Abstract: This item consists primarily of copies of correspondence, minutes and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, a letter from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] to the East India Company Court of Directors.The item relates to the efforts of the Government of Bombay to suppress the slave trade on the coasts of Cutch [Kachchh] and Kattywar [Kathiawar Peninsula, also referred to in the item as Katteewar], and in particular to prevent enslaved people from Africa being imported into these places by vessels from the Arabian Peninsula. It specifically addresses:Attempts to persuade local rulers in Cutch and Kattywar to adopt measures to prevent enslaved people being traded at their ports. Included are copies of communications from the Jam of Noanuggur [Jam Saheb of Nawanagar], the Rana of Porebunder [Porbandar] the Guicowar [Maharaja Gaekwad] of Baroda, the chief [Shaikh] of Mangrolle [Mangrol], and the Rao of Cutch.The arrival of three vessels at Porebunder [Porbandar] carrying enslaved children; the release of the children and their removal to Bombay; and the arrangements made for their accommodation and support. A register of the children is includedThe seizure of a merchant vessel from Porebunder at the port of Kisseen [Qishn, also referred to in the item as Kisheen and Cusson] on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and the efforts made to retrieve the vessel and its cargo. Those alleged to be responsible are members of the Maharah tribe [al-Mahrah, referred to in the item by a number of variant spellings] who are said to have seized the vessel in retaliation for the earlier release of the enslaved children in PorebunderThe arrival of two more vessels carrying enslaved children into ports in Kattywar; the removal of the children to Bombay; and the arrangements made for their future supportProposals for further measures that might be taken, both in Cutch and Kattywar as well as in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula.The primary correspondents are: Robert Grant, Governor of Bombay; William Lang, Acting Political Agent, Kattywar; Charles Malcolm, Superintendent Indian Navy; Jewan Oodhowjee [Jivan Udhoji], Manager of the firm Dhurumsey Luckmeedass [Dharmse Lakhmidas]; Captain A P Reid, Officer Commanding Detachment at Porebunder; Rana Wikmathjee [Vikramatji Khimojiraj], Rana of Porebunder; John Warden, Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay; and John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to Government, Bombay.The item contains contents pages (ff 5-20), and the title page (f 4) of the item contains the following references: ‘P C [Previous Communication] 2196, No. 1, Draft 573-1838’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 4 and terminates at f 254, 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, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the governments of Bombay [Mumbai], Fort St George [Madras, i.e. Chennai], and the East India Company Court of Directors.The item relates to proposals by the Court of Directors to change the position of ‘Resident at Bushire’ ([Būshehr], also called the Resident in the Persian Gulf) to ‘Assistant to the Envoy at Tehran’. The Government of Bombay and the Resident, David Anderson Blane, provide their detailed opinions on this proposal and the Court of Directors respond. The main points of discussion are: the experience and diplomatic skills required by the Resident to effectively manage relations with nearby rulers and suppress acts of ‘piracy’; potential reductions in the Residency’s expenses; and an earlier plan to move the Residency from Bushire to the nearby island of Kharrack [Jazīreh-ye Khārk]. Copies of earlier (1828) minutes by the Governor of Bombay regarding the purpose of the Resident at Bushire and the Residency's expenses are included.The item also refers to proposals by the Government of India to separate the governments of Bengal ([Calcutta], also called Fort William) and Agrah [Agra] and to transfer political authority from the subordinate governments of Bombay and Fort St George to the Government of India. A lengthy minute (ff 120-135) by the Governor of Bombay detailing his opposition to the latter proposal is included, along with multiple tables (ff 140-174) setting out the different relationships that the Government of Bombay holds with ‘local chieftains’ in the areas surrounding Bombay, notably Guzerat [Gujarat] and Kattywar [Kathiawar]. Some of these tables date back to 1820. The direct reporting of the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia and the Resident in the Persian Gulf to the Government of India, as opposed to the Government of Bombay, is also discussed.To a lesser extent, the item also relates to the appointment of Major James Morison to the position of Resident in the Persian Gulf, an event complicated by the disclosure that Morison has been granted permission to return to Europe due to poor health.Multiple spellings of numerous place names are present in the item. The majority of the item’s contents date from 1834-35.Principal correspondents include: the governments of India, Fort St George, and Bombay; the Court of Directors; and Blane.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Coll[ection] No. 15’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 1721, Draft 266, 1836’, ‘Collection N. 1 [crossed out] of N. 33’, ‘Bombay Political Department’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 50, and terminates at f 208, 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.