Abstract: Chart 598.Hydrographic chart covering the Horn of Africa north of the Juba [Bajun] Islands, the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula to Maskat [Muscat], the western Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea. Portrays hydrology, including depths by soundings and some contours, sands and rocks, relief by hachures and occasional spot heights, settlements and place names, and includes topographical notes and navigational aids, including lights highlighted in watercolour.Chart compiled under the direction of Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen from 1822 to 1826, assisted by Captain Alexander Thomas Emeric Vidal and lieutenants William Mudge, Thomas Boteler, Richard Owen, Edward Owen Johnes and Messrs Rogier, Arlett, Durnford, Badgley, Robinson, Bowen and Mercer, Midshipmen. North of 10°N the chart is compiled from reductions of more recent surveys by 'the East India Company's Officers'. Engraved by J & C Walker. Published by the Admiralty 1827, with corrections 1868, 1873, 1875, November 1876, December 1876, May 1877 and September 1877.Physical description: Materials: Printed, with watercolour additions, on paperDimensions: 870 x 600mm, on sheet 982 x 669mm
Abstract: Enclosure nos. 2-23 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay [Mumbai], dated 30 November 1841. The enclosures are dated 11 July-27 November 1841. The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to the trade in enslaved persons in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, including:Reports that ships belonging to the Imam of Muscat and members of his family have been taking enslaved persons from the east coast of Africa to Bombay [Mumbai], Dewul [Diu] and Kurratchee [Karachi], and enslaved Hindu women from Bombay to Muscat and Zanzibar, with an insistence that the Imam is unaware of such use of his shipsMethods used to disguise the trade in enslaved persons, including recording enslaved persons as crew members and their wives, disguising enslaved women as men in order to pass them off as crew members, and the use of bribesReports that a ship under British colours carried enslaved persons from Mocha to MuscatReports of enslaved persons being carried from Burbarah [Berbera] to Shargah [Sharjah].The primary correspondents are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Native Agent, Muscat; the Collector of Customs, Bombay; and the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (52 folios)
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and reports relating to the sinking by an enemy (presumed Japanese) submarine of two dhows, belonging to Kuwait and Qatar, in the Indian Ocean, including: a copy of a letter from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay) to the Secretary of State for India, dated 16 May 1942, concerning compensation for loss by enemy action, and reporting of the two lost dhows (ff 2-3); a copy of a report, dated 16 April 1942, sent by the Assistant Collector of Salt Revenues at Camp Malvan to the Staff Officer (Intelligence) at Bombay, reporting that thirty-five crewmen had arrived from one of the sunk vessels at Malvan, and enclosing a testimony of the attack and sinking by one of the crewmen (f 6).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 9; 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-8; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: Chart 2483.Hydrographic chart covering the Indian Ocean, its islands and surrounding land masses. Portrays hydrology, including some depths by soundings, some contours, and rocks, settlements and place names, and includes topographical notes and navigational aids, including lights highlighted in watercolour; some coastlines are similarly highlighted.Published at the Admiralty, 1857. Corrections 1861 and 1862.Physical description: Materials: Printed, with watercolour additions, on paperDimensions: 636 x 949mm, on sheet 672 x 1006mm
