Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of Political Consultations and Political Letters sent to and from the Government of Bombay.The item relates to attacks on merchant ships by the Joasamee [Āl Qāsimī] and the numerous counterefforts made by the East India Company and others over several years to curb the power of the Joasamee 'pirates'. In particular the item is concerned with:Accounts of the attack on the Company ships
Macaulayand
DuncanThe armament and dispatch of three Company cruizers to the Gulph [Gulf] of Persia for the purpose of protecting trade in the region against the Joasamee piratesThe order to inform the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat and the English Broker at Muscat of the above expedition so that they might offer aid and assistance to the commanding officersThe prohibition of the sale of timber, teakwood and planks at British ports to Arabs as it has been discovered that some of these items are then sent to the Coast of Malabar where the Joasamee are able to source the material to repair their shipsThe successful attack on Rasul Khyma [Ra's al-Khaymah], the principal port of the Joasamee, by Captain Wainwright of His Majesty's ship
La Chiffonneand Lieutenant-Colonel Smith of His Majesty's 65th RegimentIntelligence that a fleet of 18 'piratical' vessels based at Rasul Khyma are preparing to intercept merchant ships on their journey from Bussora [Basra] to IndiaInstructions to commanding officers including orders in the event of conciliatory proposals on the part of the Joasamee and orders to avoid 'all undue constraint or detriment towards the interior commerce of the Gulph'Reports of a battle between the fleet of Rehma bin Janber [Rahmah bin Jābir al-Jalhami] and the Uttobies [ʿUtūb] of Bahrein [Bahrain] in which three of Rehma's ships have been blown up and Rehma has reportedly been killed.The item also includes a note on the number of ships destroyed and men killed or wounded in the attack on Rasul Khyma (f 59 verso).Correspondents: Government of Bombay; East India Company Court of Directors; J Babington, Deputy Secretary to Government of Bombay; W J Hamilton, Secretary in the Government of Bombay Marine Department; Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to Government of Bombay; Alexander Bell, Conservator of the Forests in Malabar [Kochi]; Captain Charles Sealy, Commander of the Company's cruizer
Benares; Chief Secretary to the Supreme Government; Captain Prior of His Majesty's ship
Hesper; William Bruce, Acting Resident at Bushire.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 9, Season 1814/15, Draft 20' and 'Examiner's Office November 1812-November 1813'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 52, and terminates at f 80, 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, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 31 January 1848. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the fifty-eighth in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item relates to the new rule that all vessels belonging to ports under the ‘political control’ of Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, who wish to trade in India must now carry a pass or register that has been signed by him. A list of the relevant shaikhs impacted by this is present at folio 618. The item also relates to a similar requirement that all vessels sailing under the flag of the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat must have a pass or register countersigned by Captain Atkins Hamerton, Her Majesty’s Consul and Company’s Agent in the Dominions of the Imam of Muscat.The issue is raised that affected vessels may have already departed for the season without the necessary paperwork. Solutions to this problem are discussed by the following: Hennell; Henry Young, Collector of Customs at Bombay [Mumbai]; and the Government of Bombay.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48, Coll: 2, Vol: 58’, ‘Collection No. 14 of No. 21’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’. The title page also contains a note that relevant correspondence can be found in Collection No. 1 accompanying despatch from the Government of Bombay, 18 June No. 82 of 1848.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 614, and terminates at f 626, 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: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 13 November 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the fortieth in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item relates to correspondence from Justin Sheel [Sheil], HM Minister at the Court of Tehran, to Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, regarding the supposed marriage between His Highness the Imam of Muscat and a granddaughter of Futteh Allee Shah, late King of Persia [Fatḥ ‘Alī Shāh, late Shāh of Iran]. Hennell forwards the correspondence to the Government of Bombay, who in turn forward it on in a letter to the Government of India (which also briefly mentions the case of Ahmed Dad Kurreem [Aḥmad bin Dād Karīm]).The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48’, ‘Collection No. 2 of No. 139, Vol: 40.’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 463, and terminates at f 466, 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: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes, which form partial enclosures to a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 27 November 1845. A copy of this letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2157/103838 and further enclosures to this letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2157/103845 and IOR/F/4/2157/103846.The item relates to a report from Moollah Hoossin [Mullā Ḥusayn], Agent at Shargah [Sharjah], on the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people] at that port. In particular, the report mentions:The number of enslaved people brought to Shargah from Zanzibar, as well as details of the boats which brought themA specific case regarding a woman of the ‘Pujeyneeah caste’ who was kidnapped by two men from Amulgavine [Umm al-Qaywayn] before being transferred to Ali bin Rashid [‘Alī bin Rāshid], brother of the Chief of Ejman [Ajman], and sold at Soor [Sur], despite members of her ‘caste’ being considered ‘hoor’ [ḥurr] or ‘free’A contract that the boats’ owners have with the people at Soor and the role that the port plays in the transportation of enslaved people.The report is forwarded to the Government of Bombay by Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, who provides comments and a proposal on the above case. In addition, the item also contains a minute by the Governor of Bombay regarding the effectiveness of the previous treaties of 1822 and 1839 which were designed to suppress the ‘slave trade’. An extract of additional articles proposed for the 1839 treaty can be found at folios 849-850.