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 contains:Letters exchanged between the British Government in London, the British Government of India and the Bombay Government, the British Resident in the Persian Gulf and the British Agent Muscat, September 1840 to February 1841 about alleged French demands on the East African territories of the Imaum of Muscat in the vicinity of Zanzibar (folios 2-10);Letters exchanged between the British Envoy to Persia and the British Resident in the Persian Gulf, and an intelligence report from the British Commander of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf, concerning Persian affairs, April 1841 (folios 23-25) and the evacuation of British troops from the Island of Karrack [Khārk, Jazīreh-ye], October 1841 (folios 40-41);Intelligence reports submitted by the British Commander of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf to the Superintendent of the Indian Navy, February-March 1841 (folios12-19) and the British Resident in the Persian Gulf, March 1841 (folios 20-22) and which include English translations of letters from Sheikh Mucktoom [Maktūm] of Dubai (folio 19) and Sheikh Salmin ben Nassur of El Biddah [Doha] (folio 16), together with two Arabic promissory notes from the latter Sheikh (folios 23A and 23B). The reports relate to the British naval patrol of the Trucial Coast in the winter of 1841, referring to hostilities between the Chiefs of the Arab Ports and British enforcement of the Maritime Peace Treaty by the collection of money and goods from chiefs who had given protection to pirates or who had failed to take measures against any of their subjects known to have committed acts of piracy, as compensation to the rightful owners of plundered boats;Intelligence reports submitted by the British Commander of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf to the British Resident in the Persian Gulf, July-October 1841 (folios 26-39) regarding his patrol of the Pearl Fishery banks during the summer pearling season.Physical description: Foliation: the letters are numbered 2-50, 23A, 23B, 23, 24-41, from front to back. The numbering is written in pencil in the top right corner and encircled, on the recto. Two small documents numbered 23A and 23B form a single folio. The front of the file cover is numbered 1.Pagination: the contents of the file were originally numbered in ink as follows: 29-33, 46-53, 69-70, 87-104, 106, 118-119, 123-125, 197-203, 212-223, 245-248, 250-251, 264. Blank pages and pages containing brief details such as name and address are unnumbered.One of two Arabic seals that appear on the reverse side of two Arabic promissory notes (folios 23A and 23B) is partly obscured by the strip of paper to which both documents are attached.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Abstract: The volume contains copies of letters sent in 1847 by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, mainly to Arthur Malet, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay in the Political Department, Bombay Castle and also to Lieutenant Colonel Francis Farrant, British Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of the Shah of Persia, Tehran.In April and May 1847, Major Hennell undertook his annual tour of the Trucial Coast sheikhdoms on the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf, aboard the Honourable Company (HC) sloop of war
Elphinstone(folios 110-135). During Hennell’s absence from the British Political Residency at Bushire, his official correspondence was carried out by Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, the Assistant Resident (folios 90-109).The correspondence in the volume is predominantly political, reporting events in the Persian Gulf in terms of their significance for British foreign policy, relations and interests in the region. The main topics are the suppression of piracy and slave trafficking in the Persian Gulf and the monitoring of relations between the Arab Maritime Chiefs of the Trucial Coast. Many of the Resident’s letters to the Bombay Government refer to enclosures, several of which are present in the volume. These are mainly English translations of the Resident’s Arabic and Persian correspondence with agents, officials and rulers, including:Hussein Khan the Governor of Fars about piracy in the Persian ports of the Gulf, also a legal dispute at Bushire between a British protected person and Prince Timor Meerza (Mirza) over ownership of the private property and estate of a deceased Persian subject (folios 17-18, 94-97, 108-109);Chiefs of the Persian ports of Aseloo and Khirrak [Khārk] about their acts of piracy in the Province of Fars and on the island of Karrack [Khārk, Jazīreh-ye] (folios 113, 114, 200, 202);Chiefs of the Persian ports of Charrack [Khārk] and Mogoo about their naval warfare directly in the track of trading vessels between Turkish Arabia, Persia and India (folios 303-305);Moollah Houssein the British Government Native Agent at Shargah [Sharjah] reports the hostile actions of Shaikhs Saeed bin Tahnoon of Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi], Syed Humood bin Azan of Sohar, Sultan bin Suggur of Rusul Khyma, Muktoom of Debaye [Dubai], Abdoollah bin Rashid of Amulgavine (folios 30-32, 64-67, 191-192, 234-236);Khojeh Hiskael the British Government Native Agent at Muscat reports the continuance of the African slave trade, especially by the inhabitants of Soor [Sūr], also an exchange of letters between the Resident and Syed Soweynee the Governor of Muscat, about the seizure of Muscat slave ships by the British naval force, under the terms of the Treaty between the British Government and the Imam of Muscat dated 2 October 1845 (folios 280-281, 312-313);Sheikh Mahomed bin Khuleefa the Chief of Bahrein and Shaikh Esai ben Tareef the Chief of Bidda exchange letters with the Resident following the outbreak of hostilities between them over the latter’s support for the renewed claims of Sheikh Abdoollah bin Ahmed the ex-Chief of Bahrein, for restoration of his vessels and possessions (folios 287-290);Hajee Jassem the British Government Native Agent at Bahrain reports the death of Shaikh Esai ben Tareef the Chief of Bidda in a battle between his forces and those of Shaikh Mahomed ben Khuleefa the Chief of Bahrein, the latter supported by troops sent by Ameer Fysul the Ruler of Nedgd (folios 307-309).Many personnel, financial and other administrative matters are also reported by the Resident to officials in other departments of the Government of Bombay. Included is a letter to the Paymaster of the Marine Battalion, Bombay, enclosing a list of names entitled ‘Roll of individuals belonging to the Marine Battalion and the amount to be paid to each or his heirs for the property plundered by the inhabitants of the Island of Kenn from the wreck of the “Emily” schooner in March 1845’ (folios 171-173, 193).Physical description: Foliation: the contents are numbered 2-241, 241A, 242-327 from the front to the back of the volume. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner and encircled. The front cover of the volume is numbered 1. The inside of the back cover is numbered 351. Folios 2, 328-336 and 350 are blank.Pagination: the contents were originally numbered 1 to 652, from the front to the back of the volume. The numbering is written in ink in the top right or left corner of the recto and verso respectively.Condition: broken spine cover.
Abstract: The volume contains copies of letters sent in 1848 by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, mainly to Arthur Malet, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay in the Political Department, Bombay Castle and also to Lieutenant Colonel Francis Farrant, British Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of the Shah of Persia, Tehran. Several personnel, financial and other administrative matters are also reported by the Resident to British officials in various government departments in India.In May and June 1848, Major Hennell undertook his annual tour of the Trucial Coast Sheikhdoms on the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf, aboard the Honourable Company (HC) sloop of war
Cliveand successfully negotiated anti-slavery treaties with the Arab Maritime Chiefs (folios 72-91, 207-210, 222, 223). During Hennell’s absence from the British Political Residency at Bushire, his official correspondence was carried out by Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, the Assistant Resident.The correspondence in the volume is predominantly political, reporting events in the Persian Gulf in terms of their significance for British foreign policy, relations and interests in the region. There are two main topics of discussion. One is the British suppression of the African slave trade in the Persian Gulf and the eventual agreement of the Persian Government to apply the same prohibition to Persian subjects and ports of the Gulf, so that inhabitants of the Arabian coast could not use Persian vessels to evade the anti-slavery treaties between the British Government and the Arab Maritime Chiefs, recently concluded by Major Hennell. The other main topic is the changing alliances and frequent hostilities between the Arab Maritime Chiefs of the Trucial Coast, British concerns about the prospect of Ameer Fysul [Al Sa‘ud, Amir Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah], the Ruler of Nedgd [Najd] invading Oman and re-establishing his authority by military force.Many of the Resident’s letters to the Bombay Government refer to enclosures, several of which are present in the volume, including one document dated 1845 (folio 7). Among the enclosures are English translations of the Resident’s Arabic and Persian correspondence with agents, officials and rulers, mainly those in Muscat and Shargah [Sharjah].MUSCAT: Khojeh Hiskael the British Government Native Agent at Muscat and the Governor of Muscat, Syed Soweynee [Sayyid Thuwayni bin Sa‘id Al Bu Sa‘id] correspond with the Resident about the continuance of the African slave trade in Muscat by Persian vessels and the interpretation of the anti-slavery treaty between the British Government and the Imam of Muscat, signed at Zanzibar on 2 October 1845; the defeat of the forces of Ameer Fysul the ruler of Nedgd in Oman, by the forces of Syed Humood bin Azan [Sayyid Ḥamūd bin Azan Āl Bū Sa‘īd], the Chief of Sohar [Ṣuḥār], following the latter’s refusal to pay the annual tribute; the quelling of a rebellion at the port of Soor [Sur] by Syed Soweynee, the Governor of Muscat; the investigation of a complaint made by a bankrupt Muscat merchant against the British Agent at Muscat regarding his actions on behalf of British creditors and an interpretation of their rights under the commercial treaty between the British Government and the Imam of Muscat dated 31 May 1839; the recovery of customs duties irregularly demanded for British cargo aboard a ship temporarily detained at Muscat while on route from Bombay to Aden (folios 65, 116-118, 122, 163-164, 177-179, 194-195, 237-238).SHARJAH: Moollah Hussein