![‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎123v] (86/114)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001a7/IOR_L_PS_18_B150A_0086.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎123v] (86/114)")
‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [123v] (86/114)
The record is made up of 1 file (55 folios). It was created in 1872. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Events in Zanzibar from the death of Syed Majid.
Majid under protest after the murder of Thoweynee, and subsequently in abeyance,
could only be dictated by personal motives on the part of those who ^ave them, and that
the two brothers might make a better arrangement, themselves. How far he has reason to be
satisfied with the results of his negotiations may be judged by the tenor of a letter from Syed
Toorkee that reached Zanzibar on the 15th instant .
The letter alluded to from Syed Toorkee was as follows ;
" After compliments,—* * * * * And we await with anxiety receipt of your letter, for we
are convinced that we are of one mind, and the bonds between us as of a building each support
ing the other ; but let us not give way to the whispers of those who would try to make differ
ences between us; let them not obtain their desire. Our unity will be for the best, and by the
Providence of God are endowed with a good discernment and clear understanding. *****
The Government of India desired that Colonel Pelly should be asked
whether he was aware what Syed Toorkee's views were with regard to the
subsidy, and whether there were in his opinion any grounds for believing that
there was a disposition on the part of Syed Toorkee to compromise the matter
with the Ruler of Zanzibar. Colonel Pelly replied—
" I have no reason to suppose that His Highness Syed Toorkee meditates compromising
the Zanzibar subsidy. He looks, I believe, to Government to provide that the arbitrament of
the late Lord Canning is carried into effect."— (Proceedings, Secret, October 1871, .Mw. 325-4)5.^
89. F rench opposition at Z anzibar. D eclaration on the part of
G reat B ritain and P rance to respect the independence of Z anzibar and
M uscat .—In a despatch to Earl Granville, dated 20th June 1871, on the sub
ject of the slave trade, and relating more especially to the capture of a
dhow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
by the Wolverene, Dr. Kirk wrote—
" Now, however, we had occasion to observe the deep-rooted hatred and jealousy of local
French officials to our proceedings for the suppression of the slave trade. These officials, who
indirectly give the great moral support to the slave trade in these seas, never lose an
occasion to create difficulties and put our acts in a false light before the natives and the
local authorities. On this occasion Mr. DeVienne addressed me a long letter, setting out
a variety of ways in which it seemed to him our acts for suppressing the slave trade were
direct attacks upon the independence of Zanzibar. To this 1 returned answer that I declined
entering into any discussion with him on such subjects, and thus closed the correspondence.
" Mr. DeVienne, who had in the morning without success been active in trying to excite
His Highness Syed Burgash to resent the search made by Her Majesty's Ship IVolverine, then
addressed His Highness a long Arabic letter, in which he urged him to resist our actions with
slavers as a direct interference with his independent rights, asserting at the same time that
England and France by an international convention, signed at Paris on the 10th March 1862,
were pledged to respect the independence of Zanzibar and Muscat. As I find no reference
elsewhere to any such deed, I would ask to be informed whether the French Consul has any
ground for asserting that such documents exist.
"His Highness, in reply to my enquiry, showed this letter of the French Consul, in order
to convince me that the action of the French Consul had been spontaneous and not asked for
by him."
It was not deemed necessary by the Government of India to take any
notice of this matter, which was simply reported to the Secretary of State.
The question indeed was hardly intelligible without certain enclosures, which
Dr. Kirk transmitted to the Poreiern Office only.— (Folitical, A, October 1871,
Nos. 126-29.)
It was not understood by the Government of India what convention was
alluded to by Dr. Kirk, but that officer subsequently {vide enclosure of Bombay
Government letter No. 2110, dated 9th April 1872) drew attention to a copy
of that convention in the Report of the Select Committee on the East African
Slave Trade (Appendix No. 4, page 304). He observed—" It seems to me to be
a most important document, fully authorising the Government of the one or
78
About this item
- Content
The file is a précis of correspondence related to affairs at Zanzibar between the years 1856 and 1872, prepared by Captain Philip Durham Henderson of the Foreign Department in the Government of India. The contents of the précis, which includes reports from Christopher Palmer Rigby, the British Consul at Zanzibar, and Sir William Marcus Coghlan, relate to: the death in 1856 of the Sultan of Muscat Syed Saeed [Sa‘id bin Sulṭān al-Sa‘id] without a direct heir; the succession struggle between Syed Thoweynee [Thuwaynī bin Sa‘id al-Sa‘id] and Syed Majid [Sa‘id Majid bin Said al-Sa‘id]; British arbitration in the dispute; succession arrangements at Muscat and Zanzibar; the slave trade between Zanzibar and Muscat. The précis is organised into six chapters (labelled I to VI), as follows:
- I – Events preceding the arbitration by the Government of India;
- II – Arbitration of the Government of India;
- III – Proceedings subsequent to the arbitration relating to the question of subsidy;
- IV – Events at Zanzibar from the arbitration to the death of Syed Majid;
- V – Events in Zanzibar from the death of Syed Majid;
- VI – Slave Trade.
The contents page lists four appendices (labelled A to D) that are not included in this copy of the précis.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (55 folios)
- Arrangement
The correspondence contained in the précis is arranged in an approximate chronological order, with those of earliest date (1856) at the front, and those of latest date (1872) at the end. The correspondence is further arranged into six chapters labelled I to VI. Subheadings throughout the précis are numbered from 1 (for the first subheading in chapter I) to 131 (for the last subheading in chapter VI). A contents page (ff 82-84) lists the chapters, subheadings and subheading numbers. Note that a discrepancy appears between the subheading numbers and the subheading contents in chapter VI.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 81, and terminates at f 137, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additonal foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-192; these numbers are also written in pencil but, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Pagination: The file also contains an original printed pagination sequence 1-105.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [123v] (86/114), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B150A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000057> [accessed 17 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000057
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000057">‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎123v] (86/114)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000057"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001a7/IOR_L_PS_18_B150A_0086.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001a7/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B150A
- Title
- ‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’
- Pages
- 81r:137v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence