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 29 October 1873 and received in the India Office Secret Department on 27 November 1873, forwarding a copy of papers relating to the proceedings of the Political Agent, Muscat, in connection with the purchase there of four 'slaves' by an officer of a Turkish vessel; making certain enquiries relative to cases of sale of 'slaves' at Muscat to Persian or Turkish ships; and requesting a copy of any treaties or conventions which may have been entered into since 1857 by Turkey for the suppression of the slave-trade. Only one enclosure appears to be present, comprising a letter from the Under Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department, 27 October 1873, to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 49, and terminates at f 50, 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 one foliation insertion anomaly: f 49a.
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 14 February 1873 and received in the India Office Secret Department on 25 June 1873, forwarding copies of papers relating to the capture of a slave ship off the Somali coast, bound from Pemba to Muscat, by HMS
Wolverene.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 28, and terminates at f 32, 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 one foliation insertion anomaly: 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 9 June 1873 and received in the India Office Secret Department on 8 July 1873, forwarding a copy of a letter from the Officiating Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, submitting a report on the administration of Muscat and the territories in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 26, and terminates at f 41a, 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 four foliation anomalies: f 26a, f 33a, f 34a, and f 41a.
Abstract: This item comprises three separate documents, as follows:General Orders issued by Lieutenant-General Sir John Keane, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Indus (published in the
London Gazette30 August 1839), congratulating the army and its commanders on the capture of Candahar [Kandahar] and detailing the ceremony to take place on the occasion of HM Shah Shoojah-ool-Moolk [Shāh Shujā’ al-Mulk Durrāni] taking possession of his throne (ff 264-267)Substance of two letters, 31 May-28 June 1839, from the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat informing Sir James Rivett Carnac, Governor of Bombay [Mumbai], that he has concluded a treaty with the British Government and requesting guidance on the course of action he should take regarding the army of Mahomed Ali Pacha [Muḥammad ‘Alī Pasha al-Mas‘ūd bin Āghā, Governor of Egypt] which has appeared ‘in the Arab Country’ (ff 268-270)Memorandum of Intelligence, dated 10 June 1839, covering events in: Lahore; Peshwar [Peshawar]; Cabool [Kabul]; Mooltan [Multan]; the Army of the Indus in Candahar [Kandahar], Afghanistan (particularly concerning finances); Upper Scinde [Sindh]; Gwalior; Joudhpore [Jodpur]; Nipal [Nepal]; and Items of General Intelligence (ff 271-278).Physical description: 1 item (17 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 94 of 1847, dated 12 November 1847. The enclosure is numbered 3 and is dated 27 September 1847.The enclosure consists of a letter from the Acting Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay in the Political Department, forwarding under a flying seal a copy of a despatch to the address of the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, forwarding copies of three letters addressed to HM Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople [Istanbul], Lord Cowley, on the affairs of the Bagdad Pachalic [Baghdad Pashalik, also spelled Pashalic in this item]. The letters to Cowley are dated 27 August to 15 September 1847.The letters concern matters including:Intelligence of the movements of a Turkish [Ottoman] brig of war, including its visit to Muscat and its return to Bussorah [Basra], communicated in an enclosed copy of a letter from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Major Samuel HennellIntelligence received from Bussorah regarding Moolah Farraj Oollah [Mullā Faraj Allāh], formerly Governor of Arabistan, having ‘marched’ upon Dezfal [Dezful] to take up his ‘alleged’ re-appointment, and his subsequent actions upon resuming this officeNejib Pasha [Gürcü Mehmet Necip Pasha, or Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā] returning to Baghdad for ‘Eed’ [‘id al-fitr], and how he had been occupied in directing the clearing of the canals of Aboo Ghumib [Abu Ghraib] and the repairs of the old ruined dam at the mouth of the Hindeeah [Hindiya], while he was in the districtsThe cholera epidemic in the Southern parts of the Pachalic having reached Bagdad.