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'Italian Proceedings on the African Coast of the Red Sea.' [30v] (12/32)
The record is made up of 1 file (16 folios). It was created in 19 Sep 1881. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
12
“ are those of Turkey and Egypt, with whom it
" should rest to controvert in detail the arguments
“ by which Italian aggression oil territory claimed
“ as Egyptian is attempted to he justified.
“ Under existing cii*cumstances, however, Lord
“ Hartington sees no objection to an intimation
« being conveyed to the Italian Government, should
« Lord Granville deem this step necessary, to the
“ effect that, whilst Her Majesty’s Government
“ adhere to the opinion above referred to and
“ already communicated to the Ministers of the
“ King, they are content to waive further dis-
“ cussion of the question, as being now of little
“ practical importance, in view of the categorical
" and peremptory declaration of Signor Cairoli, in
“ his Note to Sir A. Paget of the 19th April last,
“ that no Italian Government establishment of a
“ military character will ever he formed at Assab,
“and that at no time will either troops or fortifi-
“ cations be maintained, either on the mainland or
“ on the islands in the Bay.”
A reply to General Menabrea, in the sense of
Lord Hartington’s views, was drafted in the Foreign
Office, and sent here for concurrence on the 14th
January 1881.* Attention was, at the same time,
drawn to the report of a project for the formation of
an Italian maritime and commercial port at Assab,
details of which appeared in an Italian newspaper
(“ L’Economiste ”), published apparently in Egypt,
and also to a telegram from Her Majesty’s Agent
and Consul General in that country, stating that he
had been informed confidentially that the Italian
Government had made a treaty with the Chief of
the district in the neighbourhood of Assab, placing
his territory under the suzerainty of Italy, and
containing an article for the suppression of the
slave trade. Lord Hartington’s opinion was asked
whether any notice should be taken of this matter.
In reply, it was recommended from this Oflicef
that the note to General Menabrea, the tenour of
which was in the sense of Lord Salisbury’s De
spatch to Sir A. Paget of the 7th February 1880,
should simply record the adherence of Her Majesty’s
Government to the conclusions expressed in that
Despatch, without repeating the arguments by
which they were supported; that reference to the
question of the Somali Coast outside the Straits of
Bab-el-Mandeb should be avoided; and that no
notice should be taken of the report received from
Mr. Malet, hut that the initiative in connection
therewith should be left to the Egyptian Govern
ment, or that of the Sultan.
Lord Granville concurred in this view, and the
reply to General Menabrea, which was addressed
to M. de Bessmann, the Italian Charge d’Affaires,
under date the 26th January 1881, was in the fol
lowing terms :— X
“ I have given my most attentive consideration,
“ in communication with Her Majesty’s Secretary
“ of State for India, to the memorandum which
“ His Excellency General Menabrea did me the
* Home ; No. 29.
t To Foreign Office, 20th January 1881
No. 29.
J From Foreign Office, 29th January 1881
No. 67.
About this item
- Content
A paper written in continuation of a previous memorandum regarding the Italian Occupation of Assab Bay [IOR/L/PS/18/B22], which brings the story up to date.
The first section describes the course of events at and around Assab from May 1880 to September 1881, including protests made by the Egyptian Government to the Italian Government at their purchase of the whole coastline around Assab Bay and the islands nearby, and an enquiry that followed the massacre of an Italian exploring party. This section concludes with two reports suggesting that, although the Italians had not made much progress at Assab Bay, they had shown their intention to get a foothold on the African continent.
The second section reproduces correspondence between the British, Italian and Egyptian governments, and between the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and the Foreign Office from May 1880 to September 1881. The correspondence relates to the purchase of land at Assab Bay by the Rubattino Company; Italian Government denials that the territory would be used for military purposes; attempts made by the Italian Government to legitimise their occupation of the place by encouraging the British Government to accredit a British Agent there, both for commercial purposes and for the purpose of co-operation in the suppression of the slave trade; and a British Government proposal that the Italian Government enter into a formal convention about the matter with the Egyptian Government.
The final section reproduces correspondence connected with a proposed disembarkation of Egyptian troops at Raheita to the south of Assab Bay; Egyptian appeals for a British warship to be sent to the area; Italian protestations that disembarkation at Raheita would constitute a provocation; and the British Government's re-affirmation that the sovereignty of the coastline at Raheita and Assab Bay belongs to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the Khedive of Egypt.
The paper is written by Arthur William Moore.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (16 folios)
- Arrangement
This file consists of a summary of historical events (ff 25-28), followed by two further sections reproducing correspondence (ff 28-36) and (ff 36-40).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at folio 25, and terminates at folio 40, as it is part of a larger volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Italian Proceedings on the African Coast of the Red Sea.' [30v] (12/32), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B22a, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100029480026.0x00000d> [accessed 6 June 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B22a
- Title
- 'Italian Proceedings on the African Coast of the Red Sea.'
- Pages
- 25r:28r, 29v:31r, 32v:34v, 36v:37r, 38r:40v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence