Abstract: This item consists primarily of copies of correspondence and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the Governments of Bengal and Bombay concerning the purchase of the Island of Cameran [Kamaran, also spelt Kameran, Kumran, and Camran] by Syed Mohamed Akil [Sayyid Muḥammad Aqil al-Ajaybi, also Sayyid Muḥammad Aqil al-Saqqaf, also spelt Seyud Mahomud Akil, Sueed Mooummud Akil] from Shereef Ahmood of Abu-Arish [Hammud bin Muḥammad Sulaymani, Sharif of Abu 'Arish, also referred to as Shaikh Hamood, Sherif of Aboo Aresh]. The letters discuss whether Mohamed Akil was acting for the French, and propose measures to prevent French influence in the Red Sea. This includes correspondence with Sir Edward Pellew, Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station, about the ships HMS
Dedaigneuse, HMS
Psyche, East India Company cruisers
Mornington,
Ternate, and
Panther, HMS
Concorde, and HM Sloop
Victor, and reports from their cruises.The item also features information on: Mohamed Akil's alleged taking of an American ship, the USS
Essex of Salem; the murders of the Englishman Mr Carter, who was on board the
Essex, and her captain (Joseph Orne); the massacre of the rest of the crew; and the sinking of the ship. There is also a description of Mohamed Akil's alleged murder of the French captain M Gaspard. The actions of the French privateer
Le Vigilante, and the French frigate
Piedmontoise[
Pièmontaise] are also mentioned.Correspondents include the Resident at Mocha, the Resident at Muscat, and the Broker at Mocha, and their informants, with letters about Mohamed Akil's movements, biography, and the likelihood of being able to try him for piracy, robbery, and murder.There is some commercial discussion of trading coffee, woollens, and gunpowder, and a political agreement with the Shereef Ahmood of Abu-Arish.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 7, Season 1808/1809, Draft 178, Para. 20'; and 'Examiner's Office, July 1808'.Physical description: The documents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front of the item to the rear.
Abstract: Most of the letters are written by Lieutenant William Bruce, who was the Resident at this time. A handful of letters are written by James Orton, Assistant Surgeon at Bushire, who took temporary charge of the Residency while Bruce was away from Bushire. Subjects relating directly to the Residency include: accounts; stationery; military and marine expenses; and the sending of arms from Bombay to the Court of Persia, via Bushire. Broader themes within the letters include the procurement of sulphur for its use in India, the woollen and silk trades in Persia, and the threat of Āl Qāsimī pirates to British trade in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: 1 volume in one slipcasePagination: This file has an original pagination sequence, which is written in ink, in the top right corner of each recto and the top left corner of each verso. This sequence runs until page 100. A later pagination sequence, which is written in pencil, begins at page 101. This sequence is inconsistent, with many numbers repeated out of sequence.Foliation: The volume has been foliated for referencing purposes by circling numbers in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. The sequence begins with the first letter, on number 1, and runs through to 138, ending on the inside of the back cover of the volume. This is the sequence that has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the volume.
Abstract: This volume consists of letters written from the Bushire Residency. The first eighty-two items are attributed to William Bruce; the remaining items, with the exception of a few letters written by Bruce from various locations, are written by James Dow, Assistant Surgeon at the Bushire Residency, who was in charge of the Residency during William Bruce's absence. Most of the letters are written to representatives of the Government of Bombay, with the most common recipients being John Wedderburn (Accountant General, Civil Auditor and Military Accountant), Richard Morgan (Secretary to the Marine Board), Francis Warden (Chief Secretary to the Government) and Mountstuart Elphinstone (President and Governor in Council, Bombay). In addition, a significant number of letters are addressed to army officers, including Major General Sir William Grant Keir and Captain Thomas Perronet Thompson. Many of the letters to Bombay concern the routine sending of bills and receipts relating to expenses (the most common of which being supplies for East India Company ships) incurred by the Residency. Other subjects covered in the volume include: William Bruce joining HMS
Edenon her voyage along the Arab coast in search of Wahhābī boats; news and speculation regarding Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mīrzā's plans to launch an attack against Bahrain; relations between Arab chieftains following the General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf of 1820; details of the Residency complying with requests for funds or supplies for the British troops stationed at Ra's al-Khaymah, and later, at Qeshm; details of a treaty between the Imam of Muscat (Sa‘īd bin Sultān Āl Sa‘īd) and the Shaikhs of Bahrain, as relayed to Bruce by Rahma bin Jabir; the death of a crew member of the
Elizacountry ship and the subsequent investigation into the treatment received on board that ship; presents sent by His Highness Ebrāhim Khan, Governor of Kermān, to Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay; the death, on 10 November 1821, of Dr Andrew Jukes, Political Agent in Persia.Physical description: Pagination: There is a pagination sequence, which is written in pencil in the top right corners of the rectos and in the top left corners of the versos. It runs from 1 to 175.Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 2, and ends on the inside of the back cover on number 95. This is the sequence used by this catalogue to reference items within the file.
Abstract: Most of the letters in this file are written by Mirza Mehedy Ally Khaun [Mirza Mahdi 'Ali Khan Bahadur], who was the Native Agent at Bushire from October 1798 to January 1803, although there are also a significant number of letters received by him. Other correspondents include: Samuel Manesty, Resident at Bussora [Basra]; David Seton, Resident at Muscat; a number of East India Company commanders and three East India Company civil servants, based in Bombay. Most of the correspondence is between Mirza Mehedy Ally Khaun and Manesty, in which the two men issue and receive notifications regarding the delivery and receipt of letters and consignments. There are two letters near the end of the file which are written by Mirza Mehedy Ally Khaun's successor, Jonathan Lovett. Also included are three letters from Mirza Mehedy Ally Khaun to Jonathan Duncan, President and Governor in Council, Bombay. All of the letters in this volume are stated as being true copies, signed by William Bruce, Assistant Resident, Bushire.Physical description: There is a pagination sequence and a foliation sequence.Pagination: The pagination sequence is written in pencil, in the top right corner of the rectos and in the top left corners of the versos. It begins on the first page of correspondence, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 105.Foliation: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 2, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 56. This is the sequence which has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the file.