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'Précis on slave trade in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, 1873-1905 (With a Retrospect into previous history from 1852) By J A Saldanha BA, LL B' [‎18] (26/126)

The record is made up of 1 volume (63 folios). It was created in 23 Jun 1906. 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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i8
q Tn the majority of cases the advances are repaid in goods, and someti mes
It is well known that the Arab merchants employ these ad v ances as well f dvanc ^
and other merchandize as slaves. But when, after having rcc r ontrnl of the lender
at Zanzibar, an Arab leaves for the interior, he is no longer under the control^
and as in his eyes one investment is as legitimate as the o e , ou | d f eel bound by
lender to stipulate his abstaining from obtaining slaves.^ *0 Arab^
such a condition, and if an y dld enter ,nto 1 \ t , her V V0 "^ u o1 ^ RrW subiects who
J aithfullv observe it. Under the circumstances, the effect of holding British sub] » .
advance goo/s aid money to Arab merchants guilty of part.c.pat^ ,n the s ave- rade
would undoubtedly be to drive the legitimate trade of the East Coast of Africa e y
into the hands of Americans, Germans and others, over whom we have no c ,
should lose the trade and gain nothing.
10 Among the goods supplied to Arab merchants are muskets and powder, which are
undoubtedly used for capturing slaves in the interior, as well as is the defence o ie
merchants' persons and property. It must, however, be borne in mind that no one whohas
a rag to lose, much less a merchant with valuable goods such as are much coveted y
savages, can venture into the interior of Africa without means of defence. Moreover, the e
is an unlimited demand for these articles among the Negroes themselves, who often accept
them in preference to other goods in exchange for ivory.
11. But the share of the Banians in the trade of muskets and powder is that of mi'ddlemen.
The principals are the European and American merchants at Zanzibar, who order from their
respective countries the kind of articles required, and sell them to the Banians, who retail
them along with prints from Manchester, beads from France, mericance and dyed cloth trom
America, etc., yet little is said of these merchants in connection with the slave-trade, while
the Banians are constantly held up as criminal for their share in what is a legitimate branch
of trade.
12. It is not my object to defend the Baniaos. I know that they do not regard slavery
as a moral crime. Possibly there are a few among them who evade the law. But I do
think it hard for them to be persistently accused, without enquiry, of serious crimes in
general when they declare themselves to be innocent. They have no opportunity of
defending themselves, even if they know when and by whom they are accused. 1 will
cite a few instances to show how necessary it is to thoroughly investigate the whole subject^
Dr. Lhingstone has published it to the world that the men with whom supplies
were sent to him (in 1870 or 1871) from Zanzibar were slaves of Banians, and that
their masters were to receive all, and themselves not a cent, of their wages. Nor I have
satisfied myself that in this matter the Doctor was misinformed. In one of his published
betters he says :—" I had no idea before how blood-thirsty men can be when they can pour
out the blood of fellow-men in safety. And all this carnage is going on in Manjnema at
the very time I write. It is the Banians, our protected Indian subjects, that indirectly do it
all!" But on enquiry I find that from the regions west of the Tanganika, whence the
Doctor wrote, if any slaves come to the East Coast. In auother letter Dr. Livingstone
sa y S: —it is not to be overlooked that most of other trade, as well as slaving, is carried
on by Banians.
13. As to "most other trade" I have already stated what share of the trade of Zanzi
bar is in the hands of European and American merchants. If letters do not reach the Doctor,
it is the Banians who intercept and distroy them. But from what we have read of the
interior of Africa the wonder is that any letters reach him at all. Philanthropy is not
incompatible with justice, and it is the duty of the British Government to order a searching
enquiry into the whole subject, and punish severely those who may be found guilty, instead
of allowing the whole Indian community at Zanzibar to be execrated and reviled by the
world at the principal agents in the work of courage and kindnapping 01 Negro races.
14. His Highness the Rao of Kutch has requested 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. to
order enquiries to be made to ascertain which, if any, of his subjects at Zanzibar are really
guilty of that share in the slave-trade which Doctor Livingstone has imputed to them.
He is naturally anxious that the name of his country should not be mixed up, as it has of
late been, with this horrible crime. It is due to him that his request should be granted.
It has been stated by one witness before the Committee of the House of Commons that
domestic slavery prevails in Kutch; and a Bombay paper has informed the public that
Kutch is a centre of the Slave-trade. I beg to state that both these statements are simply
untrue.
15- ^ b®? to offer the following suggestions for the purpose of detecting and punishing
the crime of slavery and slave-trade among the British protected subjects among His
Highness'the Sultan's dominions
An enquiry into (c) suspected cases of holding slaves, and (£) business
transactions with Arab merchants.
2nd, resume of the law of slavery, with rules such as the result of the above
enquiry might suggest, to be printed in English and Guzerathi, and distributed
at Zanzibar and on the Coast.

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Content

This volume is a summary of events, treaties and correspondence about the suppression of slavery and the slave trade in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , curated by Jerome Anthony Saldanha, and printed in Simla in June 1906.

The volume is marked as secret and divided into chapters:

  • Measures for the suppression of slavery and slave trade in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , up to 1873 (ff 5-7);
  • Measures against traffic in slaves by Natives of India (ff 8-16);General measures taken for the suppression of Slave Trade from 1874 to 1905 (ff 16v-22);
  • Anti-Slave Trade Operations (ff 22v-30);
  • Runaway slaves at Gwadur (ff 31-34);
  • Trade in Baluchi slaves from Mekran to the Arab coast (ff 34-35);
  • Reception of fugitive slaves on board Her Majesty's ships of war and other British vessels (ff 35v-38);
  • Grant of protection to fugitive slaves on the Coast (ff 39-40);
  • Some questions of practice of courts (ff 41-45);
  • Miscellaneous questions and facts (ff 45v-48.

In Appendix, Reports on Slave Trade in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , 1852-1859 (folios 59-61).

Extent and format
1 volume (63 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'Précis on slave trade in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, 1873-1905 (With a Retrospect into previous history from 1852) By J A Saldanha BA, LL B' [‎18] (26/126), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C246, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023517342.0x00001c> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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