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Letter no.238 of 1856 from Commander Felix Jones, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to Henry Anderson, Secretary to the Government of Bombay [‎222v] (6/72)

The record is made up of 35 folios. It was created in 16 Aug 1856. 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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The letter and its enclosures relate to the results of the season’s efforts to suppress the slave trade on the Persian and Arab coasts. Topics covered include: willingness of some of the Arab Shaikhs to follow the new slave trade suppression treaty; resistance to measures on the Persian coast, and in particular at Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], as a result of antagonisms between British and Persian emissaries and the overhasty seizure of slaves by British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh; the relative power of British treaties over the rulers of the Arab (or Oman] coast, compared to the Persian coast; ambiguity in Government acts relating to the seizure of vessels in Persian waters; a request for money to improve the condition of freed slaves held at Bassidore.

The letter includes numerous enclosures, a list of which are included at the end of the letter (folio 223). The enclosures are as follows:

1. Letter no.180 of 1856 (folio 224) from Jones to Commodore Richard Ethersey, Commanding Officer Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Squadron, dated 2 June 1856, with instructions for the implementation of a new engagement to the slave trade treaties active on the Arab coast;

2. Letter no.196 of 1856, (folio 225) from Jones to Ethersey, dated 13 June 1856, relating to three slaves rescued by the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh;

3. Letter no.135 of 1856 (folios 226-30) from Ethersey to Jones, dated 24 July 1856, reporting on the efforts of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Squadron to intercept vessels carrying slaves, including a case in which doubts are cast over the status of two African boys retrieved from a vessel. The following enclosures follow Ethersey’s letters:

  • Extracts of letter no.1 of 1856 (folio 228) from Lieutenant Giles, Commanding the Falkland , to Ethersey, dated 17 July 1856, reporting on the patrol and searches of vessels;
  • The statement (folio 229) of a boy named Meerjohee, aged 13, ‘seized’ by the Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh as a slave, dated 24 July 1856;
  • The statement (folio 230) of a woman named Khyzrau, aged 22, ‘seized’ by the Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh as a slave, dated 24 July 1856;

4. Letter no.136 of 1856 (folio 231) from Ethersey to Jones, dated 24 July 1856, containing details of the 56 slaves currently held at Bassidore, and details of where they were sent from, their condition, and the erection of buildings for their accommodation;

5. Letter no.141 of 1856 (folios 232-33) from Ethersey to Jones, dated 25 July 1856, relating correspondence received from the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh (not enclosed);

6. Letter no.229 of 1856 (folio 234) from Jones to Ethersey, dated 9 August 1856, which is a reply to Ethersey’s letter of 24 July 1856 (folio 231), authorising costs related to the slave depot to be drawn 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. ;

7. Letter no.230 of 1856 (folios 235-38) from Jones to Ethersey, dated 9 August 1856, chiefly relating to the actions of the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh, and his rash ‘seizure’ of two slaves (folios 229 and 230), which was contrary to the Agent’s instructions, and threatens Anglo-Persian cooperation in the suppression of the slave trade. The letter ends with two references, which are extracts of earlier letters (1852 and 1853) from 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. , relating to the slave trade;

8. The translated purport of a letter (folio 239) from Shaikh Sultan bin Suggur [Sultan bin Saqr] to Jones, received 1 August 1856, reporting his orders to detain four vessels arrived at Ra’s al-Khaymah, along with their captains. Forty slaves were found on the vessel, which have been handed over to Hajee Yacoob [Hajjī Yaqoob], the British Agent at Sharjah;

9. The translated purport of a letter (folio 241) from Yaqoob to Jones, received 1 August 1856, reporting on his negotiations with Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr, and the latter’s reluctant transfer of forty slaves to his custody; a further seven slaves retrieved at Amulgavine [Umm al-Qaywayn], and the transfer of all forty-seven slaves to Bassidore;

10. Letter from Moolla Ahmed, the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh, to Hones, dated 26 May 1856, reporting on the retrieval of slaves, movement of slaves and demands made to the Shaikh of Bandar-e Lengeh for the handing over of slaves;

11. The translated substance of extracts from two letters (folios 244-46) from Moolla Ahmed, the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh, to Jones, dated 1 August 1856 and 24 July 1856 respectively. The letters relate to negotiations over the handing over of slaves at Bandar-e Lengeh, and the abuse suffered by the Agent at his failure to hand over a female slave seized prematurely, as referred to in the Jones’s letter (folios 235-38), and his retreat to Bassidore;

12. The translated substance of an extract from a letter (folio 247) from Moolla Ahmed to Jones, received 8 August 1856, relating the retrieval of two slaves in Bandar-e Lengeh, their despatch to Bassidore, and repercussions for the Agent;

13. The translation of a letter (folios 248-49) from the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh [Moolla Ahmed] to Jones, dated 8 August 1856, which forms part of an ongoing account of the dispute related to above, including the involvement of a Captain Campbell, and Shaikh Khuleefa [Khalīfah], the ruler of Bandar-e Lengeh, as mediators;

14. The translation of a letter (folio 250) from Jones to the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh, dated 9 August 1856, censuring Moolla Ahmed for his conduct in seizing the slaves in question, as opposed to having had them handed over to him;

15. The translation of a letter (folio 251) from Jones to the Shaikh of Bandar-e Lengeh, dated 9 August 1856, which is a warning that the Shaikh must do more to prevent slaves being imported into his dominions, and retrieve those that have already been imported;

16. The translation of a letter (folios 252-53) from Jones to His Royal Highness Prince Tahmas Meerza, Governor of Farsistan, dated 12 August 1856, containing an overview of the season’s efforts to intercept the slave trade into Persia; concession that many slaves have been brought into Bandar-e Lengeh; description of the efforts and actions of the British Agent at Bandar-e Lengeh;

17. The translation of a letter (folios 254) from Jones to Mirza Mahmood Khan, the Persian Slave Trade Commissioner, dated 19 August 1856, containing intelligence of slave trading activity to be acted upon;

18. The translation of a letter (folio 255) from Mirza Mahmood Khan, the Persian Slave Trade Commissioner, to Jones, dated 23 August 1856.

Folios 240 and 242 are blank sheets.

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35 folios
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English in Latin script
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Letter no.238 of 1856 from Commander Felix Jones, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to Henry Anderson, Secretary to the Government of Bombay [‎222v] (6/72), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/157, ff 220-255, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023736813.0x000046> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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