‘Book No 157 Old Index From May 1847 To November 1849’ Vol 157 Secret letters outward [‎36v] (77/286)

Content

The volume contains copies of letters sent by Major Samuel Hennell, British Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. at Bushire, mainly to Arthur Malet, Secretary (later Chief Secretary) to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. in the Secret Department, at Bombay Castle.

Their correspondence discusses events in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. between 1847 and 1849 and their significance for British foreign policy, relations and interests in the region. The main topics of discussion are: anti-slavery measures and the ambitions of both the Ottoman Turkish Government and the Persian Government, to extend their influence and authority over Bahrain and other Arab Maritime Chiefdoms of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .

Many of the enclosures referred to by the Resident in his letters to the Bombay Government and others, are present in the volume. Copies of the Resident’s Arabic correspondence with British Government native agents Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. and ruling sheikhs, as well as his copies of correspondence between Ottoman Turkish and Persian officials, are in the form of English translations only and comprise:

• Letter of friendship from the Ottoman Governor of Bussorah [Basra] to Sheikh Mahomed bin Khuleefa [Shaikh Muḥammed bin Khalīfah Āl Khalīfah] the Chief of Bahrein, inviting the latter to put himself under the protection of Turkey (folios 10-11);
• Letter from Hajee Yacoob, British Government Pilot at Kharg [Khārk], reporting the intelligence gathering activities of Ottoman Turkish officials in Koweit [Kuwait] (folios 11-12);
• Letter from the Governor of Bunder Abass [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] enquiring about an alleged request made by the Imam of Muscat, to transfer to British protection, Bunder Abass and other lands in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. leased to him by Shah of Persia (folio 31);
• Letters from the British Government Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. at Muscat, reporting cases of public sale and purchase of slaves in the ports of Muscat, in contravention of the anti-slavery provisions of the Treaty of 1845 between Muscat and Great Britain (folios 36-38, 48-49);
• Letters from Mirza Abdool Jubbar [Mirza Abdul Jabbar], the Persian Consul at Bagdad [Baghdad] to Abdullah ben Ahmed [‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah] the former Chief of Bahrein, to Ali and Mahomed [Alī bin Muḥammed Āl Khalīfah and Muḥammed bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Khalīfah] the sons of the present ruler of Bahrein, Sheikh Mahomed ben Khuleefa about the desire of the Persian Government to establish its authority over Bahrein (folios 51-55);
• Letter from the British Government Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. at Shargah [Sharjah] reporting the renewed importation of slaves into Lingah, in contravention of the Imperial firmans (royal decrees) and orders issued by the Persian authorities, prohibiting the maritime slave trade in their ports on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (folios 61-62);
• Exchange of letters between the British Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. and Syed Soweynee [Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] Governor of Muscat, regarding alleged Persian aggression against Bunder Abass and other lands on the Persian coast of the Gulf, belonging to the Imam of Muscat (folios 66-68);
• Exchange of letters of friendship between the British Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. and Sheikh Mahomed ben Khuleefa, Chief of Bahrein (folios 74-76, 84);
• Exchange of letters between the British Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. and Sheikh Syed Humood ben Azan [Ḥamūd bin Azan Āl Bū Sa‘īd] the Chief of Sohar [Ṣuḥār] and the agreement with the British Government, signed by his son Syed Syf ben Humood [Sayyid Syf bin Ḥamūd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] on 22 May 1849, prohibiting the African slave trade in the ports of Sohar (folios 79-81).

The volume also contains copies of several letters from the Resident to: Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, British Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. for Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. at Baghdad; Lieutenant-Colonels Justin Sheil and Francis Farrant, British Minister Plenipotentiary and British Chargé d’Affaires respectively, at the Court of the Shah of Persia, Tehran; Commodore Hawkins, commanding the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The correspondence discusses similar topics, including the merits of seeking an extension of the anti-slavery orders issued by the Ottoman Porte, to allow for the confiscation of foreign Persian and Arab slave ships in Turkish waters, as well as native Turkish slave ships.

Extent and format

1 volume (140 folios)

Arrangement

The letters are arranged more or less chronologically. Most letters are either followed by copies or extracts from earlier letters that were enclosed with them or, are followed by a cross-reference to other pages in the volume, to see the enclosures mentioned. The index at the front of the volume (folio 2), which continues at the back of the volume (folios 134-135) provides a chronological list of the contents, including their original page number.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the contents are numbered 2 to 140, from the front to the back of the volume. The numbering is written in pencil on the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. , in the top right hand corner and encircled. Folios 42, 71, 87-133 and 136-140 are blank. The front cover of the volume and the inside back cover of the volume are unnumbered. This is the main numbering system and should be used for referencing this volume.

Pagination: the contents were originally numbered 1-101, 103-167, from the front to the back of the volume. Pages 78-80 and 136-138 are blank. The number 102 has been omitted, resulting in an unnumbered page between pages 101 and 103. The numbering is written in ink in the top right or left corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. and verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. respectively. Unnumbered pages: the index at the front and back of the volume and the numerous blank pages towards the end of the volume.

Condition: broken spine cover. Folio 26 and the unnumbered folio adjoining it have been stuck together at the corners. This does not obscure any text, since the inaccessible side of both folios is blank.

Written in

English in Latin script

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