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File 869/1904 Pt 2 'Arms Traffic: - Red Sea, Africa and Aden' [‎104r] (216/540)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (266 folios). It was created in 29 Oct 1902-23 Dec 1908. 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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53 boxes of Le Gras ammunition at $65 per box of 1,200 rounds. The Akrabi
purchased three boxes. The Humaida and Mam’ai also bought a French
rifle each. They shipped this ammunition, etc., in a buggalow Large trading vessel. belonging to a
Zahari agreeing to pay Rs. 60 for its transport to Ras-al-Arah. The
buggalow Large trading vessel. was to have sailed yesterday, but the wind was too strong.
Tiie Humaida asked what I was doing there. I said I bad taken eight
days’ leave and had come to buy a rifle. They did not suspect me at all.
Arms and ammunition are sold openly and shipped in the same manner
without any hindrance from the Government. The seller gives the buyer a
chit which he shows to the Customs officials and the goods are allowed to pass,
a fee of $1 per rifle or box of ammunition, being paid by the seller.
I ascertained that buggalows carrying arms, etc., from Djibouti! invariably
proceed first to Obock, and there take in a cargo of straw mats, firewood, etc.,
with which the ammunition, etc., is covered.
The following are the three principal dealers in arms and ammunition :—
(1) Keverkoff, f a Greek or Armenian,
(2) Armonil, Greek,
(3) Keralona, French.
A further shop spoken of as “ The Company ” was temporarily closed.
The following are the present selling prices at these three shops, all
of which I visited :—
Rifles .—“ Mauser ” $ 30 to 50 with 100 rounds of ammunition.
M. Henry $ 25 to 40 with 100 rounds of ammunition.
Le Gras $ 14^ with 100 rounds of ammunition.
Ditto $ 9^ without rounds of ammunition.
Ammunition .—Le Gras $ 65 to 70 per box, 1,200 cartridges.
Mauser $ 8 to 10 per box.
Of the Mauser rifles some have a 4-round magazine which others are
without.
The quantity of arms and ammunition in stock appears to be large
and the trade considerable. The largest purchasers are the Hakmis and men
of Maidi (above Hodieda).
I should have no difficulty in buying 200 rifles in a month’s time : if I
went back at once I might be suspected. I would send one of my relations
which would not be suspected.
Before me,
Aden :
The 11th March 1907.
A. H. E. MOSSE, Captain,
Assistant Resident.
Extract from the weekly letter of the Resident at Aden, dated the 4th May 1907.
*****
3. A native correspondent writes this week that the Barhemi and Attifi
are making a good thing out of the illicit arms traffic, for which he says they
get as commission $1 per rifle and 10 per cent, of the ammunition landed
from Jibuti.
*****
f I have heard of this man before and think this is approximately the correct spelling.

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Content

This volume is the second of three successive volumes of correspondence (IOR/L/PS/10/32-34), relating to the British prohibition and suppression of arms traffic between ports in Aden, the Red Sea and the coast of East Africa. The volume contains copies of ‘The Somaliland Registration of Vessels Regulations, 1904’ and the ‘Aden Sea-traffic in Arms Regulation, 1902’. There is substantial correspondence about amending the 1902 regulation, together with revised drafts made in 1907 and 1908. Correspondents are officials at the Foreign Office, 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 Admiralty in London and the British Ambassador at Paris, as well as officials in the Government of India Foreign and Political Department and in the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. Political Department. Other notable correspondents are the Commander-in-Chief for the East Indies Station, the Commander and Senior Naval Officer for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Division, the Senior Naval Officer for the Aden Division, 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. and the First Assistant Resident at Aden, 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 Muscat and the British Commissioner for the Somaliland Protectorate. Included in the correspondence are English translations of several letters sent and received by Sultan Ahmed Fadthl, The Abdali of Yemen (also referred to as the Abdali Sultan) in 1905 and 1907, and also by Said Faisal the Sultan of Oman in 1907.

The volume contains a small amount of correspondence in French, in the form of a letter from the Italian Consul at Aden to the First Assistant Resident at Aden in 1906 and a letter from the French Consul at Muscat to 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 Muscat in 1907. The diplomatic correspondence also includes several English translations of notes from the Italian Ambassador and the Italian Chargé d’Affaires at London, to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in 1907 and 1908.

The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (266 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 869 (Arms Traffic: - Red Sea, Africa and Aden) consists of three volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/32-34. The volumes are divided into three parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 264; 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. The front and back covers, along with the leading and ending flyleaves have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 145-264 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 869/1904 Pt 2 'Arms Traffic: - Red Sea, Africa and Aden' [‎104r] (216/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100042383034.0x000011> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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