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'Egyptian Claims to Sovereignty over the Somali Coast.' [‎11v] (22/62)

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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. .

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22
f
/
t Appendix B.
Geographical Notes.
Abstract.
The tribes inhabiting the Coast of Africa from the entrance of the Red Sea to
Ras-ul-Khyle, in E. long. 49° 45', N. lat. 7° 43', are—1, the Danarklis ; 2, the Essah
tribe ; 3, the Edoor Somalis; 4, the Mijjerteyn Somalis.
1. The Danarkli, or Danakil, tribe are to be found on the coast from the Straits
of Bab-el-Mandeb to the western extremity of the Gulf of Tajourra.
2. The Essah tribe inhabit the southern shores of this Gulf, and are bounded on
the west by
3. The Edoor Somalis, who extend as far as Mait, in E. long. 47° 16'.
4. The Mijjerteyn Somalis inhabit the extremity of the eastern horn of Africa,
and extend as far south as Ras-ul-Khyle, or nearly to the dominion of the
Sultan of Zanzibar.
The general aspect of the coast is as follows :—
* The island of Perim, situated at the entrance of the Red Sea, divides the channel
into two straits, and lies in lat. 12° 40^' N. From Bab-el-Mandeb the African
coast trends south as far as Ras-al-Beer, a low sandy point in 11° 57^' N. lat. Here
the Gulf of Tajourra makes a break in the coast line.
On the northern shore of this inlet arc the towns of Obokb, in N. lat. 11° 58' and
E, long. 43° 14', Ambaboo, and Tajourra, the latter the seat of the Sultan of the
Danarkli (or Danakil) tribe. The southern shore is inhabited by the Essah tribe, the
the only place of importance being Zeyla, in N. lat. 11° 22'. From Zeyla the coast
line trends south-east as far as Bulhar, and thence due east to Berbera, in N. lat.
10° 26'; from this place its direction is, as a rule, east north-east as far as Cape
Guardafui, in N. lat. 11° 51' and E. long 51° 16'. The country is inhabited by
Somalis; this people may be divided into two great branches, the Edoor, inhabiting
the country from Mait to the Essah tribe, and the Mijjerteyn, who possess the country
about Guardafui, or rather that part of the eastern horn of Africa between Bunder
Zaideh and Ras-ul-Khyle. The country between the two branches belongs to the
Wursungli. The towns on the coast are Bulhar, Berbera, Kurrum, Ainterad, and
Ankor, belonging to the Edoor, Bunder Marayeh, Bunder Khor, Bunder Ghasim, and
Bunder Zaideh, belonging to the Mijjerteyn.
From Guardafui to Ras-ul-Khyle, in 7° 43° N. lat., the Mijjerteyn tribe are still
to be found. This region has in various older maps, &c., borne the name of Ajan,
which is, however, merely a corruption of an Arabic descriptive word. No towns
are to be found on the seaboard, and but little is known of it and its inhabitants.
Socotra Island lies east of Cape Guardafui, at a distance of about 100 miles, and
is under the sovereignty of the Sultan of Keshin, on the Arabian Coast.
The coast from Guardafui, or rather from Ras Hafun, in N. lat. 10° 27', has a
general direction of south-west as far as the Equator. The name given to it south of
Ras Aswad, in 4° 30' N. is the “ Banadir. 5 ' The principal ports and depots of trade
are Warsheek, Magadoxo, Merka, and Brava. In 0° 14' S. lat. is the mouth of the
Juba or Govind river, and from this point the coast line trends under the name of
“ Bajunia,” still in a south-west direction, as far as the latitude of Zanzibar, in
about 6° S. I.
I. Tajourra.
The chief towns of the Danerklis are Tajourra and Ambaboo, situated on the
t orthern shores of the Gulf of Tajourra, and Roweita, in the interior. Obokh, a
former French settlement in this district, is situated near Ras-al-Beer, in N. lat.
10° 58' and E. long. 43° 14'. The harbour is described in the sailing directions ns
merely a gap in the shore reefs where a tolerable anchorage in 15 fathoms water is
obtainable. Good water is at all times to be procured. In the entrance of the Gulf
of Tajourra, which is a wide and deep inlet running in a westerly direction, are to be
found the Mussa Islands, which were ceded to England in 1840. They are described
as surrounded by coral reefs and dangerous to approach.
The Danarklis are sub-divided into four tribes, the Abd-ali, the Abli, the Debeuk,
and the Rookbeh; their territory extends inland to the borders of the kingdom
of Shoa.
t

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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
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'Egyptian Claims to Sovereignty over the Somali Coast.' [‎11v] (22/62), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B3, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035841288.0x000017> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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