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

IOR/R/15/1/209

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The record is made up of 1 volume (277 folios). It was created in 30 Mar 1931-26 Jun 1936. 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. .

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Content

The volume is comprised of correspondence related to twenty-four manumission or other slave-related cases, received by the Political 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. from the Political Agents at Bahrain, Sharjah and Muscat. The majority of the cases are of a straightforward nature. The Political 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. received the manumission statement of a slave from one of the Agencies, and 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. Staff authorise the slave’s manumission in return correspondence, based on the 1913 Guidelines for Manumission.

A number of other slave-related cases arise from exceptional circumstances. In May 1933 the Senior Naval Officer (Captain Denison) on board H.M.S. Bideford , and moored over half a mile off Dubai, reporteds 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 Trenchard-Fowle) that a slave had boarded his vessel after making a hazardous swim from the coast (folio 91). In his statement the slave claimed that the previous year he had sought refuge with 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 in Sharjah (‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif), who sent for the slave’s owner. The slave was returned to his owner in return for a fee paid to the Agent (folio 93). Similar accusations against 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 were made by slaves at the British Consulate in Addis Ababa in August 1933. The Consulate 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. , to ask if the claims of slaves seeking refuge being handed back to their owners were true.

Throughout the spring and summer of 1935 the Secretary 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. sent a series of letters to 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 in Sharjah requesting information on the status of a number of slave manumission cases. Having received no reply the Secretary wrote on 5 August 1935 that 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 “may furnish me with an early explanation of the long delay experienced and to report at the same time, the result of the action which you promised to take” (folio 232). No correspondence from ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif was forthcoming. Later, on reference was made in a letter of 8 October 1935 from the Acting 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 in Sharjah to the Secretary 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 the recent death of ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif.

Extent and format
1 volume (277 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged by manumission cases, of which there are 24 in total. At the front of the volume (ff.3-4) is a handwritten index which lists the names of the slaves requesting manumission in each of the cases. Each manumission case can involve one or more slaves. The cases are arranged in rough chronological order, with the earliest case as number 1 at the front of the volume, and the latest as number 24 at the end of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the last page with pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each front-facing page. Blank pages are not included in this foliation.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
Type
Archival file

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/15/1/209
Former external reference(s)
A series: 5/168 V

History of this record

Date(s)
30 Mar 1931-26 Jun 1936 (CE, Gregorian)
Context of creation

Slaves on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. could apply to 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 in Sharjah for manumission. The Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. was required to send manumission requests 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. , along with their recommendation, for the Resident's final decision. Staff at the Political 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. follows the Guidelines for Manumission, drawn up by previous 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 1912.

People & organisations
'Īsá bin 'Abd al-Latif

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‘File 5/168 V Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/209, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/annos/search/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0000b6> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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