Abstract: This item consists of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 30 January 1874 and received by the India Office via Brindisi on 24 February 1874, forwarding copies of an account, dated 8 December 1873, by Dr John Kirk, the Political Agent and Consul-General at Zanzibar, of his trip up the River Wami on HMS
Shearwater,which is to be published in the
Gazette of Indiafor general information. The account mainly concerns the navigability of the river, but in the last paragraph refers to a 'caravan of 400 slaves' [enslaved persons] that had crossed the river at Gama, on its way to Pangani.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 270, and terminates at f 273a, 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 270a, f 271a, f 272a, and f 273a.
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 84 of 1841, dated 29 October 1841. The enclosures are dated 27 September-28 October 1841.The enclosures numbered 3-6 (dated 21 June-9 October 1841) are noted as missing. According to the abstract of contents they covered the following:Suggestions (not stated in the item) made by the Resident in the Persian Gulf of certain measures for the suppression of the trade in enslaved persons carried on between the eastern coast of Africa and various ports in the Persian Gulf and the Red SeaThe response of the Secretary to the Government of India regarding those suggestionsRequests for the views of the Political Agent at Aden and the British Agent at Muscat for their views on the suggestions.The remaining enclosures comprise a copy of a letter from the Secretary to the Government of India to the Acting Secretary, Bombay, acknowledging receipt of the latter’s correspondence with Captain Atkins Hamerton, British Agent at Muscat, regarding the trade in enslaved persons said to be carried on between Bombay [Mumbai] and Zanzibar by vessels belonging to the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat, approving of the instructions Hamerton has issued, and expressing satisfaction that the trade is minimal due to current obstacles in place, and likely to cease entirely without the need for establishing further measures of prohibition. Also included is the Government of Bombay’s notification to Hamerton of the Government of India’s views.Physical description: 1 item (7 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 115 of 1842, dated 15 October 1842. The enclosures are dated 4 July to 14 October 1842, and relate to the mission to Shoa [Shewa].The enclosures consist of: dispatches from Captain William Cornwallis Harris, on a special mission at the Court of Shoa, to John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government of Bombay; and a letter from Willoughby to Thomas Herbert Maddock, Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General.The enclosures contain the following: reports by Harris on the proceedings of the mission under his charge; a report by Harris on the state of slavery and the 'slave trade' [trade in enslaved people] within and beyond Abyssinia [the Ethiopian Empire], which includes a sketch map entitled ‘Sketch delineative of the ROUTES OF SLAVE-CARAVANS through Abyssinia to the shores of ARABIA.’ (folio 517); distribution lists of presents; and correspondence regarding the expedience of the continuance of the mission for a longer period.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-8, on folios 389-391. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 15 of 1841, dated 28 February 1841. The enclosures are dated 14 November 1840 to 28 February 1841, and mostly consist of copies of correspondence sent and received by the Government of Bombay.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Secretary to the Government of Bombay (John Pollard Willoughby); the Secretary to the Government of India (Thomas Herbert Maddock); the Political Agent in Lower Sinde; the Quarter Master General of the Bombay Army; and the Bombay Military Board.Many of the enclosures concern military affairs in Sinde [Sindh, also spelled Scinde in the item], including the purchase of camels for the use of the troops in Upper Scinde, and the distribution of the Sinde Field Force under the command of Major-General G B Brooks.The enclosures also discuss matters including:Custom duties at the Port of Soomeeanee [Sonmiani, also spelled Sonmeeanee in this part]The arrival of a Bombay merchant at Hyderabad bearing letters to Meer Nusseer Khan, Ameer of Sinde [Amir of Sindh], labelled as being from Syud Mahomed Bakur Rushte Isfahnee, head Moollah [Mullah] of the Persian [Iranian] CourtThe establishment of depots at Poona [Pune] and Ahmedabad for the accommodation of the families of Native troops employed in service beyond the British FrontierThe despatch of a gun and ammunition as a present to the Dewan of Pahlunpoor [Palanpur, also spelled Pahlunpore in this item]The inconvenience experienced by boats entering the Harbour of Kurrachee [Karachi] being compelled to report their arrival to the officer commanding the vessel stationed off that Port, and the view of the Political Agent in Lower Sinde that such a measure was unnecessary for the prevention of the importation of slaves, as only boats which had come from the Coast of Arabia were ever likely to contain any slaves, and those boats were liable to be stopped on the high seasThe request of Meer Nusseer Khan, Amir of Sindh, for a passage in the first steam ship to Suez for a confidential attendant of his late brother Meer Noor Mahomed Khan, to perform the Hadj [Hajj] to Mecca on his behalfRecent events in Herat.This part also includes newsletters from the Government of India, reporting intelligence received from various places including: the North West Frontier, Gwalior, Mysore, and other areas of India, and Afghanistan, China, and Nipal (Nepal).Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-63, on folios 175-185. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure. Enclosures 61-63 are not included in the volume.
Abstract: Enclosure nos. 2-54 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay [Mumbai], dated 30 November 1841. The enclosures are dated 6 June-29 November 1841.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in India, Persia [Iran], the Persian Gulf and Zanzibar, including:Unrest in the Persian provinces of Kerman and Yezd [Yazd]A diplomatic mission to Hyderabad by a representative of the Imaum [Imam] of MuscatThe seizure of a ship at Zanzibar suspected of being involved in the trade in enslaved personsCases of fraud and false identities in Bushire [Bushehr], Calcutta [Kolkata] and MuscatAttempts to determine the fate of the cargo of a ship that was wrecked on the island of Kishm [Qeshm] and to gain compensation for any property that may have been plunderedA proposed tour of the Gulf by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to deliver gifts to various Gulf rulers that were unable to be given at the time of his appointmentObstructions against British traders at Zanzibar, allegedly orchestrated by the American ConsulThe murder and robbery of a British subject at Mombassa [Mombasa].The primary correspondents are: the Political Resident; the Native Agent, Muscat; the Imam of Muscat; the Collector of Customs, Bombay; and the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (119 folios)
Abstract: Enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 38 of 1846, dated 14 April 1846. The enclosures are dated and contain correspondence (in English and Arabic) relating to affairs in Muscat. Contents relate to: the suppression of the trade in enslaved people from Muscat’s dominions in [East] Africa and the Red Sea; a proposed blockade of Bushire [Bushehr] by Muscat; and a message from Queen Victoria urging the reconciliation between the Imam of Muscat and his eldest son, returning to the Island of Zanzibar via Mecca. This item commences with an abstract of contents (folios 440-446). Correspondence from the Political Agent at Muscat addressed to the Government of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (34 folios)
Abstract: The volume contains three letters and a company circular received by the British Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, from: a British company in Baghdad advertising its new overland postal service in Arabia (folios 1A-3), Commander Porter reporting on his sea patrol of the Persian Gulf in January 1843 (folio 4), the British Envoy to Tehran reporting the willingness of the Persian Government to repair the dilapidated public buildings on the Island of Karrak [Kharg] (folio 6).The volume title ‘Bushire Residency Book No 134 Secret letters inward 9 Jan 1843-14 Jan 1843’ is typewritten and appears on a modern title page that has been inserted at the front of the volume (folio 1).Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1, 1A, then 2 to 6, from the front to the back of the volume. Folio 1 is a modern, typewritten title page. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto, in the top right corner.As a result of a secondary and earlier foliation sequence, the volume is also numbered from 2 to 7 in ink, except for blank folios and folios containing brief details such as name and address, which are unnumbered.
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 35 of 1850, dated 25 June 1850. The enclosures, numbered 3-18 and dated 25 October 1849 to 24 June 1850, relate to the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people].The enclosures consists of correspondence, and minutes of the Government of Bombay. They cover matters including:HM Consul and Honourable Company’s Agent at Zanzibar, Major Atkins Hamerton, reporting the destruction by the boats of HMS
Castorof a ‘slave’ establishment at Angosh [Angoche], and the permission accorded by the Imam of Muscat for British vessels of war to enter ports, bays, creeks, and rivers between Songa Manara [Songa Mnara Island] and Cape Delgado in pursuit of vessels engaged in the ‘slave trade’ and destroy all barracoons and establishments erected for the purpose of the ‘slave trade’Hamerton reporting that he has made a ‘friendly remonstrance’ to the Imam on the ‘glaring violations’ of the treaty for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’ between the British Government and the ImamHamerton stating that he has brought the subject of purchases of enslaved women to the notice of the Imam, with a view to the prohibition of this, in response to a letter from the Government of Bombay relating to the purchase an ‘African female’ at Muscat by a ‘Mussulman’ [Muslim] of Kutch. However, Hamerton states that it would be very difficult to stop such purchases, because he claims that the practice is widespread amongst ‘Banian’ and Indian Muslim men resident in the Imam’s territories.. Hamerton adds that he is now bringing the subject to the attention of the British Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsA report by Hamerton on the type of vessels which should be employed for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’, the localities in which they should cruise, and the time of year they should be employedA draft of instructions for the guidance of officers in command of vessels of the Indian Navy prepared by the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy, Captain Stephen Lushington, in communication with the Advocate General, to carry out the provisions of the Act of Parliament of 1 August 1849 ‘for carrying into effect engagements between Her Majesty [Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom] and certain Arabian Chiefs in the Persian Gulf for the more effectual suppression of the Slave Trade’.The correspondence is mostly between the following: Hamerton; the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet; the Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor General, Sir Henry Miers Elliot; and the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy.Enclosure No. 3 also includes enclosed correspondence: between Hamerton and the Commander-in-Chief, Cape Good Hope Station, Commodore Christopher Wyvill; and from the Imam of Muscat, Said bin Sultan [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd], to Hamerton.Physical description: 1 item (40 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 29 of 1842, dated 30 March 1842. The enclosures are dated 17 January to 30 March 1842, and consist of correspondence concerning the trade in enslaved people between the East Coast of Africa and various ports in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.The correspondence is mainly between the Secretary and Acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay and the following: the Officiating Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Secretary to the Government of India; the Advocate General, Bombay; and the Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-15, on folios 4-6. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
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 99 of 1848, dated 15 November 1848. The enclosures are numbered 3-7 and are dated 5 October to 14 November 1848.The enclosures consist of letters from the Political Agent at Aden (Stafford Bettesworth Haines) to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay (Arthur Malet), minutes by the Governor of Bombay subscribed to by the Board, and a letter from Malet to the Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General. They concern the suppression of the trade in enslaved people on the Red Sea and Arabian Coasts, including the opinions and suggestions of the Political Agent at Aden regarding the measures which should be adopted for achieving this, and the results of his efforts to encourage Sheik [Shaikh] Ali Shermarkhi [Hadjdji 'Ali Shermerki] of Zeyla [Zeila] to co-operate with the British Government in entirely abolishing the traffic in enslaved people within his limits.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatches, numbered 1-7, on folios 222-223. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 59 of 1856, dated 12 August 1856. The enclosures are dated 6 July-8 August 1856.The enclosures comprise communications between Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, and the Government of Bombay, regarding their efforts to suppress the trade in enslaved persons in the Red and Arabian seas and Persian Gulf regions, notably the following:The desire to clearly define the powers of British vessels with regard to seizing ships sailing under the Ottoman flag, given the inability of Indian Navy officers to cite the Secret Treaty between Britain and the Ottoman Sultan as justification for any acts of seizureThe question of how to proceed regarding the seizure of vessels sailing under the flag of independent Arab ‘chiefs’ who do not have agreements with Britain, such as the rulers of Maculla and Shuhr [Mukalla and Ash Shihr], or those who may be vassals of the Imam of Muscat and who may therefore come under the provisions of Britain’s treaty with the ImamThe Government of Bombay’s intention to refer to the Secret Committee and the Home Authorities the question of obtaining a more effective instrument from the Sublime Porte [Ottoman or Turkish Government] and a clearer definitions regarding the powers of the Indian NavyCoghlan’s correspondence with Captain John James Frushard, Senior Naval Officer, Aden, and Senior Lieutenant G N Adams, Officiating Senior Naval Officer, Aden, regarding the searching of vessels for enslaved persons within Turkish ports, including: notification to Frushard of the Secret Treaty and suggestion that a vessel of war be kept in the harbour of Perim Island to watch the Straits of Bebel-Mandeb [Bab el-Mandeb] for ‘slave vessels’; a report from Lieutenant Walker, Indian Navy, Commanding the HC [Honourable Company’s] schooner
Mahiasserting that in his experience most of the strait cannot be seen from a ship’s mast head at Perim, relating his searches of ships at Mocha, Mussowah [Massawa] and Hodeida [Al Hudaydah], and reporting the objections of the Governor of Mussowah to a foreign ship searching vessels under his jurisdiction; the desire of Raffaello Barroni, Agent to Walter Chichele Plowden, HM Consul in Abyssinia [now Ethiopia], to have a vessel stationed at Massowah and Adam’s view that this is probably because Barroni ‘imagines the political horizon about there rather dark’ (f 491); and Coghlan’s request to Adams that Walker should not search Turkish [Ottoman] vessels in Turkish ports as it is likely to give offence, and to wait for a clear code of instructions from the authorities in England and Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (12 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 42 of 1856, dated 10 June 1856. The enclosures are dated 19 December 1855-7 June 1856.The enclosures chiefly comprise despatches from Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, to the Government of Bombay, and the latter’s responses, in connection with British attempts to suppress the trade in enslaved persons in the Red and Arabian seas and the Persian Gulf regions. They notably cover and include:Coghlan’s frustration over the lack of available vessels to enable him to visit independent ports on the Arabian and African coasts and Turkish [Ottoman] ports in the Red Sea, in particular Shuhr and Maculla [Ash Shihr and Mukalla] which Coghlan suggests should be monitored for boats crossing from Africa; the Government of Bombay’s resolution to press the need for naval resources upon the Secret Committee; and the Court of Directors’ recommendation that for now existing vessels at Aden and Persian Gulf stations should be usedCoghlan’s suggestion that a vessel of war be stationed at Perim Island in the Straits of Babel Mandel [Bab el Mandeb] commanding the entrance to the Red SeaThe agreement concluded by Coghlan with Sultan Manassir, the Oulaki [Sulṭān Manāṣir, al-‘Awlaqī tribe], and the latter’s complaints that his neighbours continue the trade and benefit further from his self-interdictThe issue of the need to obtain a treaty with ‘Arabian chiefs’ on the Gulf coast providing the right of British vessels to demand the liberation of enslaved persons landed ashore, and the assertion of the Acting Resident in the Persian Gulf that Zanzibar traders evade British surveillance by sailing to Oman and following land routes through Mesopotamia and Persia [Iran], and suggestion that a steam vessel be stationed at Mazeera Island [Masirah]The question of producing a ‘digest’ of all treaties existing on the subject of slavery and Coghlan’s concern that they are not enforced partly due to obscure termsAn intelligence report (supplied by a person connected with the firm of Menon Lambert and Co of Mauritius who have contracted with the British Government to carry the mails between Mauritius and Aden) describing the extent of the trade in enslaved persons carried on by Arab and Persian craft from the coast of Africa and Zanzibar to ports on the Red and Arabian seas and the Persian Gulf (ff 314-315).The principal correspondents are: Coghlan, the Government of Bombay, and the Acting Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire.Physical description: 1 item (19 folios)