Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters to and from the Government of Bombay and the Government of Bengal. The item relates to the decision to re-establish a Resident or Agent of the East India Company at Mocha in order to pursue commercial and political objects in the 'Arabian Gulph' – comprised of the Red Sea, Egypt and Abyssinia [Ethiopia]. In particular the item is concerned with:The principal objects of the position, namely: the extension of trade in the Arabian Gulph; the procurement of intelligence on the activities of the French in the area; and the establishing of communication routes with Europe via Egypt and MaltaDiscussions of the likelihood of success of the above objects and the validity of the mission, including consultation with the Superintendent of Marine for the Government of Bombay on the channels of conveyance for packetsThe appointments of Captain Henry Rudland as Resident at Mocha and John Benzoni as his Assistant, including consultation with the Auditor of Civil Accounts regarding their allowancesReports by Rudland, Benzoni and the Custom Master at Bombay on the trading of goods in the Arabian Gulph, particularly in Abyssinia.Correspondents include: Court of Directors of the East India Company; Government of Bombay; Government of Bengal; Dr J Pringle, [Previous] Resident at Mocha; William Taylor Money, Superintendent of Marine, Government of Bombay; Mr Petrucy, Swedish Consul General to Alexandria; William Smith, Acting Commissary of Stores, Bombay; Rudland; Benzoni; Peter Paré Travers, Custom Master, Bombay; John Elphinstone, Auditor of Civil Accounts.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 27, Season 1809/10, Draft 186' and 'Examiner's Office November 1809'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 50, and terminates at f 109, 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 title given above is an amended title. The original title, ‘Prohibition of a Trade with Abyssinia and the Governor of Tigrée, on the part of the Company’, which is written in ink, has been partly crossed out, and the title given above has been added in pencil.The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the Government of Bombay and the Government of Bengal. The item is concerned with the mission of Captain Henry Rudland, Resident at Mocha, to the Gulph [Gulf] of Arabia in order to establish trade links between England and Abyssinia. The item is chiefly concerned with:The utility of establishing a Resident at Mocha for purposes including the re-establishment of communications between India and England via the Red Sea; the ability to watch the proceedings of the French in the Red Sea and report intelligence back to the Indian Government; the facilitation of trade between England and AbyssiniaThe Government of Bombay's pessimism regarding the profitability of establishing trade links with Abyssinia given the cost of maintaining and protecting trade channels, due to the presence of different tribes on the coast, and their criticism of Captain Rudland for making unfounded claims on the profitability of the missionThe debate between the Government of Bombay and the Government of Bengal on the utility of pursuing commercial links with Abyssinia and the utility of allowing Captain Rudland to remain in the Arabian Gulph as ResidentDiscussions between Captain Rudland and Henry Salt, His Majesty's Envoy in the Gulph of Arabia, regarding the benefits of trade links with Abyssinia and the site of Amphilah [Eritrean Coast] as an ideal location for the English to have a footholdCorrespondence between: Captain Rudland; Ras Wellata Sellassi [Wolde Selassie], Governor of the Provinces of Tigre [Tigray] and Endula [Enderta], Antalow [Hint’alo], Abyssinia; and Nathaniel Pearce, an Englishman in the service of Ras Wellata Sellassi; regarding the potential trade links between Abyssinia and England and the exchange of gifts in friendship.Correspondents include: Government of Bombay; Captain Henry Rudland; Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay; Ras Wellata Sellassi; Nathaniel Pearce; Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay; Government of Bengal; George Osborne, Secretary to the Government of Bombay; Henry Salt, His Majesty's Envoy in the Gulph of Arabia.Captain Rudland is alternatively referred to as the Resident at Mocha, the Agent in the Gulph of Arabia and the Agent in the Red Sea. The item includes multiple spellings for Ras Wellata Sellassi.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 18, Season 1814/15, Draft 20' and 'Examiner's Office November 1812'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 42, and terminates at f 70, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
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.
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.
Abstract: Distinctive Features:General map of Abyssinia [Ethiopia] published as a supplement to the 26 October 1867 issue of ‘The Bombay Gazette’.Relief shown by hachures.Shows routes of various expeditions with a list of explorers and dates of their journeys at lower right.Physical description: Dimensions:694 x 700 mm; on sheet 800 x 807 mmFoliation:The map sheet has been foliated in the front top right hand corner of the folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle.
Abstract: Confidential printed abstracts of letters received by the India Office from the Government of India, and from senior officials in certain areas outside India, during the year 1865. The letters are dated December 1864-December 1865. The abstracts each have one of the following titles:Abstracts of Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Secret Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Military Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Letters received from the Resident at Aden/Political Resident at AdenAbstracts of Secret Letters received from the Resident at Aden/Political Resident at AdenAbstracts of Letters received from the Political Resident at ZanzibarAbstracts of Letters received from the Governor of the Straits Settlements.Each abstract contains summaries of one or more letters from the specified source, each with a title giving the subject of the letter. Letters from India are divided within each abstract by the branch or department of the Government of India they originated from. The correspondence covers issues including:Land issues, including: issues of land tenure and tenant rights; land settlement operations; forestry; mining; the sale of ‘waste lands’; and plantations of cash crops including cotton and teaPay, pensions, recruitment, and other personnel issues in the Indian Civil and Military establishmentsPublic works, including railways, roads, reservoirs, land reclamation, canals, harbours and harbour defences, hospitals, prisons, and barracksRevenue and expenditureIssues concerning Princely States, including land cessions for railways; issues of succession; pensions; and an attempted plot against the Gaekwar Maharaja of Guzerat [Gujarat]Military operations, in particular an attack on Bootan [Bhutan] leading to the occupation of the Dooars [Duars, mountain passes]; and also operations against Munneepooree [Manipuri] insurgents at Luckeepore [Lakhipur] and ‘outlaws’ in Kattywar [Kathiawar]Other military affairs, including claims of military units for rewards for service during the ‘Mutiny’ [Indian Uprising of 1857]; the health of troops; and the movement, organisation, supply, and reduction of military unitsThe Indo-European Telegraph linking India to Britain via Persia [Iran] and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, in particular breakages and repairs of telegraph linesPostal services between India and the Persian GulfEducationBankingJudicial affairsFood shortagesEmigration from India to French colonies and St Croix [Danish West Indies]Frontier affairs, including the closure of the Kohat Pass following conflict among the Afreedees [Afrīdī tribe]Civil conflict in Afghanistan [also spelled Affghanistan], including the flight of chiefs from Cabul [Kabul] to India and the question of British policy towards refugee chiefsThe activities of rival colonial powers, including French activity in East Africa, the Comoro Islands [Comoros], and the Gulf of Siam; proposed exchanges of territory in India with France; and Russian activity in Bokhara [Bukhara]Affairs in Burmah [Burma/Myanmar], including the settlement of the border with Siam [Thailand] in Tenasserim [Tanintharyi] and exploration of the Salween riverAffairs in and around Aden Settlement, including: relations with neighbouring states, in particular the Foodlee [Faḍlī Sultanate] and Lahej [Laḥij Sultanate]; the security of roads leading to Aden and the proposed creation of a mounted police force; the garrison and defences of Aden; a cholera outbreak and shortage of grainConflict between the Sultan of Muscat [Thwaynī bin Sa’īd Āl Bū Saʿīd] and the Wahabees [Waḥḥabī movement], and the question of maintaining a British naval force in the Persian GulfAffairs in East Africa, including the slave trade in Zanzibar and the Red Sea and the imprisonment of British and other nationals by Emperor Theodorus [Tewodros II] of Abyssinia [Ethiopia]Affairs in and around the Straits Settlements, including attacks on British subjects in Perak and Panai.The primary correspondents are:The Viceroy and Governor-General of IndiaThe Government of IndiaThe Resident in AdenThe Resident in Zanzibar.The abstracts were printed and bound in London, and each one includes the following colophon: ‘LONDON: Printed by GEORGE E. EYRE and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, Printers to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty. For Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.’Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 458; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back coversPagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Confidential printed abstracts of letters received by the India Office from the Government of India, and from senior officials in certain areas outside India, during the year 1868. The letters are dated 5 December 1867-11 December 1868.The abstracts are numbered 1-123 and each have one of the following titles:Abstracts of Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Military Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Letters received from Colonel Merewether, on Special Duty in AbyssiniaAbstracts of Letters received from AbyssiniaAbstracts of Secret Letters received from IndiaAbstracts of Letters