‘Territorial settlement in Abyssinia – inexpedient’

Title:

‘Territorial settlement in Abyssinia – inexpedient’

Date:

1809/1811

Description:

Abstract: The title given above is an amended title. The original title, ‘Prohibition of a Trade with Abyssinia and the Governor of Tigrée, on the part of the Company’, which is written in ink, has been partly crossed out, and the title given above has been added in pencil.The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the Government of Bombay and the Government of Bengal. The item is concerned with the mission of Captain Henry Rudland, Resident at Mocha, to the Gulph [Gulf] of Arabia in order to establish trade links between England and Abyssinia. The item is chiefly concerned with:The utility of establishing a Resident at Mocha for purposes including the re-establishment of communications between India and England via the Red Sea; the ability to watch the proceedings of the French in the Red Sea and report intelligence back to the Indian Government; the facilitation of trade between England and AbyssiniaThe Government of Bombay's pessimism regarding the profitability of establishing trade links with Abyssinia given the cost of maintaining and protecting trade channels, due to the presence of different tribes on the coast, and their criticism of Captain Rudland for making unfounded claims on the profitability of the missionThe debate between the Government of Bombay and the Government of Bengal on the utility of pursuing commercial links with Abyssinia and the utility of allowing Captain Rudland to remain in the Arabian Gulph as ResidentDiscussions between Captain Rudland and Henry Salt, His Majesty's Envoy in the Gulph of Arabia, regarding the benefits of trade links with Abyssinia and the site of Amphilah [Eritrean Coast] as an ideal location for the English to have a footholdCorrespondence between: Captain Rudland; Ras Wellata Sellassi [Wolde Selassie], Governor of the Provinces of Tigre [Tigray] and Endula [Enderta], Antalow [Hint’alo], Abyssinia; and Nathaniel Pearce, an Englishman in the service of Ras Wellata Sellassi; regarding the potential trade links between Abyssinia and England and the exchange of gifts in friendship.Correspondents include: Government of Bombay; Captain Henry Rudland; Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay; Ras Wellata Sellassi; Nathaniel Pearce; Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay; Government of Bengal; George Osborne, Secretary to the Government of Bombay; Henry Salt, His Majesty's Envoy in the Gulph of Arabia.Captain Rudland is alternatively referred to as the Resident at Mocha, the Agent in the Gulph of Arabia and the Agent in the Red Sea. The item includes multiple spellings for Ras Wellata Sellassi.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 18, Season 1814/15, Draft 20' and 'Examiner's Office November 1812'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 42, and terminates at f 70, 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 file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Language:

English

Type:

Archival item

Type (Narrower):

Other Texts

Type (Broader):

Text

Subject:

Trade missions

Geographic region:

Abyssinia

Rights:

المُلكية العامة

Identifier:

81055/vdc_100000001700.0x000399_ar
81055/vdc_100000001700.0x000399_en
IOR/F/4/416/10286
IOR/F/4/416/10286

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