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'Egyptian Claims to Sovereignty over the Somali Coast.' [7r] (13/62)
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.
*4
13
** stricted importation into Aden of live stock at current prices, our right
“ to establish an Agent at Berbera, and such regulations in regard to slave
“ trade matters as may appear suitable to Lord Derby. Dor the purpose,
“ however, of retaining permanently our influence on the coast, it would
“ be of the greatest importance to obtain from Egypt a formal under-
“ taking not to part with her sovereignty over any portion of it to any
“ other Power.
“ 9. Lord Salisbury desires to remind Lord Derby of the position in
“ which the British Government stands in regard to the Mussa islands and
“ the islands of Bab and Auhad, which were some years ago absolutely
“ ceded to it. He is not inclined to think that there would he much
“ advantage in retaining these islands, which have never been inhabited
“ or occupied. Their cession to Egypt might indeed be proposed as an
“ additional consideration for any concession desired by Her Majesty’s
“ Government.”
Lord Tenterden replied, on the 2nd April,* that Lord Derby concurred
. „ „ . _ 0 3 A in Lord Salisbury’s views as to coming
18 75 ^ to an arrangement with the Khedive,
and proposed to consult Sir Henry Elliot
and General Stanton as to the manner in which this had best be done.
The question of ceding the British islands on the coast to Egypt might
be dealt with separately, but it must be borne in mind that the French
likewise possessed rights at Obokh.
The information contained in Mr. Herslet’s memorandum of the
5th March 1874, before referred to, on the subject of French proceedings
at Obokh, may conveniently be summarized here. In 1862, certain
natives of Zeyla, who had been taken to France under suspicion of
having been concerned in the murder of a French subject, M. Lambert,
were taken back to their country in a French ship of war from Suez, on
board of which was M. Schaeffer, Chief Dragoman to the French
Embassy at Constantinople. Various rumours prevailed as to the object
of this gentleman’s voyage, but Mons. Thouvenel’s explanation to Earl
Cowley was that he had been sent to Massowah for the purpose of
obtaining a coaling station for the line of French steamers about to be
established on the Bed Sea, and that there w T as no foundation for the
report that France meditated acquirements or conquests on that sea. A
desert spot called Agos or Abos (Obokh), Mons. Thouvenel observed,
had been pointed out to the Minister of Marine as affording a safe har
bour and good water, and it was hoped that a depdt for coals might be
found there. It afterwards transpired that, as the French vessel de
scended the Red Sea, a careful survey was made of the coast from Mas
sowah to Zeyla, and that, although the French had by their proceedings
with regard to Zeyla, recognized the sovereignty of the Porte over that
place, the officers on board the vessel had purchased Obokh from the
Native Governor of Tajourra and Rahaita for 10,000 dollars. This spot,
which, though sometimes called an “ island ” appears to be on the
mainland on the north shore of the bay of Zeyla, nearer to the Straits of
Bab-el-mandeb than that place, they took formal possession of in the
name of the Emperor Napoleon, and hoisted the French flag. In the
following year (1863) General Coghlan visited Obokh, and, from inquiries
he made of the “ chief man ” of the place, learned that the people
denied the right of the Sultan of Raheita to sell their country; that they
acknowledged as their Chief one Mahomed Ali, who resided originally
at Bosalee, distant two days’ journey, and had avowed his intention to
oppose French occupation ; that the French had set up two landmarks
and placed three buoys, and had then left the place, when the people at
once removed the marks and the buoys ; that there was no sign of any
intention on the part of the French to occupy Obokh; that they had
neither material, nor establishment, nor
agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
on the spot; and that the
character of the place suggested a doubt whether they at any time
seriously intended to occupy it.
17641, T>
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