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File 14/1 'Piracies & Irregularities at Sea' [‎69r] (137/610)

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The record is made up of 1 file (301 folios). It was created in 21 May 1907-10 Jan 1914. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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3
The same afternoon a helium from up the river also left Kuwait in the same
direction. This helium was manned by Kasba and Maniauni people.
It is presumed that there was collusion between the helium and the Doragh
sailor with Saleh al Hajri, who knew what his master was carrying.
On Wednesday the 29th a Bahrain boat sighted Hajri’s hoom at anchor in
13 fathoms of water and a w r ash off Ras Al Ijleiah (Qaliyah on map), went up to
it and found there was nobody on board, but there were some spent Martini
bullets on the deck, a few splashes of blood, and the boom stripped of her con
tents except a bag or two of dates and rice in the bottom. Her sailing and
other gear were intact but one anchor was missing and she had a small hole
stove in her bottom as also had the jolly boat belonging to her. They took the
sails and the joilly boat for identification purposes to Kuwait as they failed to
clear the water out of the hoom^ though several efforts were made. The Shaikh
then sent another boom to bring her in.
On arrival in Kuwait some more bullets were found embedded in the wood
work and her weather-board or gunwale on the star-board side smashed ap
parently having been charged down by the attacking bellum.
The Shaikh has sent off spies up river to try and trace if the bellum has
returned there and to find out if the Doragh sailor is still alive.
He also sent men on thaluls to search the beach as far as Ras Safaniya for
any bodies or clothing which may be washed ashore.
So far no trace of the men who sailed in the boom has been discovered.
I inspected the boom in Kuwait and saw the bullet-marks, smashed gunwale,
and hole in her bottom. She is a very old boat and the hole in her bottom looks
as it has been made with a crow*bar or some such instrument.
It is presumed the boojn was anchored for the night when attacked as the
spot at which she was found is not more than about 3 or 4 hours’ sail from
Kuwait.
Names of people in the pirated boom :—
Nakhoda ... ... Saleh al Hajri (owner) Kuwaiti.
Sailor ... ... Muhammad al Khargawi „
Nasir bin Adaliyah „
... Towfik Said Faiz ,,
... Zahid ibin Awayd of Doragh.
... Abdulla bin Uthman bin Paris, Kuwaiti.
... Fawaiz (a boy belonging to Abdulla bin
Asaf) Kuwaiti.
Passenger ... ... Muhammad al Moslawi, a Mosul mer
chant.
Name of Nakhoda of suspected bellum Saleh Akhu of Maniauhi.
(Sd.) W. H. 1 . SHAKESPEAR, Captain] LA,,
\0s
n
Enclosure No. 6.
Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kim ait.
Copy of a telegram No. 749, dated 24th July 1910, from the Resident, Bushire,
to the Senior Naval Officer H. M. S. Fox,” fask.
Your telegram of 19th re “ Redbreast.” Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait, reports bad
case of piracy with murder committed on Kuwait boom near Ras-al-Kaliya a
little south of Kuwait early in the month. Owing to blockade operations no
naval ship has been seen in north of Gulf for some months and I shall be glad

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Content

The file contains correspondence relating to the investigation and prosecution of nine cases of piracy by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait. These cases concern attacks by Arab, Persian and Somali pirates, mainly on Kuwaiti cargo and passenger boats, their passengers and crew, in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and off the coast of Somalia in East Africa, in breach of maritime regulations and peace treaties between Great Britain and her Protectorates which prohibited piracy. The main correspondents are all British officials: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. at Bushire and the British Vice-Consul at Lingah. The correspondence includes numerous witness statements made orally at the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Kuwait and written down in English. The majority of the witnesses are surviving crew members and the owners of the attacked boats, as well as merchants and passengers who lost goods and possessions in the raids at sea. There are several Arabic documents in the file: notes, lists of suspects and stolen goods, receipts and correspondence, including a few letters exchanged between the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait and the Ruler of Kuwait.

Extent and format
1 file (301 folios)
Arrangement

At the front of the file is a table of contents entitled ‘Index’. It lists each case of piracy according to the nature of the offence and where it took place, together with the folio reference on which the case papers begin. The folio reference given in the table of contents belongs to a superseded foliation sequence, which is written in pencil, but not circled. Each set of case papers appear in the file in chronological order, based on the month and year in which the act of piracy took place and the investigation began. Within each individual case record, the claim papers are arranged in approximate chronological order.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 303; 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 between ff 2-300; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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File 14/1 'Piracies & Irregularities at Sea' [‎69r] (137/610), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/51, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034951622.0x00008a> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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