'File A/11 VI Slave trading on the Trucial Coast'

Content

The file contains correspondence and other papers relating to slaves' manumission applications heard at Sharjah. For each case, there is the initial correspondence, including the slave's manumission statement, sent from 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), followed by return correspondence from the Bahrain Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. confirming that a manumission certificate could be issued. Office notes at the end of each case briefly discuss the decision on manumission.

In all but two cases included in the file manumission was granted, usually on the grounds either of the slave's ill-treatment by their master, or the prospect of them being sold. In two cases, the British Agent refused manumission: first in the case of a woman who, according to the Sharjah Agent, had visited 'places of prostitution' (folio 122), and second in the case of a man who was alleged to be already free (f 129). The cases featured in the file are also detailed in the Bushire subject file IOR/R/15/1/212.

Extent and format

1 file (253 folios)

Arrangement

Correspondence in the file is arranged by cases, where each case involves the manumission applications of one or more slaves. Cases throughout the file have been arranged in chronological order, from the earliest case at the front of the file to the latest at the end.

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 83; 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. Three additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 118-123, ff 191-203 and ff 212-216; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. The sequence includes two foliation anomalies: f 29a and f 172a.

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/15/2/1855

Former external reference(s)

Vernacular Office Files: A/11 VI

History of this record

Date(s)

2 Jan 1940-9 Sep 1941 (CE, Gregorian)

Context of creation

During the period covered by the file, the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Bahrain exercised final judgement on manumission applications heard from the political agents on the Arab Coast, at Sharjah and Muscat.

Subjects

Slave emancipationSlave trade

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'File A/11 VI Slave trading on the Trucial Coast', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/1855, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000282.0x00024e> [accessed 18 April 2024]

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