at Bahrein regarding control over Katif [Al-Qatif].The political letters sent between the Government of Bombay and the Court of Directors also briefly touch on a number of other minor topics, mostly relating to expenses, 'piracy', and the Company policy of non-interference in the Gulf.There are multiple variant spellings of multiple people and place names. In particular, the 'pirate' Mohumed bin Mirhud's name is also written as: bin Murghad; Mujhud; Meeshad; Meerjud; Misheed; Meshud; Mishud; Mujhid; Mijhid; Mujhed; Muhad; Mulah; Mujheed; and Meshid. A later correction in pencil reveals that this name should in fact be 'Rashid'.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', 'P.C. [Previous Communication] 1944, Draft 432, 1837' and 'Examiner's Office'.Physical description: The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the item. The item also contains a table of contents (ff 5-9), noting ‘Page’, ‘Date’, ‘From’, ‘To’ and ‘Date of Consultation’.

4. ‘Aden - Trials of Prisoners’

Description:

Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, British Political Agent at Aden. It is the first in a series of five items concerning Aden (the others are IOR/F/4/2100/98227, 98228, 98229, and 98230).The item concerns two trials at Aden. The first was a case of accidental homicide resulting in a sentence of three months’ imprisonment, and the second was a case of wilful murder resulting in a sentence of death. The item contains detailed court records.Letters from the Government of Bombay mention other events concerning Aden, including proposals to build a civil hospital, and the outbreaks of smallpox and the failure of vaccination against it.The item includes a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 683, P.C. [Previous Communication] 4878, [Season 18]45’, ‘Vol: 1’, ‘Collection No 7 of No 91’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 176 and terminates at f 215, 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.

5. 'File No. E/18 V. O. HEARING OF CASES AND TRIAL OF PERSONS BY WRONG COURT.'

Description:

Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding three judicial cases in Bahrain:A group of men accused of robbery, including the case hearing minutes and witness statementsA petition raised by an Iranian man who requested that his son be tried by the Political Agency Court rather than the Bahrain Court on a case of causing death by drivingA dispute between a landlord and his tenant, where the tenant claimed to be a British subject by naturalisation and therefore requested that his case be tried in the Political Agency Court.The main correspondence is between the Bahrain Political Agency, and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, Charles Dalrymple Belgrave.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 28; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-22; these numbers are also written in pencil, or pen, but are not circled.

6. File 959/1914 Pt 1-2 'Abyssinia O. in C.'

Description:

Abstract: The volume contains papers relating to Articles 37 and 56 of the Abyssinia Order in Council 1913, which concern persons being sent for trial or imprisonment to Aden or Bombay.Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 479; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.