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49. ‘Book 131’ Secret letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Captain Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf in 1841, mainly from J P Willoughby, Secretary to the Government of Bombay. At this period, the British Residency was based temporarily on the island of Karrack. The letters to the Resident contain information, guidance and instructions from the Governor in Council of Bombay. They also frequently include copies of pertinent correspondence between other British officials, mainly the Governor in Council of Bombay, the Governor General of India, the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, London and Lord Palmerston, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London. The letters and their enclosures discuss events in East Africa and the Persian Gulf in 1841 and their implications for British foreign policy, relations and interests in these regions. The main topics discussed in the correspondence are as follows:• Captain Atkins Hamerton’s mission to Zanzibar on behalf of the British Government, to investigate French ambitions in the East African territories of the Imam of Muscat, attempts by the French Government to establish a French Consular Agent at Zanzibar, French occupation of territory on the island of Nasbeh or Nos Beh [Nosy Bé], near Madagascar and the history of tribal warfare between its inhabitants. There are English translations of four documents seen by Hamerton in Zanzibar, including an agreement dated 29 April 1838 between Queen Smeko [Tsiomeko] of the Sucklavee [Sakalava] Tribe on the Island of Nos Beh and the Imam of Muscat. There is also an English translation of a letter sent by Lord Palmerston to the Imam of Muscat in September 1840 (folios 2-8, 14-17, 24-26, 75-90);• Plans for the evacuation of British troops from their military station on the island of Karrack [Khārk, Jazīreh-ye], following the return of the island to the ownership and control of Persian authorities, in accordance with a recent commercial treaty between Persia and Great Britain. The desirability of retaining a British settlement on Karrack and the British Government’s view that the British Resident should remain on the island and continue to conduct Residency business in the Persian Gulf from Karrack (folios 21, 63, 67-69, 74, 92-99, 107-110);• Discussion of British policy and measures for suppression of the maritime slave trade between ports in India, East Africa, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The intention of the British Government to increase its demands on the Trucial Coast Chiefs of the Persian Gulf to actively prohibit the slave trade in their ports and equally the Imam of Muscat, with regard to his ports in Zanzibar and other East African territories. The intention of the British Government to ask the Persian Government to prohibit the slave trade in the Persian Gulf ports subject to its authority and control (folios 19, 33-36, 56-57,102-106, 111-117).Physical description: Foliation: the letters are numbered 2-26, 26A, 27-65 and 66-117, from front to back. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front of the file cover is numbered 1 and the back of the file cover is numbered 119 on the inside. There is a blank internal cover enclosing letters numbered 66 to 117. The front of the internal blank cover is numbered 66A and the back of the internal blank cover is numbered 118 on the inside.Pagination: the contents of the file were originally numbered in ink as follows: 9, 11, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 19 and then in strict ascending numerical order from 21 to 377, but with many gaps in the sequence. This earlier numbering of the file is predominantly pagination, but includes remnants of some former foliation systems as well. Blank pages or folios and those containing brief details only, such as name and address, are usually unnumbered.
50. 'Book 133' Secret letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains an exchange of letters between British Government officials in India and London, copied to Lieutenant H D Robertson (Officiating British Resident in the Persian Gulf) for his information and guidance. The letters often refer to the regular reports submitted by the British Resident in the Persian Gulf to the Bombay Government and occasionally contain specific instructions or decisions for the Resident to follow.The main correspondents are: J P Willoughby and L R Reid (Secretaries to the Government of Bombay, on behalf of the Governor in Council of Bombay) and J H Maddock (Secretary to the Government of India, on behalf of the Governor General of India in Council). Other correspondents include: the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, mainly communicating the wishes of Lord Aberdeen (British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) about the British evacuation of