the British Government Native Agent at Shargah and Shaikh Sultan bin Suggur [Sultan bin Saqr] the Chief of Rusul Khyma [Ras Al-khaimah] correspond with the Resident about the continuance of the African slave trade at Shargah and other Arabian ports by Persian vessels; the failed attempt to capture the Fort of Ejmaun by Shaikh Abdullah bin Sultan the Governor of Shargah, provoking the Shaikhs of Ejmaun [Ajman], Amulgavine [Umm al-Qaywayn] and Debaye [Dubai] into alliance with Shaikh Saeed bin Tahnoon [Said ibn Tahnun Al Nahayan] of Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi]; the defeat of the forces of the Wahabee (Wahhabi) Agent Saad ben Mootluk at Brymee [Buraimi] in Oman by the combined forces of Shaikh Saeed bin Tahnoon the Chief of Aboothabee and Shaikh Syed Humood bin Azan the Chief of Sohar: the confederacy between Shaikh Sultan bin Suggur the Chief of Rusul Khyma, Shaikh Muktoom [Maktum] the Chief of Debai [Dubai] and the Wahabee Agent Saeed ben Mootluk to re-possess Brymee by force and re-establish the Wahabee authority of Ameer Fysul the ruler of Nedgd, in Oman (folios 47-49, 52-53, 62-64, 66-67, 134-138, 151-155, 185-189, 215-217, 227-228, 251-257, 270-272, 287-290).The Resident’s correspondence with Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Farrant, British Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of the Shah of Persia, Tehran includes English translations of the following documents:Reports from Sheikh Syf bin Nubhan the Governor of Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] about Persian aggressions against Bunder Abbas and other lands on the Persian coast of the Gulf, belonging to the Imam of Muscat (folios 42-45, 95-96, 111-114);Orders issued by the Governors of Fars and Persian Arabia, prohibiting the future importation by sea of African slaves into Persia (folios 142-143, 190-191, 247);Reports from Meerza (Mirza) Mahmood the British Government Native Agent at Shiraz about public unrest in Shiraz, following reports of the death of the Shah of Persia on 4 September 1848 (folios 29-30, 128-129, 198-199, 213, 218-220, 235-237, 261-263, 274-279).Physical description: Foliation: the contents are numbered 2 to 311, from the front to the back of the volume. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto,in the top right corner and encircled. Folios 305 to 311 are blank. At the back of the volume is a transparent polyester sleeve numbered 312 that contains the remnants of the broken volume spine. The front cover of the volume is numbered 1. The plain white board at the back of the volume is unnumbered. This is the main numbering system and should be used for referencing this volume.Pagination: the contents are also paginated from 1 to 585. The numbering is written in ink, in the top right hand corner of the page. The page numbers 1 to 4 are no longer visible, because the right hand edge of the page is torn and missing.Condition: broken front cover (folio 1), two torn pages (folios 2-3), one tear at the bottom edge of the paper (folio 188), broken, detached spine cover (folio 312), missing back cover.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, a political letter from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Captain Atkins Hamerton, Her Majesty's Consul and the Honourable Company's Agent in the Dominions of His Highness the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat. The political letter, of which this item is an enclosure, can be found in IOR/F/4/2121/100024.The item concerns a request by the Government of India for a report on the history of Britain’s relations with the states on the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf, and contains a report on the Imam of Muscat and the territories belonging to him, produced by Captain Hamerton, and related correspondence.The item contains a table of contents (f 331), and the title page (f 330) contains the following references: ‘P C [Previous Communication] 5061, Coll. 5, Vol. 3’, ‘D/t 29/46’, ‘Collection No. 3 of No. 18’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 330 and terminates at f 339, 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 a summary document enclosed within a letter from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] to the East India Company Court of Directors. The document, written by William Henry Wathen, Secretary in the Persian Department, provides brief details on the political status of 'states' under the following headings:'Cashmere' [Kashmir]'Chinese Tartary' [parts of modern-day China, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Bhutan and Nepal]'Independent Tartary' [parts of modern-day Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan]'Countries formerly dependent on or in the vicinity of Afghan states''Afghan territories''Beloocheestan [Balochistan] and Mukran [Makran]''Scind' [Sindh]'Persia' [Iran]'Persian Gulf''The Provinces of Oman in Arabia''Coast of Arabia from Muskat [Muscat] to the straights of Babeel Mandeeb [Bab el Mandeb]''Red Sea''Arabia''Egypt and Nubia''Abyssinia (Hubbush)' [Ethiopia]'North East and East Coasts of Africa''East Coast of Africa called by the natives Suwahil [suwāḥil or ‘coasts’ in Arabic]'The title page of the item contains the following references: 'P.C. [Previous Communication] 1631, Draft 696, 1835', 'Coll[ection] N. 4', 'Bombay Political Department', 'Examiner’s Office 1835'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 60, and terminates at f 69, 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.