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'Italian Proceedings on the African Coast of the Red Sea.' [‎30r] (11/32)

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The record is made up of 1 file (16 folios). It was created in 19 Sep 1881. It was written in English and French. 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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2b
r r finii iirmTTiri urimuji lirnr inrnitifii ai
ay 1880, p. 31.
22nd June 1880;
* Home ; No. 454.
f Memorandum, 14th May 1880, p. 28.
11
“ devolved upon them, . . . whilst the autho
rity of the Sultan of Turkey, and consequently
that of the Khedive, over Assab Bay, was contro-
“ verted altogether.”
The question received very full consideration in
this Office, and ultimately the views of the Secre
tary of State for India were expressed in a letter
from Sir L. Mallet, dated the 27th October 1880,
as follows :—*
“ Bord Hartington’s opinion, it would be of
“ doubtful policy to engage in a controversial dis-
“ cussion with the Italian Government of the nature
“ which appears to be invited by General Menabrea’s
“ Memorandum and Signor Cairoli’s Note to Sir
“ A. Paget of the 19th April, with the appended
“ pro memorid.
“ Those documents are entirely based upon ex-
“ tracts from the Abyssinian Blue Book of 1868,
“ which are quoted in support of the contention
“ that, upon various occasions between the years
“ 1846 and 1862, the British Government or its
“ Agents expressed opinions adverse to the title of
“ the Porte to sovereignty over certain districts
“ along the African coast of the Red Sea.
“ How far the extracts in question, if read in
“ connection with their context, support the
“ position taken up by the Italian Government,
“ may perhaps be open to argument. An examina-
“ tion of the Blue Book will show r that passages
“ might be quoted tending to prove that, whatever
“ abstract views may have been expressed by
“ British authorities, Turkish or Egyptian occupa-
“ tion of the principal points along the coast, as
“ far south as Zeyla, had by 1862 become an
“ accomplished fact, so much so that the Resident
“ at Aden (Sir W. Coghlan), writing to the Govern-
41 ment of Bombay on the 23rd May 1862, described
“ the Hankali coast—which is now immediately in
“ question—as ‘ an integral portion of the Turkish
“ ‘ dominions,’ the revenues of its chief ports being
“ annually farmed out by the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of Yemen. Be
“ that as it may, it is scarcely open to question that,
“ between 1862 and 1870, the Egyptian authority
“ along the coast had become generally established,
“ although there may have been isolated points,
“ such as Assab Bay, where it was not effectively
“ asserted, and where the local Sheikhs might pro-
“ fess independence when it seemed to be their
“ interest so to do.
“ Lord Hartington would, therefore, suggest that,
“ without entering into a discussion of the validity
“ of the argnments adduced by General Menabrea
“ and Signor Cairoli, the reply to the Italian
“ Ambassador should substantially adhere to the
“ view put forward in the Marquis of Salisbury’s
“ Despatch to Sir A. Paget, No. 51, of the 7th
“ February last.f
“ An additional reason for wording the reply to
“ the Italian Ambassador in very general terms ap-
“ pears to Lord Hartington to be furnished by the
“ fact that the Governments primarily concerned

About this item

Content

A paper written in continuation of a previous memorandum regarding the Italian Occupation of Assab Bay [IOR/L/PS/18/B22], which brings the story up to date.

The first section describes the course of events at and around Assab from May 1880 to September 1881, including protests made by the Egyptian Government to the Italian Government at their purchase of the whole coastline around Assab Bay and the islands nearby, and an enquiry that followed the massacre of an Italian exploring party. This section concludes with two reports suggesting that, although the Italians had not made much progress at Assab Bay, they had shown their intention to get a foothold on the African continent.

The second section reproduces correspondence between the British, Italian and Egyptian governments, and between the 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. and the Foreign Office from May 1880 to September 1881. The correspondence relates to the purchase of land at Assab Bay by the Rubattino Company; Italian Government denials that the territory would be used for military purposes; attempts made by the Italian Government to legitimise their occupation of the place by encouraging the British Government to accredit a British Agent there, both for commercial purposes and for the purpose of co-operation in the suppression of the slave trade; and a British Government proposal that the Italian Government enter into a formal convention about the matter with the Egyptian Government.

The final section reproduces correspondence connected with a proposed disembarkation of Egyptian troops at Raheita to the south of Assab Bay; Egyptian appeals for a British warship to be sent to the area; Italian protestations that disembarkation at Raheita would constitute a provocation; and the British Government's re-affirmation that the sovereignty of the coastline at Raheita and Assab Bay belongs to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the Khedive of Egypt.

The paper is written by Arthur William Moore.

Extent and format
1 file (16 folios)
Arrangement

This file consists of a summary of historical events (ff 25-28), followed by two further sections reproducing correspondence (ff 28-36) and (ff 36-40).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at folio 25, and terminates at folio 40, as it is part of a larger volume; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'Italian Proceedings on the African Coast of the Red Sea.' [‎30r] (11/32), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B22a, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100029480026.0x00000c> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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