Karrack and Captain Atkins Hamerton (British Agent at Muscat) reporting from Zanzibar about slave trafficking in the East African ports belonging to the Imam of Muscat.The letters discuss events in the Persian Gulf in 1842, relations between the rival Arab Maritime Chiefs particularly over slave trafficking, relations between Britain and Persia particularly over the possession of the Island of Karrack [Kharg], the state of the Maritime Peace and several other topics.British evacuation of the Island of Karrack and its restoration to the Persian Government by treaty, including: removal of the British Residency from Karrack back to Bushire, British attitude to the eventual replacement of British pilotage charges on Karrack with a Persian system of pilotage dues, retention of a British coal depot on Karrack for the use of East India Company steamers, proposal for the re-occupation of Bassadore [Bāsa‘īdū] as a British naval depot in the Persian Gulf for the East India Company’s squadron of war ships, proposal to convert the British station on Karrack to an invalid station for Europeans in India (folios 9, 20, 24, 27-29, 31-36).British suppression of the maritime slave traffic in the Persian Gulf, including: trading in slaves between the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea by members of the Joasmee [Qasimi] Tribe under the authority of the Arab Maritime Chiefs and the inability of the Imam of Muscat to prevent them from visiting the ports of his East African territories, the importation of Soomalee [Somali] slaves into Shargah [Sharjah], the importation of African slaves from Muscat into the territory of the Ameers [Amirs] of Scinde in Pakistan, new stringent measures proposed by the British Resident with regard to financial penalties, seizures and confiscations of all native boats involved in slave trafficking between the East Coast of Africa and the various ports in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, the British Government’s long term policy towards the eradication of all trade in slaves between Africa, India and the East African and Arabian countries bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea (folios 3, 10-13, 15-19).The renewal of the annual Maritime Truce between Great Britain and the Chiefs of the Arab Ports in the Persian Gulf and the reasons for and against extending the duration of its term (folios 6, 14); British reaction to an alleged planned invasion of Bahrein [Bahrain] and Koweit [Kuwait] by Persia (folios 29-31) and British relations with Ameer Khaled and his supposed intention to invade Oman (folios 3-7).The file title ‘Book 131 1832’ is written in blue ink on the file cover, with the year '1832' crossed out in pencil (folio 1). The file contains letters written in 1842 not 1832, and one letter written in 1841 (folios 2-3).Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1 to 37, beginning on the front of the file cover and ending on the inside of the back cover. The numbering is written in pencil and encircled, on the recto of each folio, in the top right corner.The 27 letters in the file were originally numbered in ink, on the recto of every folio, in the topr right corner, as follows: 8-10, 15-18, 36, 47-50, 85, 113-117, 143, 149-151, 155, 158-159, 162, 164, 185-188, 210, 230-232.
51. 'Book 140 1843' letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Assistant British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, who was in charge of the Persian Gulf Residency at Bushire, from August to October 1843. Later letters were received by Captain Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, following his return to the Persian Gulf Residency in November 1843.Most of the letters are from British naval officers in the Persian Gulf Squadron, reporting on maritime affairs along the Trucial Coast. Their letters contain naval patrol reports, local intelligence communicated by the British Government Native Agents Hadjee Jassim and Moolah Hussein, stationed at Bahrein [Bahrain] and Sharga [Sharjah] respectively, also witness statements arising from investigations into two particular incidents, as follows:Several naval patrol reports dated August, September, October and November 1843, from Lieutenant A Macdonald, commanding the East India Company schooner Mahi, from Lieutenant J S Draper, commanding the East India Company sloop of war Cooteand from Commander J P Porter (Senior Indian Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf), commanding the East India Company brig of war Euphrates, mentioning outbreaks of tribal conflict and the state of relations between the sheikhs of Abothubee [Abu Dhabi], Amulgavine [Umm-ul-Kawain], Aymaum [Ajman], Bahrein [Bahrain], Brymee, Debai [Dubai], Sharga [Sharjah] and Ras–al Keyma [Ras Al Khaimah] (folios 2-3, 22-25, 27-28, 31);Other naval reports dated September and October 1843, from Lieutenant J S Draper, mentioning chiefly the Pearl Bank fishery season; particularly the presence of a large fleet of pearl fishing boats from the island of Kenn [Kīsh] (folios 16-17, 21);Special naval reports dated July and September 1843, from Commander J P Porter and Lieutenant A Macdonald, give a detailed account of their investigations into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the wrecked British merchant ship Mary Mallaby, which had sailed from Port Louis, Mauritius in May 1843 and run aground at the port of Bunder Abbass [Bandar Abbas] on the Persian coast of the Gulf, in July 1843, together with extracts from entries in the ship’s log book, transcripts of the oral testimony given by the ship’s crew and master, Captain C Fisher, and an English translation of the oral testimony given by the vizier of the Sheik of Bunder Abbass (folios 4-12, 18-20);Special naval report dated December 1843, from Lieutenant J S Draper, giving a detailed account of the unusual circumstances surrounding the recent discovery of an abducted Indian slave girl living in Bahrain, together with an English translation of Lieutenant Draper’s letter dated November 1843 to the Sheikh of Bahrein, stating that the slave girl was currently under the protection of the British Native Agent, also English translations of the oral testimony given by the slave girl, her alleged brother, the widow of her Arab slave owner and the local Arab inhabitant who encountered the alleged brother on his arrival from Bombay in search of his sister (folios 29, 32-33).There are also three letters dated August and October 1843, from: William H Litchfield, master of the East India Company schooner Emilyabout the sinking of the vessel to eradicate vermin (folio 15); Mr W J A Malcolm, a merchant in Bushire about his knowledge of the history of the struggle between Persian and Turkish authorities to control the frontier port of Mohamrah [Khorramshahr] (folios 13-14); Colonel Justin Sheil, the British Minister at Tehran, reporting his conversation with Hajee Meerza Aghassee [Haji Mirza Aghasi], the Persian Prime Minister about Persia’s intention to intervene militarily in the internal power struggle in Bahrain (folio 26).Physical description: Foliation: numbered 2-10, 11, 11A, 12-33, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front of the file cover is numbered 1 and the back of the file cover is unnumbered. Folios 10 and 11 are blank. The writing on folio 11A is on the verso, not the recto.As a result of a scondary and earlier foliation sequence, most folios are also numbered in ink as follows: 151, 156, 158, 160, 161, 163, 165, 167-169, 171, 185, 202, 204, 215, 217, 219, 221, 223, 225, 227, 232, 243, 244, 260, 261, 276-280.
52. 'Book 141 1844-1849' secret letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Captain Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, from the Government of Bombay, between 1843 and 1848. Some correspondents address him as Major Hennell rather than Captain Hennell. A few of the letters received in 1843 are addressed instead to Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, the Assistant British Political Resident in charge of the Persian Gulf Residency, during the absence of Captain Hennell.Most letters received between 1846 and 1848 are from Arthur Malet, Secretary to the Government of Bombay. Letters received between 1843 and 1846 are from J P Willoughby and other secretaries to the Government of Bombay.The letters contain information, guidance and instructions from the Governor in Council of Bombay. The letters often contain or enclose separately, copies of pertinent correspondence between other British officials, including: the Governor General of India in Council, Calcutta; Captain Atkins Hamerton, British Political Agent for the dominions of the Imam of Muscat, based in Zanzibar; the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, London; Lord Aberdeen and his successor Lord Palmerston, as British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London.All file correspondence is in English, except for one letter from the Imam of Muscat to the Governor General of India, dated January 1846, for which there is an Arabic copy as well as an English translation (folios 32-34).The letters and their enclosures discuss events in East Africa and the Persian Gulf between 1843 and 1848 and the implications for British foreign policy, relations and interests in the region. The main topics discussed are the suppression of the maritime slave trade, the actions of the Imam of Muscat and the Chief of Bahrain and the territorial ambitions of Turkey and Persia, as follows:Legal opinion about the liability of British subjects to incur penalties for entering into slave transactions in Muscat, under the anti-slavery provisions in the treaties of 1822 and 1839 between Great Britain and the Imam of Muscat, 1843 (folios 2-7);Measures by the Imam of Muscat to prohibit the African slave trade between his East African ports and