'Book 140 1843' letters inward

IOR/R/15/1/100

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The record is made up of 1 file (33 folios). It was created in 29 Jul 1843-2 Dec 1843. It was written in English. 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. .

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The file contains letters received by Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Assistant 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. , who was in charge of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. at Bushire, from August to October 1843. Later letters were received by Captain 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. , following his return to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in November 1843.

Most of the letters are from British naval officers in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Squadron, reporting on maritime affairs along the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . Their letters contain naval patrol reports, local intelligence communicated by the British Government Native Agents Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. Hadjee Jassim and Moolah Hussein, stationed at Bahrein [Bahrain] and Sharga [Sharjah] respectively, also witness statements arising from investigations into two particular incidents, as follows:

  • Several naval patrol reports dated August, September, October and November 1843, from Lieutenant A Macdonald, commanding the East India Company schooner Mahi , from Lieutenant J S Draper, commanding the East India Company sloop of war Coote and from Commander J P Porter (Senior Indian Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ), commanding the East India Company brig of war Euphrates , mentioning outbreaks of tribal conflict and the state of relations between the sheikhs of Abothubee [Abu Dhabi], Amulgavine [Umm-ul-Kawain], Aymaum [Ajman], Bahrein [Bahrain], Brymee, Debai [Dubai], Sharga [Sharjah] and Ras–al Keyma [Ras Al Khaimah] (folios 2-3, 22-25, 27-28, 31);
  • Other naval reports dated September and October 1843, from Lieutenant J S Draper, mentioning chiefly the Pearl Bank fishery season; particularly the presence of a large fleet of pearl fishing boats from the island of Kenn [Kīsh] (folios 16-17, 21);
  • Special naval reports dated July and September 1843, from Commander J P Porter and Lieutenant A Macdonald, give a detailed account of their investigations into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the wrecked British merchant ship Mary Mallaby , which had sailed from Port Louis, Mauritius in May 1843 and run aground at the port of Bunder Abbass [Bandar Abbas] on the Persian coast of the Gulf, in July 1843, together with extracts from entries in the ship’s log book, transcripts of the oral testimony given by the ship’s crew and master, Captain C Fisher, and an English translation of the oral testimony given by the vizier of the Sheik of Bunder Abbass (folios 4-12, 18-20);
  • Special naval report dated December 1843, from Lieutenant J S Draper, giving a detailed account of the unusual circumstances surrounding the recent discovery of an abducted Indian slave girl living in Bahrain, together with an English translation of Lieutenant Draper’s letter dated November 1843 to the Sheikh of Bahrein, stating that the slave girl was currently under the protection of the British Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. , also English translations of the oral testimony given by the slave girl, her alleged brother, the widow of her Arab slave owner and the local Arab inhabitant who encountered the alleged brother on his arrival from Bombay in search of his sister (folios 29, 32-33).

There are also three letters dated August and October 1843, from: William H Litchfield, master of the East India Company schooner Emily about the sinking of the vessel to eradicate vermin (folio 15); Mr W J A Malcolm, a merchant in Bushire about his knowledge of the history of the struggle between Persian and Turkish authorities to control the frontier port of Mohamrah [Khorramshahr] (folios 13-14); Colonel Justin Sheil, the British Minister at Tehran, reporting his conversation with Hajee Meerza Aghassee [Haji Mirza Aghasi], the Persian Prime Minister about Persia’s intention to intervene militarily in the internal power struggle in Bahrain (folio 26).

Extent and format
1 file (33 folios)
Arrangement

The letters are arranged chronologically. Many letters incorporate copied extracts from earlier letters or enclose them separately.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: numbered 2-10, 11, 11A, 12-33, from the front to the back of the file. 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 corner and encircled. The front of the file cover is numbered 1 and the back of the file cover is unnumbered. Folios 10 and 11 are blank. The writing on folio 11A is on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. , not the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. .

As a result of a scondary and earlier foliation sequence, most folios are also numbered in ink as follows: 151, 156, 158, 160, 161, 163, 165, 167-169, 171, 185, 202, 204, 215, 217, 219, 221, 223, 225, 227, 232, 243, 244, 260, 261, 276-280.

Written in
English in Latin script
Type
Letter book

Archive information for this record

Access & Reference

Original held at
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.
Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference
IOR/R/15/1/100

History of this record

Date(s)
29 Jul 1843-2 Dec 1843 (CE, Gregorian)

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'Book 140 1843' letters inward, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/100, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000049> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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