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1. ‘Slave Trade – Carried on between Abyssinia & the different Ports in the Red Sea.’
- Description:
- Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence enclosed within letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai], the India Board, and the Foreign Office. The item relates to:Suggestions by the above correspondents for suppressing the trade in enslaved people from the coasts of Abyssinia [Ethiopia] and Burbarra [Berbera] to the [other] ports in the Red SeaInformation supplied by Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden, in which he outlines Massowah [Massawa], Sauken [Sawākin], Tedjaura [Tadjourah], Zeyla [Saylac], and Burbarra as the principal ports in the Red Sea involved in the trade in enslaved people and provides his opinion on whether the rulers of these ports could be persuaded to abandon the trade (folios 198-200)A report by Commander Denton, Senior Naval Officer in the Red Sea, with the results of his enquiry into the allegation that Mallim Yousef Yacoob [Mu‘allim Yūsuf Yaʿqūb], Government Agent at Judda [Jeddah], and Hassain Effendi [Hasan Efendi], former Governor of Massowah, had sold enslaved people to a number of French men (folios 201 verso to 202 recto)A report by Commander A H Nott which provides details on the main ‘articles of export’ from the port of Massowah, namely: enslaved people; musk; ivory; ghee; gum; and hides. Particular attention is paid to where the enslaved people come from, how they are acquired, how much tax is levied for each individual, and the fact that many of them are Abyssinian Christians.Nott's report also provides brief details on the ‘annual yield’ of Dahlad Island [Dahlak Kebr] as well as the current political statuses of the ‘State of Abyssinia’ and Gondar [Gonder]. It can be found at folios 205-212.In addition to the above correspondents, the item includes correspondence from Rear Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm, Superintendent of the Indian Navy.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 3228, Draft 714, 1841’, ‘Collection No. 4 of No. 34’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 193, and terminates at f 213, 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.
2. ‘Report of Mr Forbes the Agent at Mocha relative to Mr Mungo Park.’
- Description:
- Abstract: This item consists mostly of copies of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, letters to and from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The primary subjects are:Reports of the appearance of a lone European in Abyssinia [the Ethiopian Empire] who is travelling in the direction of the Red Sea, and the suggestion that he could be Mungo Park, the missing explorerThe reports collected by Captain Henry Rudland, Resident at Mocha (also called Agent for the British Government in the Gulph [Gulf] of Arabia in the item), regarding the sightings of this European and of his whereabouts, including information provided by the explorer Nathaniel PearceThe efforts of Rudland to provide assistance to the European, including requests to Ras Welleta Sellasie [Ras Wolde Selassie], Governor of Tigre [Tigray] and to Currumchund, a merchant at Massowah [Massawa] to provide assistance should they encounter himEfforts to ascertain the veracity of reports regarding the European in Abyssinia and to secure his release should he be detained, and the scepticism of Theodore Forbes, Agent at Mocha (also called Agent in the Gulph of Arabia in the item), regarding the reports.The primary correspondents are: Captain Henry Rudland; Nathaniel Pearce; and Theodore Forbes.The title page (f 95) of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political No. 5, Season 1815/16, Draft 315’; and ‘Examiner’s Office, August 1815’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at 95, and terminates at 120, 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.
