Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, an extract of a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 14 October 1854.The item contains a letter from W Howard, Acting Advocate General, to the Government of Bombay, dated 18 September 1854, in which he states his legal opinion on when British Indian subjects may be liable to British law for engaging in the 'slave trade' [trade in enslaved people]. Howard makes reference to a specific case involving the purchase of two enslaved people at Lingha [Bandar-e Lengeh, also rendered in text as Lingah].The Government of Bombay forward a copy of Howard's letter to Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf, and to the Government of India.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', Draft Number '1199 [18]55', 'Collection No.', '1 in 2 Volumes', 'Vol: 1', and 'Examiner's Office'. Originally, the Collection number was given as '4 of No. 67 of 1854.' but this has been crossed out.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 521, and terminates at f 525, 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 resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, two extracts of Political Letters from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 31 January 1855 and 28 August 1855. The enclosures are dated 6 September 1854-20 December 1854.The item contains updates to the Government of Bombay by Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Resident in the Persian Gulf, on the recovery of fines imposed on the sheiks [shaikhs] of Charrack [Bandar-e Charak], Kelat [Kalat], and Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], for allowing the importation of enslaved people into their ports. Particular attention is given to interactions with Sheik Hassan bin Abdullah [Shaikh Ḥasan bin ‘Abdullah, text includes multiple spellings], Sheik of Charrack, including details of: the different methods of payment for the fine; the enslaved people involved and arrangements for their release; and the treatment of him by Lieutenant B H Crane, Commanding the Company ship,
Constance.Correspondents include: Kemball; Crane; Commodore George Robinson, Commanding the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf; and the Government of Bombay.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', Draft Number '1199 [18]55', 'Collection No. 2', and 'Examiner's Office'. Originally, the Collection number was given as '6 of No. 11 of 1855.' but this has been crossed out.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 531, and terminates at f 541, 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 resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, extracts of two Political Letters from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 16 April 1855 and 28 August 1855. The enclosures are dated 4 March 1854-3 March 1855.The item relates to actions taken by the Government of Bombay and Major Atkins Hamerton, HM Consul and Company Agent in the dominions of His Highness the Imaum [Imām] of Muscat, in light of reports by Henry Bartle Edward Frere, Commissioner in Sind [Sindh], of enslaved Indian people being exported to ports in the Persian Gulf. The item includes Hamerton's report on his conversation on the subject with the Imaum of Muscat, following Frere's discovery of enslaved Indian children in the port of Guader [Gwadar].The correspondents are Hamerton, the Government of Bombay, and the Court of Directors.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', Draft Number '1199 [18]55', 'Collection No.3 in 2 Volumes', 'Vol: 1', and 'Examiner's Office'. Originally, the Collection number was given as '8 of No. 30 of 1855.' but this has been crossed out.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 542, and terminates at f 549, 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, minutes, and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. The principal correspondents are the Government of Bombay; the Governor of Mauritius, Robert Farquhar; Captain Fairfax Moresby of HMS
Menai.The item concerns the abolition of the slave trade and particularly the negotiations, treaties, and agreements about the slave trade with the following: Radama, the King of Madagascar; the Haukim [Hakim] of Zanzibar, Sueed Ukburee [Sa’īd Akbari]; the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat and Oman [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; the Governor of Bourbon [Réunion], Pierre Bernard Milius.The item describes the treaty Farquhar concluded with Radama, the King of Madagascar, who signed it on 11 October 1820, agreeing to prohibit the sale and exportation of slaves from Madagascar, and stop the attacks on the King of Johanna [Anjouan].There is a discussion of the legal issues of the French and British capturing each other’s ships with slaves on board, including the British captures of
LeSuccesand
L’Eleanore, and the French captures of
Espoirand
Favorite, with a discussion of the
Amediecase from 1810. The possibility of the French forming depots at Providence and St Marie, Madagascar is also mentioned, as is the accidental seizure of two of the Imaum’s ships by the
