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265. Persia Affairs
- Description:
- 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 21 of 1850, dated 15 April 1850.The enclosed papers, dated 1 December 1849 to 14 February 1850, concern affairs in Persia [Iran]. They comprise despatches from Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, British Envoy and Minister to the Court of Persia, to Viscount Palmerston [Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston], Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Copies of these despatches are sent to the Government of Bombay and the Government of India.Several matters are covered by the papers, including:News of British officers Colonel Charles Stoddart and Captain Arthur Conolly, imprisoned at Bokara [Bukhara, also spelled Bokhara in this item], rumours of their execution, and diplomatic efforts to secure their releaseInsecurity and disorder in Yezd [Yazd] and Ispahan [Isfahan]Russian demands to build a naval hospital on Persian territory and relations between Russia and Persia more generallyThe treatment of Armenians in Tabreez [Tabriz]Civil war in Khorassan [Khorasan]The state of the country around Bushire [Bushehr] following the lifting of the siege of that townMeasures taken to protect the Nestorian Christian community in Azerbijan [Azerbaijan]A request for war vessels to be sent to either Bussorah [Basra] or Mohemmera [Khorramshahr] to support the work of the Turco [Ottoman Iraq]-Persian Boundary CommissionA proposal to appoint a British Consul at Asterabad [Gorgan]The trafficking of enslaved peoples into Persia via Bushire.Physical description: 1 item (43 folios)
266. Juddah and Aden Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 58 of 1856, dated 9 August 1856. The enclosures are dated 17 June-26 July 1856.The enclosures comprise:A report by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, to the Government of Bombay, concerning his efforts to mediate peaceful relations between the Abdali [al-‘Abdalī], Foudelie [Faḍlī] and Azaiba [a sub-tribe of the ‘Abdalī], following disputes over tribute money for drawing water from the wells at Shaik Othman [Shaykh Uthman]A general report by Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating Honourable Company’s Agent at Juddah [Jeddah, also spelled Judda in this item], to the Government of Bombay, notably regarding the flourishing trade in enslaved persons there, including his views that: despite the firman of the Ottoman Sultan, the local Ottoman authorities never really intended to stop the trade; the reading of the firman at Mecca generated anti-Christian and anti-English feeling; the recalled Sherrif of Mecca, Abu Moutallib [Sharīf ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad] exploited local anger to generate support for an uprising by which he hoped to regain his position; and the only way to reduce the trade is for British agents to supply intelligence to Indian Navy steam vessels employed in the Red Sea with permission to seize vessels carrying enslaved personsA report by Page to the Government of Bombay, notably concerning: complaints by British subjects over their treatment by local trade and customs officials and the salt monopoly; the attempt by a consulate guard to assassinate Mr Lawless, the sailing master of the British barque Futtay Sultan, who was a guest in the consulate, the guard’s trial by the Ottoman authorities and the requirement of Page to choose his punishment; and the non-cooperative business policies and general ill-feeling of the local Mooshir [mushīr, advisor or senior minister] towards the British and French at Juddah particularly since the uprising by Abu Moutallib.Physical description: 1 item (13 folios)
267. Zanzibar Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: Enclosures Nos. 3-4 of Despatch No. 5 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 22 February 1860. The Enclosures are dated 30 November 1859-20 February 1860. Received 21 March 1860.The Enclosures include a report from Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Palmer Rigby, Consul and British Agent, Zanzibar, dated 30 November 1859, covering the arrival and departure of British and other foreign ships at Zanzibar, and the suppression of the slave trade. Also present is a letter from Commodore George Greville Wellesley, Commander in Chief, Indian Navy, dated 20 February 1860, recommending the use of a screw sloop rather than a screw gunboat for the suppression of the slave trade in the area.Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
268. Zanzibar Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: Enclosures nos. 3-4 to dispatch no. 8 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 27 March 1861. The enclosures are dated 26 November 1860 to 25 February 1861. Received 19 April 1861.The first enclosure is a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Palmer Rigby, HM Consul and British Agent, Zanzibar, which describes the involvement of a relative of the Sultan of Zanzibar in the slave trade; the second is a resolution by the Honourable Board to support the payment of an allowance to a member of the Arab community at Zanzibar who was monitoring the slave trade there on behalf of the British.Physical description: 1 item (5 folios)
269. Zanzibar Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: Enclosures nos. 3-6 to dispatch no. 12 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 12 April 1861. The enclosures are dated December 1860 to April 1861. No date of receipt given.The enclosures consist of reports from Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Palmer Rigby, HM Consul and British Agent, Zanzibar, informing the Government of Bombay that a French religious mission had arrived in Zanzibar, and that the Sultan of Zanzibar had handed over a slave trading vessel to a British warship. The reports are accompanied by resolutions of the Honourable Board.Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
270. Zanzibar Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: Enclosures Nos. 3-8 to Despatch No. 21 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 30 April 1860. The Enclosures are dated 11 February-30 April 1860. Received 20 June 1860.The Enclosures include reports from Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Palmer Rigby, Consul and British Agent, Zanzibar, concerning the liberation of a large number of male and female slaves illegally held by British Indian subjects at Zanzibar; copy of notice prohibiting the possession of slaves by British subjects in Zanzibar; resolution of the Honourable Board approving Rigby's actions; report by Rigby concerning acts of piracy committed by boats from the coast of Oman and the Persian Gulf, with the object of procuring slaves at Zanzibar; and resolution by the Honourable Board to ask the Secretary of State for India to assign a steam vessel to check piracy and slave dealing at Zanzibar.Physical description: 1 item (21 folios)
271. Zanzibar Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: Enclosures Nos. 3-4 to Despatch No. 10 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 12 March 1860. The Enclosures are dated 29 November 1859-3 January 1860. Received 5 April 1860.The Enclosures include a report from Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Palmer Rigby, Consul and British Agent, Zanzibar, dated 29 November 1859, covering: the arrival there of a vessel flying Spanish colours, which was clearly involved in the slave trade; the actions of the Sultan of Zanzibar to prevent the vessel from engaging in slaving operations; copies of letters from a Spanish citizen who was involved in the slave trade; and copies of letters (in French only) from the French Consul. There is also a further report from Rigby on these and other matters, dated 3 January 1860.Physical description: 1 item (16 folios)
272. Zanzibar Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: Enclosures nos. 3-5 to dispatch no. 18 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 11 May 1861. The enclosures are dated August 1860 to March 1861. Received 5 June 1861.The enclosures consist of: a report by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, in charge of the Muscat-Zanzibar Commission, concerning the slave trade on the East Coast of Africa (dated 5 October 1860); a resolution of the Honourable Board concerning Coghlan's report (dated 28 March 1861); and a report on Zanzibar affairs by Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Palmer Rigby, HM Consul and British Agent, Zanzibar (dated 28 August 1860), including references to the French presence at Zanzibar, and the execution by the Sultan of Zanzibar of the murderers of a (non-Muslim) European.Physical description: 1 item (47 folios)
273. Tehran Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item is comprised of copies of secret letters, despatches, memoranda, translations of letters, and intelligence reports relating to events in Persia [Iran].Topics discussed include:Correspondence with the Sedr Azim [Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam] about investigations with the authorities at Fao concerning the landing of enslaved people in the ship MahmoodeeA letter of congratulations that the Shah had changed the title of the Sedr Azim from Excellency to Altesse(Highness) and the decoration of the order of Nooeean [Nuian]Arrangements for a pension for the widow of Mr Reed who was the confidential clerk and accountant to the Tehran MissionLetters from the Political Agent, Meshed [Mashhad] (translated by Ronald F Thomson), concerning meetings in Meshed to persuade the Ruler of Herat to form a contractOutbreak of cholera in Meshed and its dissemination to Tehran by pilgrims returning from MeshedTranslation of the articles of a secret treaty of friendship (ff 126-127) said to have been negotiated at Tehran between Nicolai Anilchkoff [Anichkov] and the Persian Government, concerning relations between Persia and Russia and other powersCorrespondence between Taylour Thomson, HM Consul, Tehran, and the Sedr Azim concerning the attitude of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Persia to requests made by the head of the British delegation.Translation from a letter written by Cazee Mahomed of Herat, a native of Punjab, residing in Meshed, to the Russian Minister at Tehran.Correspondents include: Taylour Thomson, HM Envoy and Charge d'Affaires, Tehran; the Earl of Clarendon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London; Political Agent, Meshed; Political Agent, Asterabad [Astarabad, i.e. Gorgān]; Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Resident, Persian Gulf; H L Anderson, Secretary to Government, Bombay [Mumbai]; the Sedr Azim.Physical description: 1 item (133 folios)
274. 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)
275. Aden Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 36 of 1856, dated 12 May 1856. The enclosures are dated 9 April-10 May 1856.The papers concern events on the north east coast of Africa, as reported to the Government of Bombay by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident at Aden. They specifically cover the following matters:Reports by Raffaello Barroni, Agent to Walter Chichele Plowden, HM Consul in Abyssinia [now Ethiopia], of disorder alleged to be fostered by the Governor of Mussowah [Massawa] and the resultant plunder carried out by Egyptian soldiers in nearby Abyssinian provinces, and the trafficking of prisoners taken by Egyptian troops on the ‘slave market’ at MussowahProceedings relating to Haj Shermarkie [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ, also spelled Shermarkay and Shurmarkie in this item], the deposed Governor of Zailah [Saylac, or Zeila, Somalia, also spelled Zeylah in this item], including: Coghlan’s deputation of his assistant, Lieutenant Robert Lambert Playfair, to travel on the HC [Honourable Company’s] steam vessel Queento investigate Shermarkie’s alleged ‘piracy’ and attempts to blockade and re-take Zailah; Playfair’s account of his visits to the coastal ports of Zailah, Ain Tarad [El Darad, or Ceel Dhaarand], Berbera and Tajourah [Tadjoura], including a description of the mediation he conducted on board the Queenbetween the mutually hostile Shermarkie and the new Governor of Zeylah, Haj Aboo Bekr bin Ibrahim [Ḥājjī Abū Bakr bin Ibrāhīm, also spelled Aboo Bukur Dunklee in this item]; and the offer of asylum at Aden to Haj Shermarkie on condition that he does not leave without permission from the Political Resident or use Aden as a base to organise further attacks on ZailahThe trade in enslaved persons in Zailah and Tajourah and Playfair’s opinion that it will never be suppressed unless British vessels have permission to search Turkish [Ottoman] vessels at sea and land enslaved persons on shore.Coghlan also reports on the water shortages at Aden, reduced water allowances, and continuing efforts to improve the water supply.The principal correspondents are Coghlan and the Government of Bombay. Coghlan’s despatches contain numerous enclosures including letters and reports from: Playfair; Barroni; the Governor of Yemen; and Haj Shermarkie (letters written in September 1855, in which Shermarkie complains of his recent deposition and reminds Coghlan of his previous acts of loyalty towards Britain).Physical description: 1 item (24 folios)
276. Aden Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 40 of 1856, dated 27 May 1856. The enclosures are dated 19 April-24 May 1856.The enclosures relate to affairs in Aden, Berbera, Juddah [Jeddah] and Mecca, as reported to the Government of Bombay by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, and Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating Honourable Company’s Agent at Juddah. They specifically cover and include the following:The consent of ‘Sheik’ Shermarki [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ, also spelled Shurmarkey in this item], the deposed Governor of Zailah [Saylac, or Zeila, Somalia] to the terms on which Coghlan states he can reside in Aden, and Shermarki’s arrival at that placeDiscussions between Coghlan, the Government of Bombay and the Government of India regarding the possible terms to be demanded from the Habr Awal [Habr Awwal] tribe for the removal of the British blockade of Berbera, including: the amount of monetary compensation to be paid by the Habr Awal; the probability of the murderer of Lieutenant Stroyan (during an attack on Lieutenant Richard Burton’s Somali Expedition) not being found or brought to justice; the possibility of stationing a vessel of war at Berbera harbour and a government agent during the commercial season; and the demand for the cessation of the export of enslaved persons from Berbera and the coastal vicinityPage’s reports from Juddah, covering: the unsuccessful attack on Mecca by the former Scerriff Abu Montallib [Sharīf ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad, also spelled Mutallib in this item] and his withdrawal to Tayf [Taif]; Page’s relief at the arrival at Juddah of the HC [Honourable Company’s] ships Elphinstoneand Queen; the arrival of the new Scerriff of Mecca, Ebu Aonan [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn] on the HC frigate Feroozfrom Suez; Page’s concern that Abu Montallib may make another attempt on Mecca and then proceed to Juddah on hearing of the arrival at Mecca of his successor; and the abatement of the threat to Juddah.The principal correspondents are Coghlan, Page and the Government of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (18 folios)