his ports in the Persian Gulf, 1846-1847 (folios 35-37);British response to the plans of the Imam of Muscat to invade Bahrain, 1845 (folios 19-21), blockade the Persian port of Bushire, 1846-1847 (folios 31-34, 38-39, 51-53) and take retaliatory measures against Persian ports and vessels, following Persian oppressions against his Governor of Bunder Abbas and other of his dependencies in Persia, 1848 (88-92, 95-99, 110);British cooperation with Turkey and Persia for the suppression of the maritime slave trade, following the prohibition by their rulers, on the importation of African slaves into the Persian Gulf ports under Turkish and Persian control respectively, 1847-1848 (folios 49-50; 74-78; 82, 101-105);Legal opinions and naval instructions 1847-1848, about the powers of British naval ships and courts in India to seize, condemn and confiscate African slave ships intercepted in the ports and seas of East Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, under the terms of the treaties concluded by the British Government with the Imam of Muscat in 1845 and the Arab Chiefs of the Trucial Coast in 1847 (folios 54-57, 63-65, 69-73, 84-87, 106-109);British intentions to negotiate new trade and anti-slavery treaties, 1847-1848, with the Arab Chiefs of Bahrain (folios 76, 82, 93-94) and Sohar (folio 100) in the Persian Gulf;British suspicions about Turkish ambitions to supremacy over Bahrain and other Arab sheikdoms on the Trucial Coast, 1847 (folios 62, 74-78), British resistance to Persian involvement in the disputes between the rival Arab chiefs claiming sovereignty of Bahrain, 1844 (folios 11-18), an English translation of the claim advanced by the Persian Government to the sovereignty of Bahrain and an assessment of its legal validity by the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London, 1845 (folios 22-30);Opinion of Lord Palmerston, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London that British naval ships operating in the Persian Gulf do not have the right to pursue and seize pirates beyond the Restrictive Line, into the Euphrates and other rivers in Turkey, or to detain them in the open sea for offences committed within Turkish limits, 1847-1848 (folios 45-48; 58-62; 74-78);Approval by Lord Palmerston, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London given for the use of British naval ships to defend Bahrain, at the request of its chief, Sheik Mahomed bin Khuleefa, in the event of an attack by disaffected members of the Uttobee tribe, who had left Bahrain and sought refuge on the island of Kenn, near the Persian coast, 1847-1848 (folios 66-68, 79-81, 83).Physical description: Foliation: numbered 2 to 112, from the front to back of the file. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front of the file cover is numbered 1. The back of the file cover is unnumbered.Present in the file are remnants of earlier foliation and pagination sequences, written in ink. Most folios have been numbered twice, usually on both the recto and verso, in the top right or left hand corner respectively. The main numbering system runs from 15 to 356, with gaps, from the front to the back of the file. The other main numbering system is made up of multiple sequences between 100 and 500, in no particular order. The blank verso of any folio is usually unnumbered.
53. 'Book 149 - 1845'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file consist of original correspondence from 1845 sent to the Bushire Residency; the principal correspondents being Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf at the time, and the Secretaries to the Government at Bombay.The file contains extracts of earlier letters, from 9 December 1843, and some later notes, up until 22 April 1846.The main subject covered is slavery at Muscat and Zanzibar following the Slave Abolition Act. Other subjects covered are the diplomatic and commercial relations with Persia and the Persian Coast and the siege of Sevastopol with other events occurred during the Crimean War.The book contains translations of letters from the Persian Shah.Physical description: The foliation is in pencil, encircled, in the top right corner of each folio. The numbering sequence starts on the front cover of the file with 1 and terminates on the last folio with 64.
54. 'Book 142 1844' letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Captain Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, from J P Willoughby, Secretary to the Government of Bombay, between January and June 1844. The letters contain information, guidance and instructions from the Governor in Council of Bombay to the Resident.The letters often contain or enclose separately, copies of pertinent correspondence, mainly between other British officials in Bombay and the Persian Gulf, a few of which are dated 1843 or earlier. Among the enclosures are English translations of several Arabic letters written by Syed Soweynee (Governor of Muscat), Sheikh Suif bin Nubhan (Governor of Bunder Abbass), Khaja Rubil bin Uslan (British Government Native Agent, Muscat), Sir George Arthur (Governor in Council of Bombay) and Captain Atkins Hamerton (British Political Agent, Muscat).The letters and their enclosures discuss events in the Persian Gulf in the first half of 1844 and the implications for British foreign policy, relations and interests. The correspondence discusses the suppression of the maritime slave trade, the actions of the Governor of Muscat and his relations with the new Emir of Nejd, relations between the Persian Government and the ex-Chief of Bahrain, the British merchant shipwrecks Mary Mullabyand Sir James Cockburn, the vacant post of British Government Native Agent at Muscat and other topics as follows:-Ongoing investigations into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the wrecked British merchant brig Mary Mallaby, which ran aground at Bunder Abbass [Bandar Abbas] in July 1843 and the claim made by Captain C Fisher about the plunder of two boxes of treasure, together with an English translation of a letter from the Governor of Bunder Abbass to the British Government Native Agent, Muscat, and a witness statement by James Cromar, master of the British ship Columbia, made in the presence of Mr Le Geyt, the Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay, December 1843 to March 1844 (folios 2-5, 21-31, 34-35);Request from the Governor of Muscat to the Governor in Council of Bombay, for advice on how to act in the face of the call to arms to the people of Oman, by Fysul bin Toorkey [Faisal ibn Turki], the new Emir of Nejd, together with the response from the Governor in Council of Bombay, November 1843 to January 1844 (folios 7-9);Recognition by the Governor in Council of Bombay of the aid and hospitality extended to Captain John Davies and the crew of the shipwrecked British barque Sir James Cockburnby the Governor of Muscat, including the offer of a sea passage in the British vessel Mary Mallaby, which the Governor of Muscat had purchased from Bunder Abbass and repaired, November 1843 to March 1844 (folios 3-4, 32-33, 40);Enquiries into the measures taken by the Governor of Muscat to enforce the prohibition against the slave trade at Muscat in accordance with treaty, and British requests for the liberation of three Indian slave girls and a Somali slave boy, March to June 1844 (folios 39-42, 52-58);Concerns about the doubtful wording of the anti-slavery clause (Article III) of the Treaty concluded in 1839 by Captain Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf with the Arab Chiefs of the Trucial Coast, together with a letter from the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London to the Government of Bombay, expressing their opinion, October 1843 to June 1844 (folios 10-11, 59);Request from the Government of Bombay to the Government of India, for advice on the policy to pursue in the event that the Persian authorities at Shiraz are granted permission by their Government, to assist ex-Chief Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamed, to reassert his authority in Bahrain, February to April 1844 (folios 37-38);Notice of the death of Khaja Rubil bin Uslan (British Government Native Agent, Muscat) on 13 May 1844, from the Governor of Muscat; letter from Mahomed Husson (also known as Moossa Khan) to the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, requesting appointment to the Native Agent vacancy at Muscat and enclosing supporting documents from 1804 and 1830, outlining the distinguished services rendered to the British Government by his ancestors (folios 43-51);Government of India circular and notices published in both The Calcutta Government Gazetteand The Bombay Government Gazetteon the 15 and 26 June 1844 respectively, announcing the appointment of William Wilberforce Bird as the new Governor General of India (folios 60-62);Government of Bombay notices published in The Bombay Government Gazetteon the 6, 17, and 23 January 1844, about British Army victories in Gwalior State, following the death of the Maharajah of Gwalior and the outbreak of conflict (folios 6, 12-20).Physical description: Foliation: numbered 2-3, 4, 4A, 5-62, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front of the file cover is numbered 1 and the back of the file cover is numbered 63 on the inside.Pagination: numbered in ink, in the top right or left hand corner respectively, as follows: 3-9, 11, 14-16, 20-22, 24-36, 46, 47, 55, 59-76, 123-126, 138, 166, 167, 176-178, 202-208, 224-235, 242-244, 254-262, 274, 275, 283-286. The number 283 has been written twice, on two successive pages. Blank pages and pages containing brief details only, such as name and address, are usually unnumbered.Physical condition: the paper edges of four of the five issues of The Bombay Government Gazette, 1844 are extensively stained, brittle and torn (folios 6, 12-18 and 20).