Psyche.The main focus of the item is the treaty Moresby negotiated with the Imaum of Muscat in 1822, whereby the Imaum agreed that no slave should be sold to Christians from his territory, including Zanzibar, and that vessels carrying the Imam’s flag might be seized if they were carrying slaves east of the Moresby line (the line from Cape Delgado to Diu). The British were allowed to establish agents in the Imaum’s territory to enforce the treaty.The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Political No. 12, Draft 496, P.C. 154, [Season] 1823/4’ and ‘Examiner’s Office 1823’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 18, and terminates at f 187, 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: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, resolutions, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. These political letters appear in IOR/F/4/2235/112011. It is the fourth in a series of five items on the Persian Gulf.The main correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Augustus Smith Le Messurier, Advocate General, Bombay; Commodore Sir Robert Oliver, Superintendent of the Indian Navy; and Gregor Grant, Senior Magistrate of Police, Bombay.The item concerns the agreement made between the British Government and the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat for the ending of the export of enslaved people from the African dominions of the Imaum. It includes:A copy of the text of the agreement, made between the British Government and the Imaum of Muscat on 2 October 1845Questions surrounding the scope and application of the agreement, in particular how cases of seized vessels accused of carrying enslaved people are to be adjudicated.The item also covers the detaining in Bombay [Mumbai] of five vessels belonging to subjects of the Imaum that were seized in the Gulf, and the arrangements to be made for the fifty-nine enslaved people they were carrying. It includes:Copies of depositions taken from each of the enslaved people (ff 252-268), and tables containing their individual details (ff 270-273)The cases of five of the people rescued from the vessels, three of whom claim to be the wives of the Nakhodas [Nakhudas] of the detained vessels, and two of whom claim not to be slaves and wish to return to the vesselsConcerns about possible cases of smallpox among the enslaved people, and an investigation by the Medical Board of BombayThe release of the five vessels and the arrangements made for the enslaved people, the majority of whom are under the age of twenty. It includes offers presented by Thomas Carr, Bishop of Bombay, and Mahomed bin Ally [Muḥammad bin ‘Alī], an Arab inhabitant of Bombay, for their provisionA communication from Syud Thooenee bin Sueed bin Sultan [Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Governor of Muscat, regarding the above subject (f 281).The item contains a table of contents (ff 197-199), and the title page (f 196) contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft N. 294/48’, ‘Collection Vol: 4’, and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 196 and terminates at f 316, 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, minutes, resolutions, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. These political letters appear in IOR/F/4/2235/112011. It is the fifth in a series of five items on the Persian Gulf.The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; the Government of India; Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf; Captain William Lowe, Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; and Commodore Sir Robert Oliver, Superintendent of the Indian Navy.The item concerns the efforts to carry out the agreements made with the Imam of Muscat and the rulers of the Arabian coast of the Gulf for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people] in the Gulf. It includes:Discussions regarding the size of the naval force required in the Gulf to enforce these agreements, and the locations where it would be most effective for this force to operateReports, including from Hajee Yacoob [Ḥājjī Ya‘qūb], Government Pilot, of vessels carrying enslaved people embarking from MuscatThe problems caused by the exemption of Persian [Iranian] vessels and ports from the agreementsThe agreement made with the Ottoman Empire with regard to the ‘slave trade’ in the Gulf, and the unclear position of Koweit [Kuwait] in relation to this.The item also contains correspondence relating to items sent to the Resident in the Persian Gulf as presents for local rulers.The item contains a table of contents (f 318), and the title page (f 317) contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft N. 294/48’, ‘Collection Vol: 5’, and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 317 and terminates at f 355, 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, minutes and resolutions which are most likely to be the enclosures to extract Political Letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 1 December 1845 and 31 December 1845, copies of which can be found at IOR/F/4/2157/103838.The item relates to an agreement reached between Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and His Highness Said Saeid bin Sultan, Imaum of Muskat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Imam of Muscat, also referred to as the Sultan of Muscat] on 2 October 1845. The agreement relates to the suppression of the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people]. The item’s correspondents include: the Imaum; Captain Atkins Hamerton, HM Consul and the Company’s Agent in the Dominions of the Imaum of Muskat; and the governments of Bombay and India.In particular, the contents relate to:The different articles of the agreementDifferences in the translations of the agreementHamerton’s report to the Earl of Aberdeen, George Hamilton-Gordon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, providing details on his discussions with the Imaum in relation to the agreementAdditional articles suggested by the Imaum.Enclosures to the correspondence include: a copy of the agreement in English (ff 816-817); a copy of the agreement in both English and Arabic (ff 820-822); and a copy of the additional articles proposed by the Imaum in both English and Arabic (f 840).The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5410, Draft 786/46’, ‘Collection Vol: 2’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 812, and terminates at f 841, 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 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: This item consists of copies of political and secret letters from the Government of Bombay to the Court of Directors of the East India Company. The enclosures to these letters are contained in the subsequent items. It is the first in a series of five items on the Persian Gulf.The item concerns the agreements made by the British Government with the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat on 2 October 1845, and with the rulers of Ras-el-Khyma and Shargah [Ra’s al-Khaymah and Sharjah], Debaye [Dubai], Ejman [Ajman], Aboothabee [Abu Dhabi], Amulgaveen [Umm al-Qaywayn], and Bahrein [Bahrain] in April and May 1847, for the suppression of the ‘slave trade’ [trade in enslaved people]. It includes:The seizure on 13 September 1847 of five vessels belonging to subjects of the Imaum of Muscat carrying fifty-nine enslaved peopleThe need for an amendment to provide the Government of Bombay with the power to adjudicate on the vessels which have been seized under the terms of the agreementsThe positions of Persia [Iran], the Ottoman Empire, and Koweit [Kuwait] in relation to the ‘slave trade’ in the Gulf.The item also contains:Marine letters containing an extract from ‘An Account of an Overland Journey from Leskaira [Al Ashkharah] to Meskat [Muscat] and the Green Mountains of Oman’, by C S D ColeTwo letters from the Commissioners for the Affairs of India [Board of Control] to the Court of Directors. Included with these are copies of letters from Edward John Stanley, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and William Rothery, an advisor to the Admiralty, concerning the preparation of bills, to be submitted to the British Parliament, authorising Vice Admiralty Courts to deal with vessels captured under the above agreements, and suggesting that such powers also be granted to a tribunal at Bombay [Mumbai].The item contains a table of contents (f 124), and the title page (f 123) contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft N. 294/48’, ‘Collection Vol: 1’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 123 and terminates at f 148, 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 letters concern the 'slave trade' [trade in enslaved people] and, in particular, a new Act passed by the British Parliament relating to the trade, as well as reports on the trade being carried out in numerous places in and around the Persian Gulf.The first letter is dated 31 March 1849. Enclosures can be found at IOR/F/4/2343/123025.The second letter is dated 23 June 1849. Enclosures can be found at IOR/F/4/2343/123026.The third letter is dated 25 July 1849. Enclosures can be found at IOR/F/4/2343/123027.The fourth letter is dated 31 August 1849.The fifth letter is dated 3 October 1849. Enclosures can be found at IOR/F/4/2343/123029, which refer to the same incident described in the fourth letter.The item also contains enclosures to extracts of three Government of Bombay Political Consultations, dated from June and July 1849.These include:A letter from Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the Government of Bombay, dated 9 May 1849, in which he requests discretionary authority in cases relating to the 'slave trade'. He cites a recent incident involving a boat from Bussorah [Basra] and the Bahrein 'Chief' [Ruler of Bahrain].A letter from Hennell to the Government of Bombay, dated 21 July 1849, recounting a recent conversation he had with Sheik Ally bin Rashid of Ejmaun [Shaikh ‘Alī bin Rāshid al-Na‘īmī, Ruler of Ajman]. The conversation related to reports that subjects of the Imaum [Imām] of Muscat were permitted by the British Government to bring enslaved people from the African Coast.A letter from Captain Atkins Hamerton, HM Consul at Muscat, to the Government of Bombay, dated 4 May 1849, reporting that the 'slave trade' continues to be active, despite the convention currently in place between Britain and the Imaum.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', 'Draft No. 189 of 1850', 'Collection Vol: 1', and 'Examiner's Office'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 117, and terminates at f 127, 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, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. It is the fifth in a series of seven items on the trade in enslaved people (the others are IOR/F/4/2014/89996, 89997, 89998, 89999, 90001, and 90002). The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Major Atkins Hamerton, Her Majesty’s Consul and Agent in the dominions of His Highness the Imam of Muscat; Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden.This item concerns:Hamerton’s observations of the increase in the slave trade at ZanzibarHaines’s report of his rescue of a young enslaved girl named Shockowar at Aden, who had been conveyed there by Hadj Abdulla [Ḥājjī ‘Abdullāh al-Ḥabashī].The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 666, P.C. [Previous Communication] 4079, [Season 18]43’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 234 and terminates at f 242, 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: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. It is the seventh in a series of seven items on the trade in enslaved people (the others are IOR/F/4/2014/89996, 89997, 89998, 89999, 90000, and 90001). The correspondents are: the government of India and Bombay; Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Robertson, Political Agent in the Persian Gulf; and the Native Agent at Muscat [Khwāji Rūbin bin Aṣlān].The item concerns previous letters sent in the series about the punishment for engaging in the slave trade, and mentions that the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd] issued a notification forbidding the public sale of enslaved people in early May 1843.The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 666, P.C. [Previous Communication] 4079, [Season 18]43’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 256 and terminates at f 261, 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.