'File 5/168 VIII Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases'

Content

The volume contains correspondence relating to in excess of 100 manumission requests heard by 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 ('Abd al-Razzaq Razuqi). The manumission statements were 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. for reference purposes only, all decisions on manumission cases in Sharjah now being made by the 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. in Bahrain. The vast majority of manumission cases are straightforward requests for manumission from slaves, employed as domestic servants and pearl divers, on the grounds of ill-treatment, being given insufficient earnings from pearling, or the fear of being sold to another owner. A few isolated cases are more complex, and involve the kidnap or sale of individuals. In such 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 wrote to the shaikh in whose dominions the incident took place, requesting action and reminding him of his obligations in relation to the historic slave trade treaties signed by his predecessors. In one instance 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 sent a letter to the Shaikh of Ajman [Rashid bin Humaid], demanding his intervention. Shaikh Rashid retrieved the kidnapped woman in question, but demanded sixty rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. from her family to cover the costs associated with the woman's restoration. The family were warned by the Shaikh to leave Ajman, in light of the debt not being paid.

The manumission statements show that an increasing proportion of female slaves were being manumitted on the grounds that they understood that they were to be sold (which would constitute a trade in slaves; an illegal act). Pearl divers represented a significant proportion of those men seeking manumission, often on the grounds of insufficient earnings being given to them by their masters.

Extent and format

1 volume (203 folios)

Arrangement

Correspondence within the volume is grouped by manumission cases, or subjects. Many of these manumission subjects involve two or more slaves. Each subject has its own handwritten cover sheet. The index does not refer to page numbers/folios. The volume begins with subjects from 1939 arranged in chronological order, before going on to 1941 subjects, then returning to 1940 subjects. At the beginning of the volume (ff 3-5) is a handwritten index, which lists the manumission subjects from 1 to 28. Subjects 15 to 23 are missing, and the actual contents of the file go beyond subject 28, up to 40. The names of slaves listed on the title page do not correspond consistently to names of slaves in the subjects.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 203; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.

Written in

English in Latin 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/15/1/212

Former external reference(s)

A series: 5/168 VIII

History of this record

Date(s)

6 Jul 1939-13 Dec 1940 (CE, Gregorian)

Context of creation

Manumission cases were judged according to the guidelines for manumission first issued by the Bushire 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. in 1913 [IOR/R/15/1/234], and updated and reissued in August 1938 [IOR/R/15/1/215/127-29]. From the mid-1930s, British policy towards slavery in the Gulf region was under scrutiny from the League of Nations Committee on Slavery, the result of which being that British officials in the Gulf issued manumission certificates to slaves, irrespective of whether they were domestic slaves (household servants) or had been born into slavery; situations that the British Government in the Gulf had hitherto not directly involved itself with, because their concern had been with the trade in slaves, and not slavery in itself.

Subjects

Indentured labourConcessionsPearl industry and trade

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'File 5/168 VIII Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/212, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0000b9> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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