received from Zanzibar.Each abstract contains summaries of one or more letters from the specified source, each with a title giving the subject of the letter. Letters from India are divided within each abstract by the branch or department of the Government of India they originated from. The correspondence included in the volume concerns events in British India, Abyssinia [Ethiopia], Burmah [Burma/Myanmar], Affghanistan [Afghanistan], Persia [Iran], Zanzibar, Oman and Muscat, and Aden, and covers the following subjects:Pay, pensions, and other personnel issues in the Indian Civil and Military establishmentsRevenue and expenditure, including income taxes, license taxes, disaster relief, and land revenue ratesCommunication, including postal services, and telegraph systemsPublic works and transportation, including railways, canals, roads, hospitals, ports, irrigation, jails, and lighthousesThe foreign relations of the Government of India, including with Persia, Burmah, Affghanistan , Muscat [Muscat and Oman], Abyssinia, and FranceEducation, including the Government of India’s support for use of vernacular languages in education, and financial support for female education in BombayBorder disturbances on the North-West FrontierEfforts by the British to repress ‘Wagheer outlaws’ in Kattywar [Kathiawar]Introduction of European freshwater fish into Indian waterwaysPayments, land grants, and tax reductions offered to British Indians for assisting the British during the Indian RevoltEvents in the Princely States, including British payments to rulers and ex-rulers, gifts sent to Queen Victoria, successions, visits of rulers to England, and the deposition of the Nawab of TonkProposals for the manufacturing of ordnance in IndiaProposals for the annexation of the Nicobar IslandsRescue of shipwreck survivors in the Andaman IslandsProposal for an expedition to the Andaman and Nicobar IslandsRussian activities in Affghanistan, Persia, and Bokhara [Emirate of Bukhara]Turkish [Ottoman] activities at Maculla [Mukalla] and Shehur [Ash-Shihr], YemenFrench activities in Burmah, China, and YemenCivil war in AffghanistanA British treaty with the King of Burmah, ratified 26 November 1867The progress of an exploratory expedition to Western ChinaOpium production and exportation to ChinaEmigration of ‘Coolies’ to French GuianaThe British expedition to AbyssiniaDiscussion of possible locations for a quarantine station in the Red SeaIncrease of the stipend paid to the Foodlee [Faḍlī] Sultan by the BritishPayments to the Abdalee [Abdalī] Ruler for his support of the British against the FoodleeDisputes concerning the payment of a subsidy from the Sultan of Zanzibar to the Sultan of MuscatDestruction of slave-trading vessels by the Sultan of ZanzibarNaval attacks by the Rulers of Bahrein [Bahrain] and Abuthaby [Abu Dhabi] on the inhabitants of Gattar [Qatar]Retaliatory attacks by the Ruler of Guttar [Qatar] against BahreinPunishment imposed by the British on the Rulers of Bahrein, Abuthaby, and Gattar for their ‘breach of the peace at sea’, including the deposition of Shaikh Mahomed bin Khalifeh [Muḥammad bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah] of BahreinGrowing hostility between the Sultan of Lahej [Laḥij Sultanate] and the Sultan of Houshebi [Ḥawshabī Sultanate]Plans made by Syud Torkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] to take the Sultanate of Muscat while living on a British stipend in Bombay [Mumbai]Capture of Muscat and deposition of Sultan Syud Salim [Sayyid Sālim bin Thuwaynī Āl Bū Sa‘īd] by Azan bin Ghias [Imām ‘Azzān bin Qays]Proposals for the creation of a dedicated British naval force in the Persian GulfDisputes between Persia and Muscat concerning the lease of the island of Bunder Abbas [Bandar Abbas] and the ownership of the island of Angaum [Hengam]Proposal for the housing of the ‘Ming-Goon-Dine Prince’ [Prince Myingundaing of Burma] in Bhaugulpore [Bhagulpur] following an unsuccessful rebellion against the King of BurmaEscape from British custody and recapture of the ‘Myeng-Goon Prince’ [Prince Myingun of Burma]British ‘anti-piracy’ measures in the Mergui ArchipelagoOwnership of enslaved persons by British Indian subjects in ZanzibarAn embassy sent from Zanzibar to England to discuss the suppression of the slave tradeFrench naval bombardment and military occupation of Mohéli IslandExtracts from the 16 June 1868 and 30 June 1868 editions of the
London Gazette, containing reports of the Abyssinian expedition.A detailed index of subjects, places and people mentioned in the correspondence is included on folios 484-502.The abstracts were printed and bound in London, and each one includes the following colophon: ‘LONDON: Printed by GEORGE E. EYRE and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, Printers to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty. For Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.’The primary correspondents are:The Government of IndiaThe Governor-General of IndiaColonel William Lockyer MerewetherLieutenant-General Robert Cornwallis [Cornelis] NapierThe Political Agent at Zanzibar.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 505; 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 multiple original pagination sequences.
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 115 of 1842, dated 15 October 1842. The enclosures are dated 4 July to 14 October 1842, and relate to the mission to Shoa [Shewa].The enclosures consist of: dispatches from Captain William Cornwallis Harris, on a special mission at the Court of Shoa, to John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government of Bombay; and a letter from Willoughby to Thomas Herbert Maddock, Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General.The enclosures contain the following: reports by Harris on the proceedings of the mission under his charge; a report by Harris on the state of slavery and the 'slave trade' [trade in enslaved people] within and beyond Abyssinia [the Ethiopian Empire], which includes a sketch map entitled ‘Sketch delineative of the ROUTES OF SLAVE-CARAVANS through Abyssinia to the shores of ARABIA.’ (folio 517); distribution lists of presents; and correspondence regarding the expedience of the continuance of the mission for a longer period.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-8, on folios 389-391. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
Abstract: Enclosures nos. 3-4 to dispatch no. 16 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 27 April 1861. The enclosures are dated 2-25 March 1861. Received 24 May 1861.The first enclosure is a letter from the Solicitor to Government, Bombay, advising the Government of Bombay not to proceed with a suit for the confiscation of a captured slave vessel belonging to the port of Muscat. The second is a letter from Captain Robert Lambert Playfair, Assistant Political Resident, in charge of the Residency, Aden, recommending that Mr Barroni, who had been acting as British Consul at Massowah [Massawa], Abyssinia [Ethiopia] should be presented with a year's salary in recognition of his services in providing information to the British concerning affairs in Abyssinia.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: Enclosures nos. 3-13 to dispatch no. 5 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 12 March 1861. The enclosures are dated January-February 1861. Received 5 April 1861.The enclosures consist of letters from Captain Robert Lambert Playfair, Assistant Political Resident, Aden; the Government of Bombay; and the Government of India, concerning Abyssinia [Ethiopia] affairs.The correspondence covers: the question of suitable gifts for King Theodore [Emperor Tewodros II] in recognition of his generosity over the ransom paid for the late Walter Charles Metcalf Chichele Plowden, HM Consul in Abyssinia; the killing by the King of those responsible for Plowden's murder; and operations by the King against rebels in Tigre [Tigray].Physical description: 1 item (18 folios)
Abstract: Enclosures nos. 3-4 to dispatch no. 15 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 27 April 1861. The enclosures are dated 2 April 1861. Received 20 May 1861.The enclosures consist of intelligence reports on Abyssinia [Ethiopia] and Aden by Captain Robert Lambert Playfair, Assistant Political Resident, in charge of the Residency, Aden.The report on Abyssinia covers: a report that Theodore [Emperor Tewodros II] was now de facto ruler of Tigre [Tigray], as well as the rest of Abyssinia; and the need to monitor French naval activity in the Red Sea. The report on Aden refers to complaints of oppression by the Ottoman Governor of Yemen.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 12 of 1847, dated 30 January 1847. The enclosures are dated 1 December 1846-28 January 1847.The correspondents are: Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; and the Secretary to the Government of India.The papers cover the following matters:Haines’s requisition of the HC [Honourable Company’s] schooner of war
Constanceto enquire into the claim made by the Government of Mussawa [Massawa, also spelled Mussowah in this item] against a Banian, enclosing a copy of his instructions to the Senior Naval Officer Aden to urge the commander of the
Constanceto settle the matter to the satisfaction of all parties if possible. Later correspondence confirms the settlement of the disputeThe peaceful state of the country and the well supplied marketsThe agreement of the Abdali [‘Abdalī] and Foutheli [Faḍlī] chiefs to a six month truce, and the salaries given to various other ‘chiefs’The serious illness of Sultan M’Houssain Fudthel of Lahidge [Sultan Muḥsin bin Faḍl al-'Abdalī], his apparent improvement, and his enquiry regarding the prospective payment of his salaryNews that the Imaum of Sanâ [Imam of Sana‘a] has reached [‘Raynat Guszab’?] near Zebeid [Zabid] with a force of several thousand men with the possible intention of seizing Zebeid, Mocha and Hodeida [Al Hudaydah], and the Governor-General’s opinion that there is no reason to interfere in the Imaum’s proceedings so long as they do not threaten British interestsConfirmation that the
Constancefound no change in the depth of water around the Zebayr [Zubayr] Islands (subsequent to the recent volcanic eruption there)Progress on the construction of defences at the entrance of Aden harbourThe stalemate between the Sherriff [Sharif] of Mocha and Hodeida’s forces and those of Shiek Alli Homeida [Shaikh ‘Alī Ḥumaydah]Political discord on the Abyssinian [Eritrea] coast and the possible future disruption to trade.Physical description: 1 item (13 folios)