'File A/2 II Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications'

Content

The majority of the file is correspondence relating to about forty-eight manumission applications, most of which were made at the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Bahrain. Some applications are made 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 at Sharjah, and forwarded to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Bahrain for submission 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. Other applications involve Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. slaves applying for manumission at the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Muscat. These applications were sent by the Muscat Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. to 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. at Bushire, from where they were forwarded to the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Bahrain for enquiries to be made at Sharjah.

Aside from the manumission applications, the file also includes printed copies of the Proclamation of the Slave Trade Act (1873), distributed annually around the British offices of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (folios 30-32, 215-217), and an Arabic copy of the Saudi Government's 1936 regulations regarding the slave trade (folio 178, with an English translation on folios 180-184).

Extent and format

1 file (349 folios)

Arrangement

Correspondence in the file has been arranged in a rough chronological order, from the earliest at the front of the file to the latest at the end. This chronological ordering means that correspondence relating to specific manumission applications is scattered through the file, rather than grouped together by application. There are office notes at the end of the file (folios 310-347), whose arrangement mirrors the chronological order of the file correspondence.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 340; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence between ff 303-348, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in

English, Arabic, Marathi, Gujarati and Kanarese in Latin, Arabic and Devanagari 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/15/2/1826

Former external reference(s)

Vernacular Office Files: A/2 II

History of this record

Date(s)

20 Dec 1934-27 Sep 1939 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Slave emancipationSlave trade

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'File A/2 II Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/1826, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000282.0x000231> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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