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5410, Draft 786/46’, ‘Vol: 3’, ‘Collection N. 1 of N. 131’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’. The ‘N. 1’ has been crossed out with different ink.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 842, and terminates at f 851, 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 of copies of correspondence, consultations, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. These political letters appear in IOR/F/4/2203/108134. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. It is the twenty-eighth in a series of thirty items.The item concerns the siege of the fort of Guadel [Gwadar] by Fukeer bin Mahomed [Faqīr bin Muḥammad], Chief of Katish [Kech], and the intervention of the Muscat authorities.The item contains a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 700/47, Collection No 18 of No 69’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 793, and terminates at f 796 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: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 31 January 1848. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the forty-ninth in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.The item relates to correspondence received by Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, from Shaik Syf bin Nubhan [Shaikh Sayf bin Nabhān al-Mu‘awali], Governor of Bunder Abass [Bandar-e ʻAbbas], dated 6 October 1847. The correspondence claims that the Queen [Victoria] has sanctioned a proposal by Syed Saed [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd], the Imam of Muscat, to transfer control of his rented territories in Persia [Iran] to Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, HM Minister at the Court of Persia. The item contains the reactions of Hennell and the Government of Bombay to this claim, with the latter requesting further information from Captain Atkins Hamerton, HM Consul and Company Agent in the Dominions of the Imam of Muscat.Sheil is also referred to as HM Minister at the Court of Tehran and HM Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Tehran.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48, Coll: 2, Vol: 49’, ‘Collection No. 5 of No. 21’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 551, and terminates at f 556, 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: The item consists of correspondence regarding the situation in Muscat after the death in 1804 of the Imam Syed Sultan [Sultan bin Ahmad Al Bu Sa’id] and efforts to counter the naval activities of the Joasmee [Al-Qasimi] in the Gulf. The correspondence is particularly concerned with the capture by the Joasmee of two British ships, the
Shannonand the
Trimmer, and the eventual return of the
Trimmeras part of a truce.Other topics covered include:· An attempted coup by Syed Gheiss [Qais bin Ahmad Al Bu Sa’id], the brother of the late Imam· An Omani expedition to recover Gombroon [Bandar Abbas] from Mullah Hussain [Molla Husayn], ruler of Kishem [Qeshm]· The establishment of a permanent Residency at Muscat.The correspondence consists mainly of letters between the Government of Bombay and the Resident at Muscat. The other correspondents are: Mullah Hussain; Syed Gheiss; the Resident at Bussora [Basra]; the Resident at Bushire; Sultan ben Suggur [Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi], Emir of Sharjah; and Syed Beder [Badr bin Saif Al Bu Sa’id], Regent of Oman.The bulk of the item dates from the years 1805 and 1806, the earlier date range includes copies of the Anglo-Omani Agreement of 1798 and an amendment to it from 1800 (ff 17-19).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 2, and terminates at f 90, 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 pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. It is the first in a series of two items about the island of Kishm [Qeshm] (the other is IOR/F/4/762/20694). The principal correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Henry Willock, HM Chargé d'Affaires to Persia.The item discusses:The occupation of the island of Kishm by British troops, with a list of the troops present on the island (f 74)The claims of Persia and Muscat to sovereignty over the islandThe fears of Persia over the occupation of Kishm and Andrew Jukes’s mission to Governor of Fars [Prince-Governor of Fārs, Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā Farmānfarmā]A proposed expedition against the Joasmees [al-Qawāsim]The conduct of William Bruce, Resident at Bushire [Būshehr]Relations between Persia and Bahrein [Bahrain], and between Muscat and Bahrein.The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political No. 855, Draft 106, P.C. 200, [Season] 24/5’ and ‘Examiner’s Office 1823’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 5, and terminates at 97, 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 copy extracts of Political Letters from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dating from 12 November 1845-3 August 1846. Enclosures to these letters can be found at: IOR/F/4/2157/103839; IOR/F/4/2157/103840; IOR/F/4/2157/103841; IOR/F/4/2157/103842; IOR/F/4/2157/103843; IOR/F/4/2157/103844; IOR/F/4/2157/103845; IOR/F/4/2157/103846; IOR/F/4/2157/103847; and