'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part II. J G Lorimer. 1915' [‎2498] (1015/1262)

3498
Inquiries made by Major Hayes Sadler, 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 Masqat, i® c ^ ar t
in 1894 showed that African slaves were being brought to Sur in vessels uesheam
belonging to the port, most of which flew French colours, and that the south-&
slaves were ordinarily landed at Sur itself; but the owners of the vessels ike vessels
had sympathisers at Ras-al-Hadd and other places, and, when British under
cruisers were in the neighbourhood, they were accustomed to receive ishe was a
timely warning and to disembark their cargoes at Jumailah or it MO sk
Lashkharah on the south-eastern coast, whence the gangs were then le Prencli a
marched overland to Sur. At this time the cargoes of slaves ordinarily id there
consisted of only five to ten negroes each, but they occasionally amounted W" wei
to 50 ; and the total number of slaves imported at Sur was estimated at iation of
300 per annum. The demand in the interior behind Sur was not great, i not slow
for the system of irrigation in the J a'alan and Sharqiyah districts did ion. He t
not demand slave labour; and the majority of the slaves were dander;
consequently re-exported in small vessels to the Batinah district of fertlieless, t
'Oman, where irrigation is mostly from wells, and where some of them > Nakhuds
were retained. The balance were distributed from Batinah to Trucial Meed to i
'Oman by land and to the coasts of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. by sea. The ibeewase
Jannabah tribe, who were deeply involved in the trade, now proclaimed Itfe
openly that their object in taking the French flag was to protect their ^
slaving operations ; and it had become clear that the only way to put an i^ascar an
end to the trade was to break up the Sur dep6t, and that the chief 'ili in
obstacle in the way of such a step was the attitude of France in regard 5 masters,
to her flag and the indifference of her local representatives to the opera
tions which it sheltered. Subsequent events thus corroborated is a Probably o
striking manner the opinion formed by Captain Dowding in 1885 ; and ler's seizin
Sur quickly attained a disreputable prominence in connection with the iters was aft
slave trade, not unlike that which Masqat about the same time began to An of t"
acquire as a principal emporium of the arms traffic. ^ reeeive(
In 1896 the traffic was in full swing at Sur and the slaves Jy '
re-exported thence were being sent chiefly to the port of Wudain in • ^
Batinah and that of Kalba in Shamailiyah, from the latter of^ which
they were frequently smuggled by Bedouin dealers across country into the ^
territories of the Trucial Shaikhs. ^in five'
Seizures by In 1896 seizures by the commanders of British war-vessels and
British Wftr " other authorities were resumed. In May, as related in an earlier i > ? the
y-JT etc ' , paragraph. Lieutenant Seville, 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 Masqat, himself ^ ^ t
captured a vessel with 28 slaves. A few days later H.M J 0 ablet
"Lapwing" took another carrying 14 slaves; and, on information ,
supplied by the British Consulate at Masqat, the Sultan's officials
rescued two recently imported slaves from a boat off Bandar Jissah. aves
Two seizures were next made by Commander Baker of H.M S. , e ^rad
"Sphinx/' a very energetic officer of the Royal Navy, J £ •'^Mren
cast fresh light upon the modus operandi of the Sur dealers and the • Ihese \
extent to which the protection of the French flag was being abused. , tor the
Cruising down the South-Eastern Coast of 'Oman the " Sphinx " fell m, Fr e
on the 23id of September 1896, with a Sambuk of suspicious appearance traders i]
named the " Salamah 39 ) she possessed French papers, but they were out ^ of tl
of date, and about 30 slaves were seen on board. Commander Baker ^ agai^ ] a
accordingly towed the Sambuk to Ras-al-Hadd and thence despatched J^derth
' ' % wao c