‘File 5/187 I – Proclamation prohibiting slave trade’

Content

The volume contains copies of covering letters sent with copies of the 1873 Slave Trade Proclamation, which was reissued on an annual basis. The letters were sent by 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. staff to a range of British representatives around the Gulf, including the Political Agents (Bahrain, Muscat, Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , Consulates), representatives at the region’s telegraph stations (including Jask), and a representative of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company at Ganawah [Bandar Ganaveh]. The volume also contains numerous replies from recipients of the treaty, responding that they have posted or distributed it as requested.

The volume also contains two copies of the treaty (folios 93 and 148). The treaty is printed in five languages (English, Arabic, Marathi, Gujarati and Kanarese). In a letter of 1926 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Prideaux), 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 Kuwait (James More) notes the poor quality of the Arabic translation of the treaty. In response, Prideaux arranges for an improved Arabic translation be sent to him by More, for use on future reprints of the treaty. The revised translation is distributed for the first time in 1929. The two copies of the treaty enclosed reflect the ‘before’ (folio 93) and ‘after’ (folio 148) versions of the Arabic treaty text.

Extent and format

One volume (158 folios)

Arrangement

Arranged in chronological order, from earliest at beginning of file to latest at end.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to last folio, with small numbers in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . Folio number 7 is omitted, and that there are some instances where the reverse side of pages are numbered if they are written or printed on.

Written in

English, Arabic, Marathi, Gujarati and Kanarese in Latin, Arabic and Gujarati 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/15/1/214

Former external reference(s)

A series: 5/187 I

History of this record

Date(s)

18 Jan 1913-31 Jan 1938 (CE, Gregorian)

Context of creation

In 1873 the British Government issued the Slave Trade Act, which prohibited the maritime trade of slaves in waters policed by Britain, including those around the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The Government stipulated that the treaty be published each year in those places in which it was to be enforced, as a means of ensuring continued awareness to local populations. The treaty was translated into native languages to aid its wider dissemination.

Related material

Subjects

ProclamationsSlave tradeTreatiesSlave emancipation

Places

BūshehrAbū-ShahrHormuz Isle

People & organisations

Bahrain Political AgencyNative Agent, Trucial Coast, SharjahJames OrtonFrancis Warden

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Cite this record in your research

‘File 5/187 I – Proclamation prohibiting slave trade’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/214, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0000bb> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Link to this record

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