IOR/F/4/2157/103848.The letters relate to attempts by the British government to suppress the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people] in the Persian Gulf and include mention of:Agreements with Saeed Saeed Bin Sultan, Imaum of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Imam of Muscat], with attention given especially to the agreements’ translationsAgreements with the rulers of: Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi]; Debaye [Dubai]; Amulgavine [Umm al-Qaywayn]; and Ras-el Khyma [Ra’s al-Khaymah]Specific incidents related to the ‘slave trade’Suggestions by Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, for suppressing the trade.The margins of these letters contain extracts from letters sent to the Government of Bombay from the Court of Directors, dating from 17 April 1844-16 April 1845.The item also contains copy of a letter from the Commissioners for the Affairs of India [Board of Control] to the Court of Directors, dated 8 September 1846, which relates to the above subjects. This letter includes:A copy of the agreement made between the British government and the Imaum of Muscat, 2 October 1844 (ff 800-803)A copy of the instructions for commanders of Her Majesty’s ships for enforcing the terms of the above agreement (ff 804-805)A copy of a letter from Lord Palmerston, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to HM envoys at Teheran [Tehran] and Constantinople [Istanbul], 31 August 1846, regarding Hennell’s suggestions (ff 806-808).The item also contains copy of a letter from Henry Unwin Addington, Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to the Commissioners for the Affairs of India, dated 3 September 1846, which also relates to the above subjects.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5410, Draft 786/46’, ‘Collection’, ‘Vol: 1’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 774, and terminates at f 811, 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: The item consists of three letters from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 1 October 1846-31 March 1847. The letters refer to attempts to suppress the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people] in the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat’s dominions and on the Arabian Coast of the Persian Gulf. Enclosures to these letters can be found at: IOR/F/4/2191/107337; IOR/F/4/2191/107338; IOR/F/4/2191/107339; and IOR/F/4/2191/107340. The item is the first in a series of five items on the ‘slave trade’.Extracts of a letter from the Court of Directors to the Government of Bombay, dated 18 November 1846, are included.Additionally, the item contains examples of two forms to be filled in by officers of the Company’s Indian Navy upon seizing vessels engaged in the ‘slave trade’.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5698, Draft 542/47, Collection Vol: 1’, and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 71, and terminates at f 80, 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: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 31 March 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2191/107336. Further enclosures can be found at IOR/F/4/2191/107340. The item is the fourth in a series of five items on the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people].The item contains a letter from the Court of Directors to the Governor of Bombay, dated 18 November 1846. The letter contains comments and instructions related to:The recent engagement entered into by Her Majesty’s Government and Syud Sueed, Imaum of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Imam of Muscat]The suggestion by Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to persuade the Courts of Persia [Iran] and Turkey [Ottoman Empire] to prohibit the ‘slave trade’ on the same basis as the agreement with the Imaum of Muscat, as a means of further suppressing the tradeThe discrepancy between the English and Arabic versions of the previous treaty signed by the Imaum and Captain Moresby, as highlighted by Captain Atkins Hamerton, Her Majesty’s Consul and Company Agent in the Dominions of the Imaum of Muscat.The item also contains the correspondence sent out by the Government of Bombay in light of the Court’s comments and instructions, as well as a response to these instructions from Sir Robert Oliver, Superintendent of the Indian Navy.The Court’s letter also communicates the views of Henry John Temple (Viscount Palmerston and Minister for Foreign Affairs) on the subject.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5698, Draft 542/47, Vol: 4’, ‘Collection No. 1 of No. 47’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 96, and terminates at f 106, 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: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence which form partial enclosures to a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 27 November 1845. A copy of this letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2157/103838 and further enclosures to this letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2157/103840 and IOR/F/4/2157/103846.The item relates to a letter, dated 7 March 1845, from Captain Atkins Hamerton, HM Consul and Company’s Agent in the Dominions of His Highness the Imaum of Muskat [Imam of Muscat], to the Government of Bombay, providing an update on his conversations with the Imaum with regards to ordering the authorities at Muskat to suppress the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people] there. Copies of the letter are forwarded to the Government of India, the Court of Directors, and to Samuel Hennell, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5410, Draft 786/46’, ‘Vol: 8’, ‘Collection N. 2 of N. 131’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’. The ‘N. 2’ has been crossed out with different ink.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 872, and terminates at f 875, 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.