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'Egyptian Claims to Sovereignty over the Somali Coast.' [5r] (9/62)
The record is made up of 31 folios. It was created in 1876-1879. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
9
■pi'i.i iiiipui '
fyruwsm
On the 14th October 1874, Mr. Lister forwarded, for any remarks
Lord Salisbury might wish to make,
vT Foreign 0ffice > 14th 0c ’ copy of a Despatch, dated 15th Sep
tember, from Her Majesty’s Agent and
Consul General in Egypt, reporting his views on the question, in which
Lord Derby was inclined to concur. General Stanton recapitulated the
recent course of events, which showed that Berbera and the Somali
Coast appeared to have been for at least four years in the nominal pos
session of the Egyptian Government. At the same time, he had reason
to believe that Zeyla was not included amongst these possessions, and
was not under Egyptian administration, but was, on the contrary, still
administered by a Sheikh under the orders of the
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
of Hodeida, to
whom a certain annual tribute was paid,—a circumstance sufficient to
prove the weakness of the claim of the Egyptian Government to the
possession of these territories as dependencies of the province of Mas-
sowah. Without, however, entering into the question of the abstract
right of the Porte, General Stanton considered that the establishment
on the Somali Coast of a regular administration capable of suppressing
inter-tribal feuds offered more serious guarantees of friendly relations
with Aden than were afforded by the existing commercial treaties with
with the Sheikhs of Berhera, Zeyla, and Tajourra. The Egyptian
Government, so far as he could judge, desired to maintain the most
friendly relations with Her Majesty’s Government, and the fears ex
pressed by the Government of India that the occupation of Berhera by
the Egyptians would endanger the provisioning of Aden appeared to
him chimerical. By the commercial treaty in force between Great
Britain and the Porte, which was also at present binding on Egypt, the
export duty payable on the produce of the Ottoman Empire was only
one per cent, ad valorem, which was more advantageous to the residents
at Aden than the terms of the Zeyla and Tajourra treaties, which speci
fied a five per cent, duty on all produce. There was, moreover, reason
to believe that no objection would be raised by the Egyptian Govern
ment to Berbera and the other ports on that part of the African Coast
being declared free ports, as in the treaty concluded with the Habr Owul
tribe.
General Stanton doubted whether Egyptain occupation of the coast
would have the disastrous effect with reference to the slave trade, antici
pated by some ; on the contrary, it would, he imagined tend rather to
the suppression of the traffic in those regions by the substitution, for the
present divided authority, of a strong Government which could be held
responsible for the acts of its subjects and for the due performance of its
treaty obligations in the matter. Nor did he see any reason to suppose
that traders in general would be either discouraged or oppressed or that
monopolies would be set up. The recognition of Egyptian right to the
coast would also prevent any attempts at occupation by other powers,
and, though it was not for him to judge whether such an occupation
might prove detrimental or otherwise to British interests, it might,
he thought, be assumed that the Egyptian Government would be
more ready to listen to and act on the representations of Her
Majesty’s Government, and to give greater trading facilities to Her Ma
jesty’s subjects, than other powers who might possibly become possessed
of that country, in the event of the Egyptain claim being disallowed.
Under these circumstances, General Stanton recommended that, “ both
“ for political and commercial reasons, as well as with a view to the
“ suppression of the East African slave trade, the right of the Egyptian
“ Government to the Somali country should be recognized by Her Ma-
“ jesty’s Government, under the conditions that Berbera and the other
“ ports on the coast should be declared free, that facilities should be
“ given for opening up commercial relations between Abyssinia and the
“ Egyptian ports, and that the Egyptian Gouernment should enter into
17641. C
About this item
- Content
A historical memorandum relating to Egyptian claims to sovereignty over the Somali coast, written by A W Moore, Assistant Secretary to 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. , in two parts, submitted 26 February 1876 and 11 October 1879.
The first part of the memorandum provides a historical narrative of events leading from the discovery in June 1870 of an Egyptian warship at Berbera on the Somali coast, with consequent suspicions that the Egyptian Government wished to occupy that place, up to the production of a draft Somali Coast Convention in 1876. The memorandum reproduces correspondence between the Resident at Aden, the Secretary of State for India, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in which the authors consider the impact of Egyptian and Turkish influence at Berbera on British trade interests at Aden; on the independence of local Somali tribes; and on British efforts to suppress the slave trade. The memorandum also includes the terms by which HM Government agree to recognise Egyptian sovereignty.
Appendices to the first part of the memorandum reproduce several 'Treaty Relations with Tribes on the African Coast' and 'Geographical Notes'.
The second part of the memorandum opens with an account of events which preceded the signing in 1877 of the Somali Coast Convention by the British Government and by the Egyptian Khedive, describing the Khedive's attempts to extend the limit of proposed Egyptian sovereignty as far south as the Juba River, and subsequent British threats to enter into agreements with Somali chiefs independently of the Khedive.
The memorandum goes on to describe renewed discussions in connection with the procedure in Constantinople necessary to give validity to the Convention after it was signed by the Khedive, and reproduces a note issued by the Ottoman Porte, which asserts Turkish sovereignty over the territory covered by the Convention, but falls short of providing assurances against ceding any of that territory to other foreign powers.
The memorandum closes with the reproduction of correspondence discussing the text of a proposed firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). , to be issued by the Ottoman Porte, which would give validity to the Convention signed by the Khedive.
Appendices to the second part of the memorandum reproduce the text of the 'Somali Coast Convention' and an 'Agreement in regard to the Island of Socotra'.
- Extent and format
- 31 folios
- Arrangement
This file is in two parts - the first part consists of a historical narrative (ff 1-9), followed by two appendices (ff 10-12); the second part consists of a historical narrative (ff 13-29), followed by two appendices at the end (ff 30-31).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 31; 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. Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B3
- Title
- 'Egyptian Claims to Sovereignty over the Somali Coast.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:27r, 28r:30v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence