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‘File 5/65 I Question of disposal of emancipated slaves and proposal to check traffic between Muscat, Oman ports and Zanzibar’ [‎39r] (88/200)

The record is made up of 1 volume (95 folios). It was created in 18 Jan 1889-14 Jul 1905. It was written in English. The original is part of the 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. .

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s
J
PROCEEDINGS OF THE
TOREIGN DEPARTMENT, SEPTEMBER 1899.
Practice followed at Aden and Maskat in surrendering fugitive slaves. Pro
No. 2.
J'
9
A
P
peactice followed at aden^and^maskat in stjkrendehing puqi-
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. ,
London, 7tli July 1899.
Secret.
No. 32.
To His Excellency the Right Hon'ble the Governor-General of
India in Conncil.
M y L ord,
Slave trade : practice followed at Aden and
Maskat in surrendiug fugitive slaves.
have received and considered Your Excellency's letter No. 90, in the
Secret Department, dated the 11th of
May, relative to the surrender of fugitive
^ ^ ^51 offenders from the British settlement at
Aden, and the manumission of slaves at Maskat.
2. I observe that the Goyernment of Bombay report that the heinous
offences for which extradition is granted to Lahej are confined to offences enu
merated in the Foreign Jurisdiction and Extradition Act, and that the condi
tion referred to in paragraph 4 of my despatch No, 17 (Secret), dated the 22nd
of July 1898, is observed. Your Excellency in Council has agreed that the
practice, thus limited and defined, of surrendering criminals may be continued
in respect to offenders from tribal areas other than Lahej, and such sur
renders would, I presume, be granted only when a 'prima facie case had been
established to the satisfaction of the Resident. Your proceedings have my
approval.
3. I note that the practice in respect of the manumission of slaves at
Maskat is that now described by Major Fagan in his memorandum dated the
23rd of January 1899, enclosed in Colonel Meade's letter of the 19th of Febru-
ary 1899. Upon this I desire to offer the following observations. It is reported
that the practice inaugurated by Commander Haker has now been altered, and
that slaves who have taken refuge on Her Majesty's vessels within Maskat
waters will be sent to the Consulate. In connection with this, it is desirable to
call the attention of 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. at Maskat to section 99, et seq., of
the general instructions for the guidance of the Captains and Commanding
Officers of Her Majesty's ships-of-war employed in the suppression of the slave
trade. Those instructions are still in force and must be followed. With regard
to Major Pagan's description of the existing practice when a slave applies for
freedom at the Consulate, I understand that the Sultan's consent to the manu
mission of a new slave, in every instance, or to that of an old slave when the
Consul considers that a case of cruelty or inhuman treatment is made
out, would not be refused. I have thought it necessary to call the
attention of Your Excellence's Government to these points, because the
Sultan's consent may, under f e circumstances described in General Instruc
tions, paragraph 99, not be required at all, and in other circumstances will not
be refused.
I have the honour to be,
My Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient humble Servant,
GEORGE HAMILTON.
S E—SM—Sept, 1
No- 2.
; i
* >

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Content

The volume contains correspondence between Government of India officials and 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. of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , on the question of the disposal or repatriation of slaves manumitted in the Gulf region, in response to concerns from the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. over the potential social consequences of settling further Africans in the city (folio 5). British government officials in London and India discussed the practicalities of sending freed slaves to Britain’s possessions in East Africa, where freed slaves could be employed in the region’s agricultural plantations (folio 13 onwards).

In December 1897 Captain Hugh Daly, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, wrote 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 Malcome Meade), requesting him to liaise with Her Majesty’s acting Consul-General at Zanzibar, Basil Cave, to arrange for the dispatch of freed African slaves to be repatriated at Zanzibar (folio 23). A batch of correspondence from 1899/1900 documents the arrangements made by 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. (then Major Percy Cox) to send eleven liberated slaves to Zanzibar. Particular attention is paid to keeping the cost of the freed slaves’ passage back to Africa to a minimum.

The remainder of the file covers the period 1897 to 1905, and deals with specific cases of emancipated slaves being dispatched to Zanzibar, either from 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. in Bushire or the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Muscat. This includes a report written by 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. (Major Charles Kemball) in Nov 1902 outlining the numbers of slaves transported over a two year period (1900-1902) from Muscat to Zanzibar, including method and cost of transport (folio 82).

Extent and format
1 volume (95 folios)
Arrangement

The papers in the volume are arranged in rough chronological order, running from earliest at the front of the volume, to latest at the rear.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume has been foliated with a small circled number in the top-right corner of each front-facing page, beginning with the front cover and running to the last folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘File 5/65 I Question of disposal of emancipated slaves and proposal to check traffic between Muscat, Oman ports and Zanzibar’ [‎39r] (88/200), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/200, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023213314.0x000059> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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