55. ‘Book 153 1847’ Vol 153 Letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire between January and November 1847, mainly from the following British officials: Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, British Envoy at the Court of the Shah of Persia, Tehran; Henry Wellesley (Lord Cowley), British Minister Plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Porte at Constantinople [Istanbul]; Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, British Political Agent for Turkish Arabia and British Consul at Baghdad; Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Acting British Political Agent for Turkish Arabia at the British Residency, Baghdad.The majority of letters to the Resident discuss British negotiations with the Ottoman Porte (Turkish Empire) for the suppression of the African maritime slave trade in the Persian Gulf. These letters are preceded or followed by numerous enclosures, which include related correspondence between Henry Wellesley (Lord Cowley) at Constantinople and Lord Palmerston, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at London, as well as the following Ottoman documents, prohibiting the future importation by sea of African slaves into the Turkish ports of the Persian Gulf:Ottoman Turkish transcripts and English translations of an imperial firman (royal decree) issued in January 1847 at Constantinople by the Sultan of Turkey (the Ottoman Porte), to the Governor of Baghdad, and an accompanying vizirial letter of instruction (folios 13-14, 16-17);English translation of a letter of instruction dated 22 February 1847, from the Governor of Baghdad to the Governor of Bussorah [Basra] (folios 21-22);Ottoman Turkish transcripts and English translations of two letters of instruction, one from the Ottoman Porte to the Governor of Baghdad and the other from the Governor of Baghdad to the Governor of Bussorah [Basra], requiring them to cooperate with British cruizers, over the disposal of slaves landed from seized Turkish vessels (folio 52-54, 61-64).A small number of letters and their enclosures to the Resident discuss British suspicions about Turkish ambitions towards Bahrain. Included is a French transcript of a letter extract, allegedly sent at the instigation of the Sultan’s Chamberlain to the Arab Chief of Bahrain, inviting the latter to place himself under the protection of the Ottoman Porte (folio 43).There are also several naval patrol reports addressed mainly to the Resident, from Commodore John Croft Hawkins, commanding the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf and also from Captain William Lowe. The latter reports the seizure of slave ships and includes a list of vessels belonging to subjects of the Imam of Muscat, detained for having slaves on board (folio 83).Physical description: Foliation: the contents are numbered 2-96, from the front to the back of the file. The front of the file cover is numbered 1. The back of the file cover is unnumbered. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled.Pagination: the contents were originally numbered in ink as follows: 3, 34-58, 73-81, 85-96, 105-118, 181-195, 204-207, 229-238, 256-271, 282-288, 312-328, 338-343, 350-353, 356-360, 363-366, 384-395. There are many gaps in the number sequence. The numbering is written in the top right or left corner of the page on the recto and verso respectively. Blank pages and pages containing only brief details, such as name and address of sender, are usually unnumbered.Fold-out folios: a three-page letter is partially folded over, along the right hand edge (folios 62-64).Condition: many folios are torn, stained or holey, as a result of which a negligible amount of text is obscured or lost.
56. ‘Book 155 1848’ Vol 155 Letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, from Arthur Malet, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay in the Political Department, Bombay Castle written between July and December 1848.Arthur Malet’s letters contain information, guidance and instructions from the Governor in Council of Bombay to the Resident. The majority of his letters are preceded or followed by enclosures. The enclosures are copies of other relevant letters exchanged between several British Government officials, mainly: Captain Atkins Hamerton, Her Majesty’s Consul and the Honourable Company’s (East India Company’s) Agent in the dominions of the Imam of Muscat, Zanzibar; the Honourable the Court of Directors (of the East India Company), London; Mr George Cornewall Lewis, Secretary to the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India (also known as the Board of Control), London; Mr Edward John Stanley, Foreign Office, London on behalf of Lord Palmerston (Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston) the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Mr Charles Edward Trevelyan, Treasury Chambers, London on behalf of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, London.The correspondence mainly discusses the suppression of the maritime slave trade between East Africa and the Persian Gulf and its implications for British foreign policy, relations and interests in the region. There are two main areas of discussion in the correspondence.Slave trafficking: Captain William Lowe’s seizure near Bushire of 11 Muskat [Muscat] ships on route to Bussora [Basra] with slaves on board, the importation into Lingah [Bandar-e-Lengeh] of 15 slaves from Zanzibar, the failure of the Imam of Muscat to enforce the anti-slavery provisions of his treaty with Great Britain in 1845.Anti-slavery measures: legal opinions about enacting legislation in the British Parliament, to give British Vice Admiralty courts in India and elsewhere, the power to hear cases involving slave ships captured by the British naval force in the Persian Gulf, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of 2 October 1845 with the Imam of Muscat and the Treaties concluded by Major Hennell in April and May 1847, with the several Arab Chiefs of the Trucial Coast Sheikhdoms.Physical description: Foliation: the contents are numbered 2 to 21, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front cover of the file is numbered 1. The inside of the back cover is numbered 22. This is the main numbering system and should be used for referencing this volume.Pagination: the contents are also irregularly numbered 152-158, 150-151, 159-164, 217, 222-223, 225-226, 260, 281-286 and 290, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in ink, usually on both the recto and verso; in the top right and left corner respectively. All blank pages and the majority of pages containing brief details such as the name of the sender or the date the letter was sent, are unnumbered.Condition: imperfect folios 4, 6, and 9.
57. ‘Book 158 1847-8’ Vol 158 Letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire.The majority of letters are naval patrol reports submitted to the Resident by the following British officers in the Persian Gulf Squadron of the Indian Navy: Captain William Lowe, Commodore Thomas Grere Carless and Lieutenant Alan Hyde Gardner, all reporting from the Honourable Company (HC) sloop of war Elphinstoneand Commodore John Croft Hawkins, reporting from the HC sloop of war Clive. There is also a naval patrol report made by Lieutenant James Rennie, commanding the HC schooner Constance, to Commodore Thomas Grere Carless, commanding the Persian Gulf Squadron.The naval patrol reports describe the state of relations between the Arab Chiefs of the Trucial Coast Sheikhdoms and any violations of the Maritime Truce, based on observation, enquiry, meetings and other communications while on patrol along the Arabian and Persian coasts of the Persian Gulf.The file also contains letters received from Lieutenant Colonel Francis Farrant, British Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of the Shah of Persia, Tehran regarding Persian affairs. This correspondence includes Persian transcripts of two firmans (royal decrees) issued by the Shah of Persia to the Governors of Fars and Persian Arabia respectively, prohibiting any future importation by sea of African slaves into Persia.Physical description: Foliation: the contents are numbered 2 to 51, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front cover of the file is numbered 1. The inside of the back cover is numbered 52. This is the main numbering system and should be used for referencing this file.As a result of earlier, mainly foliation sequences, the contents are also numbered in the range 2 to 346, with many gaps, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in ink, usually on the recto only, in the top right corner.Condition: imperfections in the margins and along the outer edges of many folios have caused a slight loss of the text of some documents.
58. ‘Book 161 1847’ Vol 161 Letters inward
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains letters received by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, from Arthur Malet, Secretary (later Chief Secretary) to the Government of Bombay in the Political Department, Bombay Castle and written between January and December 1847.Arthur Malet’s letters contain information, guidance and instructions from the Governor in Council of Bombay to the Resident. Several of his letters are followed by enclosures, some of which are dated 1845 and 1846.The majority of the correspondence relates to the suppression of the maritime slave trade between the East Coast of Africa and the Persian Gulf and includes:English version of the Treaty between Great Britain and the Imam of Muscat, dated 2 October 1845 and signed at Zanzibar by Saeed Saeed bin Sultan [Sa`id bin Sultan Al Sa‘id], Sultan of Muscat (the Imam of Muscat) and Captain Atkins Hamerton (British Consul and East India Company Agent in the dominions of the Imam of Muscat);Letter dated 1846 from Lord Palmerston, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London to Henry Wellesley (1st Earl Cowley) and Colonel Justin Sheil, both British representatives at Tehran and Constantinople respectively, asking them to persuade the courts of Persia and Turkey to issue firmans (royal decrees) prohibiting the slave trade in Persian and Turkish ports of the Persian Gulf;Instructions (an undated copy) from the Lords of the Admiralty to the Commanders of Her Majesty’s ships about the seizure of slave vessels under the terms of the new treaty with the Imam of Muscat, also letters of instruction dated 1847, from the Bombay Government to the Superintendent of the Indian Navy and the British Political Agent, Aden about issuing similar instructions for their own warships, also the procedure to be followed with regard to seized vessels and slaves sent to Aden;English translation of an Arabic letter of congratulations dated 22 November 1847, from George Russell Clerk, Governor of Bombay to the Imam of Muscat, about the seizure of eleven Muscat slave ships at sea, made by Captain Lowe, Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, under the terms of the Treaty between Great Britain and the Imam of Muscat dated 2 October 1845.Physical description: Foliation: the contents are numbered 1B, 2-40, from the front to the back of the file. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front cover of the file is numbered 1A. The inside of the back cover is numbered 41. There is an unnumbered folio between folios 13 and 14.Pagination: the contents are also irregularly numbered 31-33, 59, 74-106, 111, 217-224, 234, 295-297, 310, 365-368, 391-395, 411, 426-427, 433-434. The numbering is written in ink, usually on both the recto and verso; in the top right and left corner respectively. All blank pages and the majority of pages containing brief details such as the name of the sender or the date the letter was sent, are unnumbered.Condition: holes and tears in the margins and along the outer edges of many folios have caused a slight loss of the text of documents.
59. ‘Vol 204 1855/56 Slave Trade; Bahrain, Arabian Coast and Muscat; Accounts and General’
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence exchanged between the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball until August 1855, Lieutenant Herbert Disbrowe in the capacity as Assistant Resident in Charge between August and September 1855, and Commander James Felix Jones from September 1855) and Henry Lacon Anderson, Secretary to the Government of Bombay.Correspondence included in each of the volume’s subjects cover the following topics:Slave trade (folios 2-37): chiefly, the Resident’s explanation of contrasting successes in the suppression of the slave trade on the Arab and Persian coasts of the Gulf; protection offered to Indian naval crew members who were previously enslaved;Bahrain (folios 39-68): relations between the Shaikh of Bahrain, his estranged relatives at Dammām, and Fayṣal ibn Turki Āl Sa‘ūd; incidents of maritime piracy;Arabian coast and Muscat (folios 70-168): reports of acts of maritime piracy and plunder; compensation for acts of piracy and plunder; the abdication of Shaikh Sa’id bin Tahnun of Abu Dhabi;Accounts and general (folios 170-93): letters relating to Commander Felix Jones’s previous post as Political Agent and Consul-General at Baghdad; consular jurisdiction of the Resident in Bushire.Physical description: Foliation: Foliation begins on the volume’s first page of text and ends on the volume's last page of text, using uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. The front cover of the volume, two front flyleaves, two rear flyleaves and inside back cover are unfoliated.Pagination: An original pagination sequence runs through the volume between ff 3-193; these numbers are written in ink and they can be found in the top-left or the top-right corners of the verso and recto side of each folio respectively.
60. 'Vol 255 Slave Trade'
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume's correspondence and other papers document British officials' attempts to suppress the slave trade in the Gulf, and their procedures for dealing with liberated slaves. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Felix Jones), H. L. Anderson, Secretary to the Government in Bombay, and representatives of the Persian Gulf Squadron of the Indian Navy, primarily Commodore Griffith Jenkins, Commanding Officer of the Persian Gulf Squadron.A number of subjects comprise the volume, as follows:1. British operations against the slave trade in Bahrain, including the retrieval of two slave girls from the Sheikh of Bahrain, and the recovery of one-hundred dollars from the Sheikh of Bahrain, as compensation for the seizure of two slaves from Shargah by the Sheikh of Al Bidda, whose actions are the responsibility of the Sheikh of Bahrain (folios 4a-5);2. The surrender of four slaves by Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar [Saqr] of Sharjah, a result of the efforts of Lieutenant Robinson and the British Agent at Sharjah, Hajee Yacoob (folios 10-29);3. The lack of success in the suppression of the slave trade during the 1857 season, due to there being no British vessels available to intercept boats returning from Zanzibar and the African coast (folios 33-36);4. Attempts to suppress the slave trade during the 1859 season (folios 40-110). This subject contains extensive correspondence back and forth between the Resident (Jones) and the Senior Naval Officer (Jenkins), which becomes heated as disagreements arise, over resources for the patrol of the Arab coast and the suppression of the slave trade. Commodore Jenkins thought it derogatory for his vessel ( Falkland), displaying his pendant, to be involved in the interception of slave-trading boats (folios 48-49). Jones refers the matter to the Governor in Council, who rules that any notion of slave suppression duties being derogatory is 'mistaken.' Jenkins reports the following year on his attempts to suppress the slave trade from Africa, reporting that his two cruizers liberated a single female slave (folio 59). In a letter to Jenkins, Jones calls the operation 'fruitless' (folio 69), prompting Jenkins to draw Jones' attention to the personal sacrifices made by his crews, including Lieutenant Robinson who is 'seriously ill' as a result of the 'sickly climate' (folio 71-72);5. Expenses related to the disposal of liberated slaves at Bassidore. The British Government retained a slave agent at Bassidore, where liberated slaves were retained prior to their despatch to Bushire. Correspondence in this subject relates to the expenses for the maintenance and passage to Bushire of these liberated slaves (folios 115-144);6. Batta [subsistence allowance] given to a British slave searcher, granted on his proceeding to the Residency (folios 152-55);7. Miscellaneous correspondence relating to the slave trade (folios 159-76).Physical description: Foliation: Foliation starts on the front cover of the volume and continues until the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 30a, 30b, 37a, 37b, 41a, 98a, 150a, 150b, 150c, 156a, 156b. Folio 68 is a fold-out.