'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎15r] (34/180)

is.
19
The Oawasim, feeling perhaps how deeply they had committed themselves,
now indulged in a carnival of maritime lawlessness, to which even their own
previous record presented no parallel. In the Mughu anchorage, with the
connivance of the people of Mughu, they captured a Baghlah Large trading vessel. belonging to Saiyid
Sa'id of Masqat which was laden with remounts for His Majesty's 17th Light
Dragoons and with sulphur for the British Government. Six native vessels were
taken by them off the coast of Sind; and not long afterwards an action was
fought off Quryat between one of their fleets, consisting of a ship with 25 Baghlahs
and Batlls, and a squadron commanded by Saiyid Sa'id of Masqat in person. In
this encounter the Saiyid was wounded, while his flagship the " Caroline " was
boarded, and, but for an opportune discharge of grape from the poop among the
enemy's boarders crowding the forecastle, would probably have been taken. In
1815 a British Indian vessel was captured by the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. near Masqat, the
majority of the crew being put to death and the remainder held to ransom.
On the 6th of January 1816 the H.E.I. Company's armed pattamar " Deriah
Dowlut," officered and manned entirely by natives of India, was attacked by
Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. off Dwarka, and eventually taken by boarding. Out of 38 souls on board,
17 were killed or murdered, 8 were carried prisoners to Ras-al-Khaimah, and the
remainder, being wounded, were landed on the Indian coast. The entire armament
of the " Deriah Dowlut"' consisted of two 12-pounder and three 2-pounder iron
guns; whereas each of the pirate vessels, three in number, carried six 9-pounders
and was manned by 100 to 200 Arabs, fully armed.
In the same month a Qasimi squadron composed of 15 vessels, the smallest
pulling 20 oars, waylaid the H.E.I. Company's cruiser " Aurora " of 14 guns,
Captain Jeakes, while convoying down the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. a large Baghlah Large trading vessel. that
carried treasure for the ruler of Masqat. Though much incommoded by the
Baghlah Large trading vessel. , which she had in tow, the " Aurora " stood on through the middle of
the hostile fleet; and in the action which ensued she plied them so hotly with
grape and canister that several were sunk, and the remainder at nightfall drew off
baffled, and disappeared in the direction of the Arabian coast.
Not long after this, the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. pursued and fired at the American ship
"Persia"; attacked the " Macaulay " and the "Cintra"; and even plundered
a French schooner on the voyage from Mauritius to Basrah, though convoyed
by a ship of the same nationality. A few weeks later several other seizures were
achieved by the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. , among them that of a ship under the British flag, of
which the name was never ascertained; this vessel was taken by five pirate boats
and her crew and passengers were put to the sword. The H.E.I. Company's armed
boat "Turrarow" also fell into the hands of the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. ; and on every side
their captures and atrocities continued. Matters had now reached such a pitch
that Lieutenant Bruce, 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. , could not even obtain a boat to
carry a letter of remonstrance to Ras-al-Khaimah; most of the ports on the Persian
side to the south of Naband had begun to emulate the Pirate Coast to the best of
their ability; the Shaikh of Charak had attached himself to the piratical Qasimi
organisation; and 'Abdullah-bin-Ahmad, Shaikh of Bahrain, was reported to have
announced his intention of adopting piracy as the shortest road to fortune.
Matters were at length brought to a head by the capture in the Red Sea, in
1816, of three Indian merchant vessels from Siirat, which were making the passage
to Mokha under the British flag; of the crews only a few survivors remained to
tell the tale, and the pecuniary loss was estimated at Rs. 12,00,000. The pirates
were commanded on this occasion by Amir Ibrahim, a kinsman of Hasan-bin-
Rahmah, the de facto Shaikh of Ras-al-Khaimah. In this new and remote quarter
the offences by the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. had their beginning in 1815; and it was probably
about this time that, as tradition relates, they made cruel raids at various points
along the southern coast of Arabia including the Kuria Muria Islands and Hasik
on the mainland, both of which they left virtually depopulated.
The circumstances of the outrage upon the Surat vessels took some time to
investigate; but in September 1816, as soon as the facts had been made clear.
His Majesty's sloop " Challenger," 18 guns, and the H.E.I. Company's cruisers
" Mercury " and " Vestal," 14 and 10 guns respectively, sailed from Bombay for
the Gulf. The " Ariel," already present there, was meanwhile sent to
Ras-al-Khaimah to demand an explanation, and returned to Bushehr with a flat
denial, on the part of the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. , of their complicity in the Red Sea affair; to this
denial were subjoined the further curious justifications, that the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. had
promised to respect the lives and property of Christians only, not those of
idolatrous Hindus, and that in any case they could not recognise as native subjects
48533 f
Numerous
fresh
outrages by
the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. ,
1815.
Capture of
the " Deriah
Dowlut,"
January
1816.
Attack on the
" Aurora,"
January
1816.
Other
piracies,
1816.
Capture of
Surat
merchantmen
in the Red
Sea, 1816.
Reparation
refused.