'Book 141 1844-1849' secret letters inward
IOR/R/15/1/101
227 items in this record
Search within this record
The record is made up of 1 file (111 folios). It was created in 13 Feb 1843-14 Dec 1848. It was written in English and Arabic. 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. .
About this record
- Content
The file contains letters 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. at Bushire, from 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. , between 1843 and 1848. Some correspondents address him as Major Hennell rather than Captain Hennell. A few of the letters received in 1843 are addressed instead to Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, the 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 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. , during the absence of Captain Hennell.
Most letters received between 1846 and 1848 are from Arthur Malet, 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. . Letters received between 1843 and 1846 are from J P Willoughby and other secretaries 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. .
The letters contain information, guidance and instructions from the Governor in Council of Bombay. The letters often contain or enclose separately, copies of pertinent correspondence between other British officials, including: the Governor General of India in Council, Calcutta; Captain Atkins Hamerton, 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 the dominions of the Imam of Muscat, based in Zanzibar; the Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. of the Court of Directors The London-based directors of the East India Company who dealt with the daily conduct of the Company's affairs. of the East India Company, London; Lord Aberdeen and his successor Lord Palmerston, as British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London.
All file correspondence is in English, except for one letter from the Imam of Muscat to the Governor General of India, dated January 1846, for which there is an Arabic copy as well as an English translation (folios 32-34).
The letters and their enclosures discuss events in East Africa and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. between 1843 and 1848 and the implications for British foreign policy, relations and interests in the region. The main topics discussed are the suppression of the maritime slave trade, the actions of the Imam of Muscat and the Chief of Bahrain and the territorial ambitions of Turkey and Persia, as follows:
- Legal opinion about the liability of British subjects to incur penalties for entering into slave transactions in Muscat, under the anti-slavery provisions in the treaties of 1822 and 1839 between Great Britain and the Imam of Muscat, 1843 (folios 2-7);
- Measures by the Imam of Muscat to prohibit the African slave trade between his East African ports and his ports in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , 1846-1847 (folios 35-37);
- British response to the plans of the Imam of Muscat to invade Bahrain, 1845 (folios 19-21), blockade the Persian port of Bushire, 1846-1847 (folios 31-34, 38-39, 51-53) and take retaliatory measures against Persian ports and vessels, following Persian oppressions against his Governor of Bunder Abbas and other of his dependencies in Persia, 1848 (88-92, 95-99, 110);
- British cooperation with Turkey and Persia for the suppression of the maritime slave trade, following the prohibition by their rulers, on the importation of African slaves into the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ports under Turkish and Persian control respectively, 1847-1848 (folios 49-50; 74-78; 82, 101-105);
- Legal opinions and naval instructions 1847-1848, about the powers of British naval ships and courts in India to seize, condemn and confiscate African slave ships intercepted in the ports and seas of East Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , under the terms of the treaties concluded by the British Government with the Imam of Muscat in 1845 and the Arab Chiefs of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. in 1847 (folios 54-57, 63-65, 69-73, 84-87, 106-109);
- British intentions to negotiate new trade and anti-slavery treaties, 1847-1848, with the Arab Chiefs of Bahrain (folios 76, 82, 93-94) and Sohar (folio 100) in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;
- British suspicions about Turkish ambitions to supremacy over Bahrain and other Arab sheikdoms on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , 1847 (folios 62, 74-78), British resistance to Persian involvement in the disputes between the rival Arab chiefs claiming sovereignty of Bahrain, 1844 (folios 11-18), an English translation of the claim advanced by the Persian Government to the sovereignty of Bahrain and an assessment of its legal validity by the Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. of the Court of Directors The London-based directors of the East India Company who dealt with the daily conduct of the Company's affairs. of the East India Company in London, 1845 (folios 22-30);
- Opinion of Lord Palmerston, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London that British naval ships operating in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. do not have the right to pursue and seize pirates beyond the Restrictive Line, into the Euphrates and other rivers in Turkey, or to detain them in the open sea for offences committed within Turkish limits, 1847-1848 (folios 45-48; 58-62; 74-78);
- Approval by Lord Palmerston, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London given for the use of British naval ships to defend Bahrain, at the request of its chief, Sheik Mahomed bin Khuleefa, in the event of an attack by disaffected members of the Uttobee tribe, who had left Bahrain and sought refuge on the island of Kenn, near the Persian coast, 1847-1848 (folios 66-68, 79-81, 83).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (111 folios)
- Arrangement
The letters are arranged chronologically. Many letters incorporate copied extracts from earlier letters or enclose them separately.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: numbered 2 to 112, from the front to 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. The back of the file cover is unnumbered.
Present in the file are remnants of earlier foliation and pagination sequences, written in ink. Most folios have been numbered twice, usually on both 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'. , in the top right or left hand corner respectively. The main numbering system runs from 15 to 356, with gaps, from the front to the back of the file. The other main numbering system is made up of multiple sequences between 100 and 500, in no particular order. The blank verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. of any folio is usually unnumbered.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
- Type
- Letter book
Archive information for this record
- 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/15/1/101
- Date(s)
- 13 Feb 1843-14 Dec 1848 (CE, Gregorian)
Access & Reference
History of this record
Related search terms
- Subjects
- Naval operationsSlave tradeTreaties
- Places
- Eastern Africa
- People & organisations
- Government of Persia, Qajar dynastyKing of Bahrain
Use and share this record
- Share this record
- Cite this record in your research
'Book 141 1844-1849' secret letters inward, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/101, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x00004a> [accessed 19 March 2024]
- Link to this record
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x00004a
- IIIF details
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x00004a/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/101
- Title
- 'Book 141 1844-1849' secret letters inward
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:53r, 54r, 53v, 54v:112v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence