'Slave-dealing and Slave-holding by Kutchees in Zanzibar' [‎113r] (14/63)

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No. 23 of 1860.
Political Department.
Lieutenant-Colonel C. P. Rigby , Her Majesty's Consul and British Agent, Zanzibar,
to H. L. Anderson , Esq., Secretary to Government, Bombay.
Sir, Zanzibar, 28th March 1860.
1 have the honour to report, for the information of the Right Honourable
the Governor in Council, that, during the north-east monsoon just past, a very
unusual number of boats and buttelas, belonging to the piratical tribes of the coast
of Oman and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , have visited Zanzibar and the ports on the east
coast of Africa.
2. At the port of Mombass, Arabs of these pirate tribes commenced stealing
the slaves and children of the inhabitants to such an extent that the latter rose
and attacked them, and several lives were lost.
3. At Chak Chak, the port of the island of Pemba, about 15 large boats filled
with Sooree and Joasmee pirates remained for several days plundering the country,
and were only deterred from plundering the town of Chak Chak by the timely
arrival of one of His Highness's ships of war.
4. On the 23d ultimo, the Nakhoda of a buggalow Large trading vessel. reported to me, that, whilst
on his passage from Bombay under English colours, soon after leaving Mombass,
his buggalow Large trading vessel. was chased by six pirate boats belonging to the Joasmee Arabs, and
that in endeavouring to evade them, his buggalow Large trading vessel. was run on the Waseen rocks
and lost, together with most of the crew and passengers.
5. I immediately informed His Highness of this circumstance, and he at once
despatched his ship 44 City of Poona " to Waseen, with 200 soldiers ; it was the
fortunate arrival of this vessel at Chak Chak, which prevented that place being
plundered.
6. These pirate boats leave their own coast just at the commencement of the
north-east monsoon, and arrive at Zanzibar during the months of December,
January, and February; they leave the coast of Africa to return north with the
commencement of the south-west monsoon about the middle of March j each boat
is crowded with armed men, they bring nothing for sale, and they take no cargo
back, in fact, the boats are so filled with men that they could not possibly carry
any cargo. Their sole object in coming to this coast is to procure slaves, either
by kidnapping or by clandestine sale.
7. During the time these northern Arabs are here, Zanzibar resembles a city
with a hostile army encamped in its neighbourhood, every person who is able
to do so sends his children and young slaves into the interior of the island for
security, people are afraid to stir out of their house after dark, reports are daily
made of children and slaves kidnapped, and in the suburbs of the town they
even enter the houses and take the children away by force.
8. Last month an African boy, who had been emancipated from slavery by me,
was stolen from the house of a German merchant adjoining the British Consulate,
and the little daughter of the havildar Custodian; police sergeant; jail or prison guard. of peons at the Consulate was also stolen.
Sooree Arabs have been found carrying kidnapped children through the public
streets in large baskets during the day, their mouths being gagged to prevent their
crying out. So little dependence can be placed on any of the Sultan's officials to stop
this atrocious system, that I have been informed that a confidential Turkish Jemadar,
who was placed in charge of a body of soldiers to patrol the sea-shore at night,
actually himself sold 62 children to the northern Arabs, whilst thus employed.
9. I have repeatedly urged His Highness to take measures to put a stop to
the outrages of these northern Arabs, by directing his soldiers to patrol the streets
and sea-shore at night, and by ordering the Commanders of his ships of war to
search boats and dhows in the harbour; I have myself frequently discovered slaves
on board northern boats, and on reporting it to His Highness he has at once
ordered them to be re-landed. On one occasion it was discovered that 40 slaves
were in a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. about to sail, and it was ascertained that they had been secretly
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