Abstract: Enclosure nos. 2-15 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay [Mumbai], dated 1 October 1844. The enclosures are dated 16 July-27 September 1844.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to the pay, deployment and appointment of military and naval personnel in British India, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, including:A decision that the detachment that protected Hyderabad during the Battle of Dubba [also known as the Battle of Dubbo or the Battle of Hyderabad] on 24 March 1843 should be eligible for the same six-months’ worth of batta [allowance or expenses] granted to detachments actively involved in the battleThe arrival at Trincomalee of Commodore Henry Ducie Chads to take command of ‘the Squadron in the Indian Seas’A recommendation that artillery serving on the steam vessels on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers should be withdrawnThe appointment of a new Superintendent of Canals and Forests in Sinde [Sindh].The primary correspondents are: Commodore Chads; the Governor of Sinde; the Native Agent, Muscat; the Naval Commander-in-Chief, East Indies; the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; the Quartermaster-General, Bombay; and the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (29 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 42 of 1856, dated 10 June 1856. The enclosures are dated 19 December 1855-7 June 1856.The enclosures chiefly comprise despatches from Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, to the Government of Bombay, and the latter’s responses, in connection with British attempts to suppress the trade in enslaved persons in the Red and Arabian seas and the Persian Gulf regions. They notably cover and include:Coghlan’s frustration over the lack of available vessels to enable him to visit independent ports on the Arabian and African coasts and Turkish [Ottoman] ports in the Red Sea, in particular Shuhr and Maculla [Ash Shihr and Mukalla] which Coghlan suggests should be monitored for boats crossing from Africa; the Government of Bombay’s resolution to press the need for naval resources upon the Secret Committee; and the Court of Directors’ recommendation that for now existing vessels at Aden and Persian Gulf stations should be usedCoghlan’s suggestion that a vessel of war be stationed at Perim Island in the Straits of Babel Mandel [Bab el Mandeb] commanding the entrance to the Red SeaThe agreement concluded by Coghlan with Sultan Manassir, the Oulaki [Sulṭān Manāṣir, al-‘Awlaqī tribe], and the latter’s complaints that his neighbours continue the trade and benefit further from his self-interdictThe issue of the need to obtain a treaty with ‘Arabian chiefs’ on the Gulf coast providing the right of British vessels to demand the liberation of enslaved persons landed ashore, and the assertion of the Acting Resident in the Persian Gulf that Zanzibar traders evade British surveillance by sailing to Oman and following land routes through Mesopotamia and Persia [Iran], and suggestion that a steam vessel be stationed at Mazeera Island [Masirah]The question of producing a ‘digest’ of all treaties existing on the subject of slavery and Coghlan’s concern that they are not enforced partly due to obscure termsAn intelligence report (supplied by a person connected with the firm of Menon Lambert and Co of Mauritius who have contracted with the British Government to carry the mails between Mauritius and Aden) describing the extent of the trade in enslaved persons carried on by Arab and Persian craft from the coast of Africa and Zanzibar to ports on the Red and Arabian seas and the Persian Gulf (ff 314-315).The principal correspondents are: Coghlan, the Government of Bombay, and the Acting Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire.Physical description: 1 item (19 folios)
Abstract: This file contains papers relating to visits by the Royal Indian Navy to ports in East Africa and the Indian Ocean. The majority of the papers are exchanges between the Colonial Office in London and British officials in East Africa. The bulk of the papers convey serious British concerns about Indian ambitions across the region, particularly in places such as Mauritius where there is a sizable Indian majority. Many of the folios discuss the reception accorded to visiting Indian officers and naval staff in East African port cities as a measure of loyalty to Britain.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 item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 36 of 1856, dated 12 May 1856. The enclosures are dated 9 April-10 May 1856.The papers concern events on the north east coast of Africa, as reported to the Government of Bombay by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident at Aden. They specifically cover the following matters:Reports by Raffaello Barroni, Agent to Walter Chichele Plowden, HM Consul in Abyssinia [now Ethiopia], of disorder alleged to be fostered by the Governor of Mussowah [Massawa] and the resultant plunder carried out by Egyptian soldiers in nearby Abyssinian provinces, and the trafficking of prisoners taken by Egyptian troops on the ‘slave market’ at MussowahProceedings relating to Haj Shermarkie [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ, also spelled Shermarkay and Shurmarkie in this item], the deposed Governor of Zailah [Saylac, or Zeila, Somalia, also spelled Zeylah in this item], including: Coghlan’s deputation of his assistant, Lieutenant Robert Lambert Playfair, to travel on the HC [Honourable Company’s] steam vessel
Queento investigate Shermarkie’s alleged ‘piracy’ and attempts to blockade and re-take Zailah; Playfair’s account of his visits to the coastal ports of Zailah, Ain Tarad [El Darad, or Ceel Dhaarand], Berbera and Tajourah [Tadjoura], including a description of the mediation he conducted on board the
Queenbetween the mutually hostile Shermarkie and the new Governor of Zeylah, Haj Aboo Bekr bin Ibrahim [Ḥājjī Abū Bakr bin Ibrāhīm, also spelled Aboo Bukur Dunklee in this item]; and the offer of asylum at Aden to Haj Shermarkie on condition that he does not leave without permission from the Political Resident or use Aden as a base to organise further attacks on ZailahThe trade in enslaved persons in Zailah and Tajourah and Playfair’s opinion that it will never be suppressed unless British vessels have permission to search Turkish [Ottoman] vessels at sea and land enslaved persons on shore.Coghlan also reports on the water shortages at Aden, reduced water allowances, and continuing efforts to improve the water supply.The principal correspondents are Coghlan and the Government of Bombay. Coghlan’s despatches contain numerous enclosures including letters and reports from: Playfair; Barroni; the Governor of Yemen; and Haj Shermarkie (letters written in September 1855, in which Shermarkie complains of his recent deposition and reminds Coghlan of his previous acts of loyalty towards Britain).Physical description: 1 item (24 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 33 of 1856, dated 28 April 1856. The enclosures are dated 14-26 April 1856.The enclosures comprise copies of reports and correspondence relating to the deployment of the HC [Honourable Company’s] sloop of war
Elphinstoneand steamship
Queento the Arabian and African Red Sea coasts, targeted at intimidating insurgent forces and quelling disturbances in: Mecca and Juddah [Jeddah, also spelled Jedda and in this item]; Hodeida [Al Hudaydah, also spelled Hodeidah in this item]; Mussowa [Massawa, also spelled Massowah and Massowa in this item]; and Zeylah [Saylac, or Zeila, Somalia].The papers notably include:Letters and reports by Captain John James Frushard, Indian Navy, Senior Naval Officer, Aden, on the
Elphinstoneto: Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating Agent at Judda, requesting Page to forward any proclamation made by the British Government and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire abolishing the trade in enslaved persons in the Hedjaz [Hejaz]; Camil Pacha [Muḥammad Kāmil Pāshā, also written Mehmed Kiamil Pacha in this item] Governor of the Hejaz, announcing his arrival at Juddah to assist in quelling the disturbances in Mecca; William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident, Aden, describing proceedings of the
Elphinstoneand
Queenat Hodeida and with Mahmud Pasha, Governor of Hodeida, against the Assyr [‘Asīr tribe], and reporting the small French presence in the Red Sea portsLetters and reports by Lieutenant G N Adams, Indian Navy, Commanding the
Queen, to Coghlan and Rear Admiral Sir Henry John Leeke, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy, reporting his proceedings at Mocha and Hodeida, Juddah, and Mussowa, including conditions on board ship and running aground on the way to AdenLeeke’s commendation of Frushard and Adams, notably for their ‘zeal and energy’ which saved Hodeida from being ‘cruelly murdered and robbed’ (f 146) by the AssyrCoghlan’s instructions that the
Queenconvey the Assistant Political Resident, Lieutenant Robert Lambert Playfair, to Zeylah to investigate reports that Haj Shermarkay [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ], former Ruler of Zeylah, has blockaded the port and committed acts of ‘piracy’ in the vicinity, and to take any necessary action to prevent the interruption of supplies.The principal correspondents are: Coghlan, Frushard, Adams and Leeke.Physical description: 1 item (19 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 28 of 1856, dated 16 April 1856. The enclosures are dated 12 March-16 April 1856.The enclosures comprise copies of reports and letters forwarded by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, and Coghlan’s correspondence with the Government of Bombay. They chiefly relate to the deployment of the HC [Honourable Company’s] sloop of war
