Abstract: Enclosure nos. 2-7 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay [Mumbai], dated 1 January 1848. The enclosures are dated 4 December 1851-3 January 1852.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in Aden, particularly the search for the murderer of Captain Milne and another crew member of the East India Company ship
Auckland, and the closure of Berbera to trade due to the unsettled state of affairs there.The primary correspondent is the Political Agent, Aden.Physical description: 1 item (12 folios)
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The main correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, British Political Agent at Aden; Lieutenant Charles Cruttenden, Assistant Political Agent at Aden. It is the second in a series of five items concerning Aden (the others are IOR/F/4/2100/98226, 98228, 98229, and 98230).The item concerns British fears that the large force Sherriffe Hussain ibn Ali Hyder [Sharif Hussain bin 'Ali Haydar, Governor of Mocha] has collected at Mocha will be used to attack Aden.The majority of the item is made up of the report of Lieutenant Charles Cruttenden of his tour of the Horn of Africa, including a description of:The state of affairs at Shoa [Shewa]Zeyla [Saylac], which is experiencing civil unrestBerbera, where contentious fortifications are under constructionBurnt Island [Maydh Island]The state of the wreck of the
Memnonoff Cape Guardafui, which had its copper removed and sold contrary to British injunctionsMaculla [Al Mukalla], where he inquired into a complaint by a Banian merchant that his house had been plundered.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: 2’, ‘Collection No 7 of No 10’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 216 and terminates at f 237, 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.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, consultations, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden; Augustus Le Messurier, Advocate General at Bombay; Lieutenant Alexander Henry Gordon, Commanding the Honourable Company’s brig of war
Euphrates; and Commander Carless, Senior Naval Officer at Aden. It is the twelfth in a series of seventeen items on the trade in enslaved people (the others are IOR/F/4/2112/99462, IOR/F/4/2112/99463, IOR/F/4/2112/99464, IOR/F/4/2112/99465, IOR/F/4/2112/99466, IOR/F/4/2112/99467, IOR/F/4/2112/99468, IOR/F/4/2112/99469, IOR/F/4/2112/99470, IOR/F/4/2112/99471, IOR/F/4/2112/99472, IOR/F/4/2112/99474, IOR/F/4/2112/99475, IOR/F/4/2112/99476, IOR/F/4/2112/99477, and IOR/F/4/2112/99478).The item concerns the seizure of the kotia [kutiyya]
Runchore Parsandby Lieutenant Gordon because there were three enslaved women on board. The circumstances of why the women were on board is discussed, and the item contains depositions from those involved in the case.The item contains a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 872/45, P.C. [Previous Communication] 5013, Collection No 1 of No 55’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 202, and terminates at f 223, 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, which form partial enclosures to a letter from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 15 January 1846. A copy of this letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2142/102302.The item relates to a report by Commander Lieutenant A Macdonald, Commander of the Company schooner
Mahi, on his recent visit to Berbera during which he attempted to facilitate peace amongst the ‘tribes’ [clans] of the Somali coast in order to preserve the trade in the region. He reports on his communications with: Sheik Hadjee Shermarki Alli, Governor of Zeyla [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ, Governor of Saylac]; the Governor’s son, Mahomed [Muḥammad]; and the elders of the ‘tribes’.Macdonald mentions in particular the ‘tribes’ of Mejertherjn (also rendered ‘Mejertheyn’ [Majerteen?]) and Ayul Unuss (also rendered ‘Ayul Hamud’).The item also mentions the intention of Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Captain in the Indian Navy and Political Agent at Aden, to send Assistant Lieutenant Charles John Cruttenden to the Somali Coast in order to facilitate peace.The correspondents are: Haines; Thomas Grere Carless, Commander and Senior Naval Officer at Aden; Macdonald; and the Government of Bombay.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5264, Draft 494/46’, ‘Collection N. 8 of N. 5, Vol: 4’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 165, and terminates at f 169, 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.
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 21 November 1873 and received by the India Office via Brindisi on 15 December 1873, forwarding copies of correspondence relating to the Egyptian Corvette
Arkhaanchoring at Berbera and Egyptian forces landing on shore and allegedly treating the territory as if it belonged to the Egyptians. The enclosures include a report by the Political Resident at Aden and a report by the Officer Commanding HMS
Dalhousie, Bombay Marine, who was instructed by the Resident to observe events but refrain from any involvement. The covering letter from the Government of India concludes by referring to a Reuter's telegram, London, 22 October 1873, confirming that 'the Egyptian Government has amicably arranged with the natives to build and occupy a fort at Berbera'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 26, and terminates at f 28a, 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 26a, f 27a, and f 28a.
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 26 December 1873 and received by the India Office Secret Department on 20 January 1873, forwarding information relating to affairs at the port of Berbera on the east African coast. The primary document is a letter from the Assistant Resident at Aden to the Political Resident at Aden, describing his meeting with the Commander of the Egyptian Corvette
Sarka, and in particular their discussions relating to inter-tribal feuds in the locality of Berbera. The despatch is in continuation of Political No. 203 of 21 November 1873 (IOR/L/PS/6/114, ff 26-28a).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 267, and terminates at f 269a, 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 267a, f 268a, and f 269a.
Abstract: This item consists of a copy of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 13 February 1874 and received by the India Office Political Department on 8 March 1874, drawing attention to previous communications and calling for early instructions as to the policy to be pursued with reference to the proceedings of the Turkish and Egyptian officials at Berbera and in the neighbourhood of that port.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 333, and terminates at f 334, 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.
Abstract: The file contains letters sent outwards from the British Residency in the Persian Gulf by Samuel Hennell (the Resident), and Thomas Mackenzie (Acting Assistant in Charge of the Residency). The main recipient being John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Political Department of the Bombay Government. Other significant recipients are Edward M Wood, Secretary to the Military and Steam Departments of the Bombay Government; John McNeil, HM Minister Plenipotentiary and Minister Extraordinary to the Court of Persia; and the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London.The correspondence includes material of a routine administrative nature; such as the movement of company ships, the transportation of mail, personnel matters, and so on. The trials of Noor Mahomed Beg [Nūr Muḥammad Beg] in conveying packets between Bushire and Tehran are outlined in more detail; a list of expenses he incurred in the process is also included. Additional topics covered include the suitability of various locations — Anjar, Bundar Maculla, Karrack [Khārk, Jazīreh-ye], and Muscat — for establishing a coal depot; the viability of relocating the base of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf from Bassidore [Bāsaʻīdū] to Anjar; the temporary occupation of Karrack by British forces; and the testing of the navigability of the Euphrates river through the ascent of an iron steamer.Included in the file are reports on the Resident's annual tour of the Arabian Coast. The main object being the renewal of the Maritime Truce, and its extension from a period of eight to twelve months. The Resident is also involved in trying to get the Arab Chiefs to formally recognise the restrictive line in the Persian Gulf; a neutral zone within which no hostility at sea will be tolerated.The efforts of the Resident to suppress the trade in slaves in the Persian Gulf is also featured; this being prompted by a complaint alleging that traders of the Joasmee [Āl Qāsimī] tribe had abducted women from the coast of Barbarah [Berbera] for the purpose of selling them as slaves. It also covers the Resident's efforts to prevent hostilities at sea between Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi] and Debaye [Dubai], as a result of Shaikh Khuleefa bin Shakboot's [Khalīfah bin Shakhbūṭ] attack on the Sea Tower of the Fort of Debaye.In a similar vein, the file includes correspondence related to the Resident's efforts to mediate a settlement between the Chief of Bahrain, and his revolted dependants — Esa ben Tareef [‘Isá bin Ṭarīf], and Ibn Salamah [Ibn Salāmah] — residing at Aboothabee. It also discusses the complete abandonment of Wukrah [al Wakrah] by the Boo Eymeen [Bu Ajman] tribe, and their relocation to Aboothabee, and a request from the Beni boo Ally [Banī Bū ‘Alī] for a reconciliation with the Beni boo Hoossun [Banī Bū Ḥusayn].The file also covers the advances of Ameer Khaled [Amīr Khālid] — with the support of the Muḥammad ‘Alī Pāshā of Egypt — against Ameer Fysul [Amīr Fayṣul], the Wahabi Chief, in Nedgd [Najd], and the resulting threat this poses to the Chief of Bahrain, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah.The correspondence also concerns itself with the perceived hostility, and obstructive attitude of the Prince of Shiraz against the British at Bushire. The replacement of Shaikh Nasir [Shaykh Nāṣir] as Governor of Bushire by Mirza Abbas [Mīrzā ‘Abbās], and his subsequent replacement with Mirza Assadoollah [Mīrzā Assad ‘Allāh] following a dispute with the merchants of that place.Included is list of equipment received from India on the requisition of Sir Henry Bethune showing their subsequent distribution, along with another list estimating the cost of building a coal depot with a capacity for 1000 tons of coal.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the cover and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: An original incomplete pagination sequence is also present in the file between ff 2-91. These numbers are located in the top outermost corner of each page. Please note that there are significant gaps present in this sequence.
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 72 of 1853, dated 28 November 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-7, with a note stating that 5-7 are missing. Enclosures 3-4 are dated 8 to 12 November 1853.The enclosures comprise correspondence from the Political Agent at Aden (Stafford Bettesworth Haines), concerning affairs on the Somali coast (also written as Somallee in the correspondence). Includes a sketch (folio 186) of the forts at Berbera by Lieutenant Herne, Bombay Fusiliers (1st Europeans).Physical description: 1 item (17 folios)
Abstract: This item contains manuscript copies of secret letters, despatches, memoranda, intelligence reports relating to the development of an Agency in Somalia.Topics covered:A despatch from the Acting Political Resident at Aden including a report by Lieutenant Burton, 18th Regiment Bombay [Mumbai], Commander in Charge of the Somalia Expedition. This report includes a recommendation to establish an Agency at Berbera together with a plan of Berbera (ff 385v-386r) and a drawing of the proposed Berbera Agency building (f 387r).A request by Lieutenant Burton to be granted a second year for exploration of this part of AfricaA proforma table (f 398v) for the 'Indent on the Ordnance Department for the Undermentioned Article required for the use of the Political Department Emergent, Aden 26 February 1855'Statement by Colonel Clark in explanation and reply to the accusations brought against him by Colonel Outram, concerning initiating overtures to a hostile chief (the Foudhli).Correspondents include: the Political Resident at Aden; Lieutenant Burton, Commander of the Somalia Expedition; H C Montgomery, Chief Secretary to the Government of Fort Saint George, Madras [Chennai]; H L Anderson, Secretary to Government, Bombay; and Sultan Ahmad bin ‘Abdullāh al Foozlie [Aḥmad bin Abdullāh al-Faḍlī].Physical description: 1 item (79 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 20 dated 19 March 1856. The enclosures are dated 15 January-19 March 1856.The correspondents are: Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Acting Political Resident and Commandant, Aden; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; and Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating HC [Honourable Company] Agent at Juddah [Jeddah]. The item also includes enclosures to correspondence and one Resolution of the Board.The papers cover the following matters:Coghlan’s decision to continue the British blockade of Berbera, and to disregard the confession (ff 310-311) of a prisoner named ‘Ali Mahomed’ [‘Alī Muḥammad] who has been brought to Aden on the
Mahi, since he is not considered to have been the ‘ring leader’ of the attack on the Somali Expedition of Lieutenant Richard Burton and has been repudiated by the Elders [of the Habr Awwal tribe]Events relating to Zailah [Zeila, also spelled Zeylah in this item], including: the attempt by the Haj Shermarki [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ, also spelled Sheumarki and Shermarkie in this item] to retake his position as Governor, from which he was lately ousted by the [Ottoman] Turkish authorities; Coghlan’s attempt to prevent Shermarki blockading Zailah and potentially disrupting British supply chains by sending the Assistant Resident to liaise between Shermarki and the Turkish authorities; Coghlan’s efforts to ascertain the effect of the [Ottoman] Sultan’s proclamation prohibiting slavery at Zailah, considering news of the arrival there of a ‘large slave Caffilah [caravan]’ from the interior (ff 314-315)News obtained from Mocha that cholera has broken out in the camp of the Asseer [‘Asīr tribe] apparently causing the death of their leader and causing the force's retirement from their putative campaign to attack the Red Sea ports of YemenRelations in Aden between the Abdali [al-‘Abdalī] and Oulaki [al-‘Awlaqī]] ‘chiefs’ regarding their mutual claims over the fort of Bir Ahmed [Bir Ahmad], including: a letter sent by the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, to the Resident in Hyderabad asking him to gather information about the apparent influence of one ‘Sirdar Abdulla bin Ali Oulaki’ [Sirdār ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Alī al-‘Awlaqī] a ‘jemadar [jamadar] in the service of His Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad’ (f 322); and Coghlan’s decision to abstain from interference provided that the dispute causes no interruption of tradeIntelligence relating to the state of affairs in Massowah [Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa], including a letter from Raffaello Barroni, Agent to Mr Plowden [Walter Chichele Plowden], HM Consul in Abyssinia [now Ethiopia], reporting the promise of the Naib of Massawa to re-establish order but that the current absence of any governor renders Massawa ‘without soldiers and without protection, and the population … left to herself and committed to fortune’ (f 318)Report by Stephen Page describing the state of affairs in Juddah and its vicinity since the unsuccessful insurrection led by Abu Montallib [Sharif ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad], including Page’s: description of the recent engagement at Tayf (to where Abu Montallib had retreated) between ‘Bedouins’ and [Ottoman] Turkish soldiers; concern regarding the delayed arrival of the newly appointed [sharif?] Ebu Aonan [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn]; Page’s belief that the arrival at Juddah of the
Elphinstonewas effective in preventing further disturbance and his request that it may return there by April to avoid potential attacks by ‘Bedouin’ if Ebu Aonan has not yet arrived; and opinion that Abu Montallib’s rebellion was not properly quashedReports on the prevalence of smallpox and typhoid in the town of Aden.Physical description: 1 item (22 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 40 of 1856, dated 27 May 1856. The enclosures are dated 19 April-24 May 1856.The enclosures relate to affairs in Aden, Berbera, Juddah [Jeddah] and Mecca, as reported to the Government of Bombay by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, and Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating Honourable Company’s Agent at Juddah. They specifically cover and include the following:The consent of ‘Sheik’ Shermarki [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ, also spelled Shurmarkey in this item], the deposed Governor of Zailah [Saylac, or Zeila, Somalia] to the terms on which Coghlan states he can reside in Aden, and Shermarki’s arrival at that placeDiscussions between Coghlan, the Government of Bombay and the Government of India regarding the possible terms to be demanded from the Habr Awal [Habr Awwal] tribe for the removal of the British blockade of Berbera, including: the amount of monetary compensation to be paid by the Habr Awal; the probability of the murderer of Lieutenant Stroyan (during an attack on Lieutenant Richard Burton’s Somali Expedition) not being found or brought to justice; the possibility of stationing a vessel of war at Berbera harbour and a government agent during the commercial season; and the demand for the cessation of the export of enslaved persons from Berbera and the coastal vicinityPage’s reports from Juddah, covering: the unsuccessful attack on Mecca by the former Scerriff Abu Montallib [Sharīf ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad, also spelled Mutallib in this item] and his withdrawal to Tayf [Taif]; Page’s relief at the arrival at Juddah of the HC [Honourable Company’s] ships
Elphinstoneand
Queen; the arrival of the new Scerriff of Mecca, Ebu Aonan [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn] on the HC frigate
Feroozfrom Suez; Page’s concern that Abu Montallib may make another attempt on Mecca and then proceed to Juddah on hearing of the arrival at Mecca of his successor; and the abatement of the threat to Juddah.The principal correspondents are Coghlan, Page and the Government of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (18 folios)