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 72 of 1850, dated 3 December 1850. The enclosures are numbered 3-7 and are dated 17 September to 20 November 1850.The papers relate to affairs in the Persian Gulf including:The trafficking of enslaved persons into the sea ports of Persia [Iran]Persian soldiers converting to Babism.The primary correspondents are the following: the Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Agent at Shiraz; the Prince Governor of Fars.Physical description: 1 items (53 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 item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 58 of 1847, dated 16 June 1847. The enclosures are dated 7 April-27 May 1847 (although some internal copy documents date back to 23 January 1847).The primary documents are letters from Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to Arthur Malet, Secretary to the Government, Bombay, enclosing his correspondence with Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia (in Baghdad), and the Honourable Mr Henry Wellesley, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Constantinople [Istanbul, Ottoman Empire], and other related correspondence and documents.The main subject covered is British efforts for the suppression of the ‘African slave trade’ in the Persian Gulf, notably:The Ottoman Porte’s order of 23 January 1847, (ff 154-155) implying [rather than explicitly granting] powers granted to British and East India Company vessels in the suppression of the slave trade with regard to vessels under the Turkish [Ottoman] flag landing at Turkish ports on the Euphrates river, notably Bussorah [Basra]; the Porte’s desire for secret Anglo-Turkish communications on the matter due to political sensitivities; and the Porte’s request that the new prohibition measures not be put into effect until 1 June 1847 in order to provide sufficient warning for Turkish vesselsRawlinson’s suggestion to the Nejib Pasha [Mehmed Necib Pasha also known as Muhammad Najib Pasha], Governor of Baghdad, and Hennell that the ‘slave cargoes’ of Persian [Iranian] and Arab vessels in Turkish waters be considered ‘contraband’ and therefore subject to measures for the suppression of ‘piracy’Hennell’s report of his success in obtaining the agreement of the Arab Maritime Chiefs for the total abolition of the trade in enslaved peoples from the African coast involving their boats and those of their subjects; empowering British cruisers to detain, examine suspected vessels and seize and confiscate those carrying slaves; and for the agreement to come into force in the next season (10 December 1847 onwards). Includes translation and copy in Arabic of the engagement entered into by Sheik Sultan ben Sugger, Chief of Ras-el-Khymah and Shargah [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī, Ruler of Ra's al-Khaymah and Sharjah] dated 30 April 1847, appended with names of additional signatory sheiks [shaikhs] (ff 180-182)Empowerment of the British authorities to arrange the return of enslaved people to their country of origin on the African coast, due to alleged Turkish lack of desire or resources for the task; logistical arrangements; and suggestion that returnees could be transmitted as labourers on the African coast or to the West IndiesHennell’s concerns about the lack of agreement by the Persian Government to suppress the trade in enslaved people, and possible evasion of British policing measures by Arab Maritime Chiefs and their Persian connections, notably at Mohamerah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah].Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-7, on folio 146. 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 84 of 1847, dated 30 September 1847. The enclosures are dated 9 June-11 September 1847.The primary documents are despatches of Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay, and for the information of the President and Governor in Council, chiefly forwarding copies of reports and letters received, and his correspondence with various officials, notably: Colonel Justin Sheil, HM Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Persia [Iran]; Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent, Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq]; and Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Acting Political Agent, Turkish Arabia. The correspondence of the latter two notably include letters addressed to them by Lord Cowley [Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley], HM Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople [Istanbul].The despatches cover numerous matters, including the following:1) The apparent designs of the Ottoman Empire to extend its authority and influence over the Island of Bahrein [Bahrain], including: a report from Commodore John Croft Hawkins, on the HC [Honourable Company] Steam Frigate
Queen, describing a visit on board the ship by the Sheik of Bahrein [Shaikh Muḥammad bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah, Shaikh of Bahrain] and confirming the non-appearance of either the Turkish vessel or Turkish agent said to have been proceeding towards the island; and the emphatic refusal, by Nejib Pasha, Governor of Bagdad [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad], to recognize a letter apparently addressed to the Sheik of Bahrein by the Mootesellim [Mutasallim] of Bussorah [Governor of Basra], inviting the former to put himself under the protection of the Ottoman flag.2) The temporary detention at Shiraz, by an informant of Sheil, of a messenger said to be carrying a letter addressed to the Shah [Muḥammad Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Persia] from an ‘influential Prince of India’ inviting him to ‘invade Hindoostan by the way of Affghanistan [Afghanistan], and assuring him of every support and cooperation’ (f 139), and Sheil’s dismissal of its seriousness.3) British measures in relation to effecting the abolition of the ‘African Slave Trade’, notably:The announcement to the Ottoman Porte that Hennell has obtained the consent of the ‘Independent Maritime Chiefs of the Arabian Coast’ (f 142) to the total abolition of the trade in enslaved persons from Africa (the agreement to come into effect at the end of the next year)Arrangements to be made by the Ottoman authorities regarding registration of crews of all vessels belonging to Bussorah and Koweit [Kuwait]Hennell’s desire, following reports that large numbers of ‘Hubshees or Abyssinian [Ethiopian] slaves’ (f 147) have been imported from the coast of Berbera, to bring the measures agreed with the Ottoman Sultan, Independent Maritime Chiefs of the Arabian Coast and the Imam of Muscat into full effect immediately, and his suggestions to strengthen the British naval presence and powers of inspection in the vicinity of Zanzibar, Berbera and Zelah [Zeila] and in the Gulf, and to make seizures of ‘contraband cargo’ to deter Persians from further trade in enslaved personsThe concerns of Hennell and Kemball regarding amended instructions issued by the Turkish [Ottoman] Government to Nejib Pasha, for the disposal of enslaved persons who are liberated under the recent convention, specifically the option that ‘rescued’ Africans may remain in Ottoman territory if they choose to rather than being conveyed on board a British vessel. Included is a translated copy of the Turkish Government’s instructions to the Governor of Bagdad directing that the ‘liberated... [ones] must be allowed to stay where they please’ (ff 155-156)Hennell’s advice to the senior naval officer at Bushire [Bushehr] to only take measures against a vessel belonging to a subject of the Imam of Muscat, lately arrived with ‘a cargo of 30-40 negro [Black African] and Abyssinian slaves from Muscat for sale’ (f 160), once it has left Bushire Harbour, as it is a foreign (Persian) portHennell’s and Kemball’s desire to ensure the swift implementation of instructions issued by Nejib Pasha to the Mootsellim of Bussorah (ff 204-205) regarding the measures to be taken against Turkish vessels and Turkish merchants involved in the exportation of enslaved persons from Africa, and for the speedy removal of manumitted persons from Bussorah temporarily to Bushire and Bassidore [Basaidu], and subsequently to India.4) Hennell’s mediatory involvement in the affair of the ‘plunder’ in 1846 of the wreck of the large bugla [buggalow]
Akab, belonging to the Sheik of Kishm [Shaik of Qeshm], near Bushire Harbour, including: the complaint by the Sheik that the boatmen of Bushire plundered the boat’s rigging and stores; and the return in 1847 of plundered articles, via Sheik Nassir of Bushire [Shaikh Nāṣir of Bushehr], including a list of plundered articles (f 171) and a list of items handed in to Sheik Nassir by each Nakoda [Nakhuda, a boat captain or master] (f 175).5) Rumours that the officers of a Turkish vessel visiting ports of the Arabian coast are claiming they are going to replace British with Turkish influence in the Gulf, notably: the alarm of Shaik Muctoom (Debay) [Maktūm bin Butti bin Suhail, of Dubai]; the apparent exultation of Sultan ben Sugger (chief of the Joasmee [al-Qāsimī] tribe) [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī, Ruler of Sharjah and Ra’s al-Khaymah, al-Jazirah al-Hamra and Ar Rams, variously]; the general concern of the independent Arab rulers on the coast of the Gulf; and Hennell’s dismissal of the story, insisting that the Turkish functionaries are only protecting their trade and preventing the importation of enslaved persons.Physical description: 1 item (75 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 20 of 1850, dated 3 April 1850.The enclosed papers, dated between 25 June 1849 and 15 March 1850, concern the traffic and trade in enslaved peoples in the Persian Gulf. They comprise correspondence between Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire [Bushehr]; Commodore J P Porter, Commanding Indian Naval Squadron, Persian Gulf; Lieutenant Alan Hyde Gardner, Commanding East India Company Sloop,
Elphinstone; Moollah Haussein [Mullā Ḥusayn], Native Agent at Shargah [Sharjah]; Khoja Hiskarl [Khawājah Ḥizqīl bin Yūsuf, elsewhere written as Hiskeel or Hiskale], Native Agent at Muscat; Major Atkins Hamerton, British Consul and East India Company Agent in the Dominions of the Imam [Imām] of Muscat and Zanzibar; William Taylour Thomson, British Chargé d'Affaires, Tehran; Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, British Minister in Tehran; Sheik Sultan bin Suggur [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī], Ruler of Shargah; the Government of Bombay; and the Government of India.The papers relate to the trafficking of enslaved peoples into Muscat, Bushire, and Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], and the discussion of what measures are to be taken.Physical description: 1 item (28 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 1853, dated 28 April 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-10 and are dated 1 December 1852-31 March 1853.The papers relate to affairs in the Persian Gulf including correspondence with the Prince Governor of Fars concerning the importation of slaves at several of the ports of Fars in violation of the convention between Great Britain and Persia [Iran].Correspondents include the Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Chief Secretary to Government, Bombay, and Her Majesty’s Minister at Tehran.Physical description: 1 item (28 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 15 of 1853, dated 28 February 1853. The enclosure is numbered 3 and is dated 14 January 1853. The enclosure consists of copies of nine despatches (with enclosed correspondence) from HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Tehran, Justin Sheil, addressed to the Earl of Malmesbury, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, sent under flying seals to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay. The despatches are dated 12 December 1852 to 7 January 1853. The despatches relate to matters including:The proceedings of the Persian [Iranian] Government in relation to HeratThe intention of Sheil and the Russian Minister to Persia to dissuade the Shah from his plan to make a rapid inspection of some parts of the province of Azerbijan [Azerbaijan] with a regiment of cavalry, and to advise the Shah not to act in a manner likely to make the Porte [the Government of the Ottoman Empire] suspicious that Persia intended to take hostile action against Turkey; and Sheil seeking instructions as to whether he should follow the Shah irrespective of the movements of the Russian Minister, or remain in TehranThe Persian Government seeking immediate restitution of the district of Kotoor [Qotur] to Persia, following the pronouncement of the frontier commission that the Turkish occupation was ‘a wanton aggression’The report of HM Consul in Tabreez [Tabriz] of the proceedings of a Nestorian bishop aiding the Russian Government in a plan to introduce the ‘Greek religion’ [Greek Orthodox Church] and Russian missionaries into Azerbaijan by promising Russian protection to any converts from the Nestorian churchThe Persian Government agreeing to Sheil’s proposal that ‘English’ war ships should be authorised to punish the ‘Chiefs’ of Persian ports of the Persian Gulf at which ‘negro slaves’ [enslaved African persons] were being imported.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-3, on folio 351. The number 3 is repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of the 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 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)
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)
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)
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)
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)