Elphinstoneand steamship
Queento the Arabian and African Red Sea coasts, targeted at intimidating insurgent forces and quelling disturbances in: Mecca and Judda [Jeddah, also spelled Jedda in this item]; Hodeida [Al Hudaydah]; and Mussowah [Massawa, also spelled Massowah and Massowa in this item].They specifically cover:The uprising led by the ‘rebel’ Shereff of Mecca, Aboo Montallib [Sharīf ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad], purportedly in protest at the abolition of the slave trade by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; the Shereff’s alleged intention to attack and plunder Judda; the Shereff’s retreat to Taief [Taif, also spelled Tayf in this item] with his followers and his desertion by them after an engagement with Ottoman soldiers; the re-establishment of order in Judda and Mecca; and the prospective arrival of the new Shereff of Mecca, Ebu Aoun [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn]The unsuccessful attempt of the Assyr [‘Asīr tribe, also spelled Asseer in this item] to attack the ports of Hodeida and Mocha in order to drive the Turks [Ottoman local authorities] from Yemen, and then to attack Aden, including: the retreat of British merchants and their families to the safe harbour of Ras Majarmla [Ra’s Mujamilah]; the approach of the Assyr ‘in great numbers’ (f 75) at Hodeida; the arrival of the
Elphinstoneand
Queenat Hodeida; the defence of the port organised by the Governor of Hodeida (without British help); the retreat of the Assyr due to sickness and inadequate provisions; and the rumoured death from cholera of the leaders and up to 10,000 members of the Assyr forceAn uprising in Mussawah said to be caused by the violent and oppressive policies of the authorities, and its abatement following the arrival of the
Elphinstoneand the mediation of the deputy Governor of Mussawah with the ‘rebels’.This item also covers: the logistics of organising the return of the
Elphinstoneand
Queento Mussawah, Judda and Hodeida in April to avert renewed disturbances at those places; intelligence received by Coghlan, from the Government of Bombay, of certain ‘Sumalee’ [Somali] and Arab individuals employed by the Political Agency ‘who are not to be depended upon’ and if not closely watched would ‘betray their employers to the Asseer [‘Asīr] Arabs, who are approaching in the direction of Aden’ (f 101); and Coghlan’s assertion that all land entrances to Aden are secured and known ‘traitorous’ individuals are being watched.The principal correspondents are: Coghlan; the Government of Bombay; Captain John James Frushard, Indian Navy, Senior Naval Officer, Aden, on the HC ship
Elphinstone; Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating HC Agent at Judda; and Lieutenant G N Adams, Indian Navy, Commanding the HC steamship
Queen.Physical description: 1 item (38 folios)
Abstract: This volume consists of two items which are copies of correspondence, minutes, and memoranda cited in, or enclosed with, letters to and from the Government of Bombay. The items are:IOR/F/4/649/17851 'Proceedings adopted in consequence of the depredations committed by the Joasmee [al-Qāsimī] Pirates in the Persian Gulph [Gulf]', Vol. 2IOR/F/4/649/17852 'Proceedings adopted in consequence of the depredations committed by the Joasmee Pirates in the Persian Gulph', Vol. 3.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 371; 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This untitled volume was written by John Pybus, an employee of the East India Company from 1742 to 1768. It contains notes relevant to trade in ports of the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea. Subjects include:The weights, measures, and currencies used in different ports, and methods of converting between these units and British Imperial measurementsDescriptions of trading ports, including routes by which a ship could reach them, goods that can be traded in each port, and customs feesAdvice on the most profitable methods of trading in different portsMethods of assessing the quality of gold, silver, pearls, and other commoditiesThe personalities of important individuals at each port.The volume also includes a letter from Governor Thomas Bradyll and his council at Fort William, Calcutta [Kolkata] to Richard Bourchin and David Findlay, giving instructions for a trading voyage to Manila via Malacca.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 97; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: The volume also contains an original handwritten pagination sequence.