‘File 5/168 IV Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases’

Content

The volume contains correspondence related to thirty-five slave-related cases or subjects, the majority of which deal with straightforward procedures of manumission. In these cases, the 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. Agent at Sharjah (‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif) wrote to the 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. at Bushire, enclosing a statement made by the slave(s), and advising whether he believed the slave (or slaves) should be manumitted. The 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. replied, informing ‘Īsá that he may do so.

Three subjects in the file are extraordinary in nature, as follows:

• Subject 9 is a manumission case involving a women who took refuge with the Resident Agent in Sharjah in 1926, with her four children. The woman claimed that she was originally a free person who had been enslaved with her four children. Included in the subject correspondence (folio 108) is a handwritten manumission certificate (in Arabic) given to the woman by her mother, stating that the mother and her children were free people. The certificate is a unique example in the Bushire Slavery subject files of a handwritten manumission certificate, given to a slave by their owner.
• Subject 10 contains letters written in 1925 to the 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. (then Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Crosthwaite) from the shaikhs of Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Ra's al-Khaymah and Umm al-Qaywayn (folios 120-23, 129). The letters were a coordinated response between the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. shaikhs, communicating their unhappiness about indebted slaves absconding from their boat masters, and the Political Resident’s perceived inaction on the matter. Each letter was sent to the 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. at the same time. The 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. responded by saying that he took the matter seriously, and requested the shaikhs to send details of absconding divers to him. The shaikhs of Dubai and Sharjah responded by sending details to the 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. of a number of divers’ balance books, that showed their level of debt and earnings
• Subject 30 documents an incident on the evening of 31 January 1931, when one-hundred armed men surrounded the 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. Agent’s house in Sharjah, demanding the return of a number of slaves. The incident was reported to the 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 HMS Hastings dispatched to monitor the situation. Testimonies identified the ringleader of the armed gang as an associate of the shaikh of Sharjah, Saqr bin Sultan. British officials gave the shaikh an ultimatum to deport the man to Aden. Refusal to do so would result in the shaikh having to hand over 2,000 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. and 100 rifles to British officials. The 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 the Senior Naval Officer in the Gulf agreed that refusal to do this could result in the town being bombarded (folio 373). The shaikh refused to deport the ringleader, and on the day of the ultimatum, he delivered up 1,200 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. and 60 rifles. This offer was refused by the Commanding Officer of HMS Hastings (389). Within hours of the ultimatum expiring the Shaikh delivered 2000 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. and 100 rifles, but was ordered to replace six rifles that were found to not be in working order (folio 395).

Extent and format

1 volume (469 folios)

Arrangement

Correspondence within the volume is grouped by manumission cases, or subjects, ordered approximately in chronological order from earliest at the front of the volume, to latest at the rear. At the beginning of the volume (ff.2-3) is a handwritten index, which lists the manumission subjects (with slaves' names) from 1 to 34. Some manumission subjects involve two or more slaves. Each subject has its own handwritten cover sheet. The index does not refer to specific page numbers for each subject.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume has been foliated from the cover sheet to the last page of writing, using pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . Each manumission subject has its own internal numbering system, also top-right of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. , expressed as page x of subject y.

Some pages in the volume were cropped when bound at a later date, meaning that text close to edges of papers has been lost, but not to such an extent as to be a detriment to readability.

Written in

English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

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/15/1/208

Former external reference(s)

A Series: 5/168 IV

History of this record

Date(s)

19 Feb 1925-18 Mar 1931 (CE, Gregorian)

Context of creation

The native 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. Agent at Sharjah, did not have the power to grant manumission to slaves seeking refuge at his office. All manumission requests had to be forwarded by him to the 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 Bushire. Manumission cases were judged according to the guidelines for manumission first issued by 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. Percy Cox in 1913 [IOR/R/15/1/234].

During the period in question the Gulf's pearling industry was in steep decline; a result of the introduction of cheaper cultured pearls from Japan, and a drop in the demand for pearls in the wake of the First World War. The decline of the industry, upon which the livelihood of the Trucial coasted relied, meant that many pearl divers earned an insufficient amount to support themselves, and steadily built up large debts. One means of escaping debt was to claim to be slave, and seek manumission from a British Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. .

Subjects

Pearl industry and tradeIndentured labour

Share this record

• Share on twitter
• Share on facebook

Cite this record in your research

‘File 5/168 IV Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/208, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/node/9440> [accessed 10 May 2024]

Link to this record

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0000b5

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_100000000193.0x0000b5/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Copyright: How to use this content