3. Aden Affairs
- Description:
- 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)
4. Aden Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 17 dated 16 February 1856. The enclosures are dated 5 December 1855-16 Feburary 1856.The primary 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 the HC [Honourable Company] Officiating Agent at Juddah[Jeddah, also spelled Judda and Jiddah in this item]. The item also includes three related Resolutions of the Board.The papers cover the following matters:The ‘tranquil’ state of affairs in Aden, including relations between the Oulaki [Awlaki] and Abdali [‘Abdali] ‘chiefs’ and the gathering of supporters by the Foudheli ‘chief’ [Aḥmad bin Abdullāh al-Faḍlī] regarding his stipend (from the British authorities)News from Mocha and Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] relating to the serious state of affairs in Yemen, notably with regard to a force of the Aseer [‘Asir] tribe, rumoured to be 30,000-40,000 strong, allegedly advancing to take the sea ports of Yemen, including copies of: a letter from the principal merchants of Mocha appealing for British protection; Coghlan’s instructions to the Commander of the HC [Honourable Company] steam frigate Queen, to proceed to Mocha and Hodeida and if necessary assist the ‘subjects of the allied powers living there’, or proceed to Juddah as previously ordered; and Coghlan’s report to Bombay regarding the strength of Ottoman defences at Mocha and HodeidaThe prevalence of smallpox in Aden, including: the possible origins of its introduction to the peninsula by commercial steamships from Calcutta [Kolkata], most probably the Hindustan; a ‘Daily statement of smallpox prevailing amongst the several corps and departments at Aden’, 1 February 1856, by the Medical Department Superintendent, Aden (f 252); and measures taken to stop further spread including the use of the island of Seerah [Sirah] as a quarantine station and the commencement of a vaccination programmeIntelligence, conveyed by the commander of the Queen, regarding the successful suppression by Ottoman authorities and forces of the rebellion in Mecca and Juddah, but their subsequent defeat ‘by Bedouins’ in their attempt to capture Taif [Ta’if] to where the rebel leader Sheriff Abdul Min Tulab [Sharif ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad, also spelled abd-el Mutalib and Abn Mootallib in this item] had fledThe political situation in Mussowah [Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa] following the rebellion against the Governor of Massawa, including a copy of a letter to Coghlan from Raffaello Barroni, Agent to Mr Plowden [Walter Chichele Plowden], HM Consul in Abyssinia [now Ethiopia], reporting that the Governor has left in order to summon the support of Egyptian troops; and Coghlan’s later report to Bombay that since the situation is less critical than that in Yemen the commander of the Queenhas left that place for HodeidaTwo letters from Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and HC [Honourable Company] Officiating Agent at Juddah, relating to the ‘disturbance in Mecca’: citing the Firman of the Sultan [ruler of the Ottoman Empire] prohibiting slavery as the cause of the rebellion; reporting that the route between Juddah and Mecca is closed; requesting a HC vessel to protect British and British Indian property which is at risk; and reporting that rebel leader Abn Mootallib has fled to Tayf [Ta’if] with 4-5,000 followers.Physical description: 1 item (20 folios)
5. Aden Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, [Bombay Secret Letter] No. 12 dated 2 February 1856. The enclosures are dated 10-25 January 1856.The papers comprise three letters from Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Acting Political Resident and Commandant, Aden, to the Secretary to Government, Bombay, covering the following matters:The general peaceful state of affairs in Aden, including relations between tribes of the vicinity and lack of any ‘aggressions’ by the ‘Foutheli chief’ [Aḥmad bin Abdullāh al-Faḍlī]The report by HM Agent and Consul-General in Egypt that an order has, in fact, been given ‘for the emancipation of slaves within the Egyptian territory’ (f 161) but it has been very generally put into execution and has not yet met with any resistance by the ‘mussulman [Muslim] population’. Coghlan notes that the Consul-General’s letter indicates he has not yet heard of the recent disturbance in the Hejaz [also spelled Hedjaz in this item]Reports, from Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] that [Ottoman] Turkish troops have suppressed the insurrections in Jedda [Jeddah, spelled Judda in this item] and Mecca and intend to march on Taif [Ta'if] to where rebel leader Shereef Abd-el-Mutalib [Sharif ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad] has fled from MeccaNews of a violent rebellion in Massowah [Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa] against the Governor of Massawa, reported by Raffaello Barroni, Agent to Mr Plowden [Walter Chichele Plowden], HM Consul in Abyssinia [now Ethiopia], including Barroni’s urgent request to Coghlan to send a vessel to save the ‘lives, merchandise and money of all the Indians, Banyans and Europeans who are here’ (f 164).Also included are: three Resolutions of the Board including a Resolution to despatch the vessel Queenfor the protection of British subjects at Jedda, and the Elphinstoneto afford relief and protection at Mussowah on the proviso it does not prevent the restoration of peace in Jedda; and a letter from the Secretary to the Government of India agreeing that Lieutenant Richard Burton’s ‘negligence’ does not excuse the actions of the [Habr Awwal] tribe and that until reparation is received the blockade of Berbera should remain in place.Physical description: 1 item (13 folios)