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 38 of 1853, dated 18 June 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-8 and are dated 4 March-23 May 1853.The papers relate to:Correspondence from the Resident in the Persian Gulf with the Honourable Board concerning instructions in case the Wahabee [Wahhābī] Chief should march on [Bahrein] Bahrain and other related intelligenceIntelligence from the Political Agent at Muscat and the Acting Native Agent at Muscat.Physical description: 1 item (16 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of Enclosures to a Despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 67 of 1841, dated 30 August 1841. The enclosures are dated 12 April to 30 August 1841, and are mostly copies of correspondence relating to the Persian Gulf, Persia [Iran], and Zanzibar.The correspondence mainly consists of the following: letters from the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Captain Samuel Hennell); reports from the British Agent at Muscat on a mission to Zanzibar (Captain Atkins Hamerton); and correspondence between the Acting Secretary to Government, Bombay, and the Secretary to the Government of India. Other correspondents include the Imam of Muscat.The enclosures relate to subjects including: the state of affairs in Persia; the conduct of a Frenchman, calling himself the Comte de Pron, at Muscat; the suggestion that the European troops at Karrack [Kharg], should be accommodated on board vessels stationed off that Island during the hot Summer months, for health reasons; and other matters relating to Nedgd [Nejd], Bahrein [Bahrain], Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi], Debay [Dubai], and Oman.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-35, on folios 1-6. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 26 of 1840, dated 20 May 1840. The enclosures are numbered 1-56 and are dated 7 March -23 May 1840.Topics discussed include:Information received by Honourable Company’s Sloop of War
Clive(enclosure 1)Intelligence from Shiraz (enclosures 3, 11, and 12)Information relayed by the Resident in the Persian Gulf to the Imam of Muscat on the conduct of the Governor of Shinas (enclosure 5)Translation of a letter from Shaihk Kuleefa bin Shackboot [Shaikh Khalīfah bin Shakhbūṭ Āl Nahyān] concerning his actions at Brymee [Buraymi] and a dispute with the Shaikh of BrymeeCopy of a letter from Captain Atkins Hamerton with notes of his journey to Brymee (enclosure 13)Casualties among the troops at Karrack [Kharg Island]Translation of a letter from the Imam of Muscat on the activity of Khorshid Pasha [Khūrshīd Pāshā] in the area as well as an extract from Khojah Reuben [Khawājah Rūbin bin Aṣlān], the Native Agent at Muscat (enclosure 19)Thoughts of the Resident in the Persian Gulf on policy to counter the activities of Egyptian power in the Gulf (enclosures 20-21)The desire of the Imam of Muscat to form a matrimonial alliance with the niece of the Shah of Persia [Iran]The co-operation of the Imam’s fleet with HC warshipsThe conduct of Shaikh Humood bin Suroor [Shaikh Ḥamad bin Surūr] of the Brymee shaikhs (enclosures 21-29)Translations of letters from the Native Agent at Sharjah reporting that Shaikh Sultan bin Suggar [Shaikh Ṣaqr bin Sulṭān al-Qāsimī], the Ruler of Ras el Khyma [Ra’s al-Khaymah] had summoned all the heads of the Bedouin tribes following alarm at reports that the Imam of Muscat was assembling an army at Batinah (enclosure 29)Translations of letters from the Native Agent at Bahrain with the latest intelligence from Nedge [Najd].Correspondents include: the Resident in the Persian Gulf; HM Consul in Egypt (Colonel Hodges); the Imam of Muscat; the Native Agent at Muscat; the Native Agent at Bahrain; and the Native Agent at Sharjah.Physical description: 1 item (195 folios)
Abstract: This item consists of a despatch to the Secret Committee, 18 July 1839, from John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, Bombay [Mumbai], containing a series of numbered enclosures. The despatch itself (not included) is numbered 1 and is followed by an abstract of contents, numbered 2. This is followed by despatches, numbered 3-8, from Captain Samuel Hennell, Political Resident, Persian Gulf, to Willoughby, with relevant enclosures.The papers chiefly relate to Hennell’s efforts to check the perceived extension of Egyptian influence on the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf, particularly in the province of Oman, and to bring about the expulsion from Shargah [Sharjah] of Sued bin Mooktluk [Sa‘d bin Mutlaq al-Muṭayrī], the self-professed agent of Khorshid Pasha [Khūrshid Pasha], Commander of the Egyptian Forces in Nedgd [Najd, also known as Nejd].The majority of the item comprises Hennell’s report of his tour of the Arabian coast, in the
Hugh Lindsay, providing details of his meetings with: Shaik Abdoollah bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], Chief of Bahrein; [Bahrain] Shaik Kuleefa bin Shakboot [Shaikh Khalīfah bin Shakhbut Āl Nahyān] Chief of Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi], Chief of the Beniyas [Bani Yas]; Shaik Mukhtoom [Maktūm I bin Buṭṭī bin Suhayl Āl Maktūm] of Debaye [Dubai]; Abdoollah bin Rushid [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Rāshid al-Mu’allā], Shaik of Amulgavin [Umm al-Qaywayn]; and Shaik Sultan bin Suggur [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī], Chief of Rasel Khymah [Ra’s al-Khaymah, also spelled Rusil and Rasil Khymah in this item], Chief of the Joasmees [al-Qawāsim]. He also reports his communications with the chiefs of the Naeem [al-Na‘īm] tribe regarding their opposition to Sued bin Mootluk’s plans to capture the fort of Brymee [Al Buraymi].Hennell’s disussions with the Arab Maritime Chiefs cover: the reasons behind the Chief of Bahrein’s agreement recognising the superiority of Mahomed Ally [Muḥammad ‘Alī Pasha al-Mas‘ūd bin Āghā] Governor of Egypt; the extent of the communications of the chiefs with Sued bin Mootluk; on-going conflicts between the chiefs and their mutual accusations of collusion with bin Mootluk; Hennell’s extraction from the chiefs of declarations of loyalty to the British Government and opposition to the ‘aggressions’ of Khorshid Pasha and Mahomed Ally (copies enclosed with the report); the supply of ammunition and provisions to the chiefs of Brymee and promise to post a British Agent there; pressure on Sultan bin Suggur to effect the expulsion of Sued bin Mootluk from Shargah [Sharjah]. Hennell concludes his report by suggesting formal remonstrances be made by British Government representatives in Cairo, and that blockades and destruction of towns and vessels should be the threatened consequence of any maritime chief assisting Sued bin Mootluk.Also included in the item is: Hennell’s protest to Khorshid Pasha regarding Sued bin Mootluk’s claims to have taken over the government of Oman, against the apparent policy of Mahomed Ally; Hennell's request to Bombay for musket powder and lead; Hennell's report of his arrival in Muscat and discussions with the son and nephew of the Imam of Muscat in which he encourages Muscat to assist the Naeem against any attack by Sued bin Mootluk on Brymee; news of the removal of Mirza Assad as Govenor of Bushire [Bushehr] and his replacement by the authorities at Shiraz with Mirza Mahomed Houssein [Muḥammad Ḥusayn], the son-in-law of the Wuzier [Vizier] [of Shiraz?], Mirza Ahmed Khan [Mirza Aḥmad Khan].Physical description: 1 item (37 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 39 of 1853, dated 18 June 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-11 and are dated 15 February-3 June 1853.The papers relate to the trade in enslaved person in the Persian Gulf and infractions of treaties between the British Government and HH the Imaum [Imām of Muscat].Correspondents include HM Consul and HC Agent in the Dominions of HH the Imaum of Muscat (Captain Atkins Hamerton); the Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Secret Committee; and the Board of Control.Physical description: 1 item (26 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 15 of 1840, dated 31 March 1840. The enclosures are numbered 3-93 and are dated 18 September 1839 to 31 March 1840.The papers relate to Bagdad [Baghdad] and Persian Gulf affairs:The equipping and expenses of the Euphrates expeditionCapture of the fort of Ghuznee [Ghazni]Matters relating to the appointment of the British Agent at Muscat during the ‘unhealthy season’Copy of a diary kept by Captain Hammerton while residing at Shargah [Sharjah], from 27 November 1839 to 6 January 1840, as well as letters from the Native Agent at ShargahReport from the Resident in the Persian Gulf on his interviews with the Chiefs of Brymee [Al Buraymi]Letters from the Resident in the Persian Gulf to Korshid Pasha [Khūrshid Pāshā] and the Governor of Kuteef [Al-Qatif]Correspondence with HM Consul General in Egypt regarding the deputation of a mission to Muscat by HH the Sultan of MuscatCopy of despatches from Lieutenant-Colonel Shiel, HM Chargé d’Affaires at TehranPresents sent to the Sultan of Muscat by Korshid Pasha.On folio 142 a note in black ink states ‘The following enclosures to Bombay Secret Letter No. 15, dated 13th March 1840, are missing from the Collection below viz:- 7-9, 13, 15, 17-28, 30-1, 33-4, 36-7, & 39.’Physical description: 1 item (331 folios)
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 76 of 1853, dated 29 December 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-6 and are dated 2 to 23 December 1853.The enclosures contain correspondence discussing affairs at Bushire [Bushehr], Shiraz and Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] and the imposition of harbour dues at the port of Bushire. Also included is correspondence from the Native Agent at Muscat concerning a proposed levy of money on British subjects by the Governor of Muscat.Physical description: 1 item (30 folios)