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File 869/1904 Pt 2 'Arms Traffic: - Red Sea, Africa and Aden' [‎196r] (400/540)

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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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No. 920, dated Trincomalee, the 26th April 1903 (Confidential).
From—His Excellency Rear-Admieal Sir C. C. Drury, K.C.I.E., Commanding 1
His Majesty’s Naval Forces, East Indies Station,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
In reply to your confidential letter No. 675-E. of the 16th instant, be
pleased to inform His Excellency the Viceroy in Council that I consider that
the Agreement made with the Sheikh of Bahrein in 1861 to abstain from any
act of aggression or retaliation by sea should still be adhered to, as, if it was
cancelled, complications might easily arise.
2. I would first desire to point out that in my opinion the results achieved
by the use of armed dhows in the Gulf of Aden have not been as great a
success as is generally supposed, and it is a very demoralising service for officers
and men.
3. The best course appears to me to be that I should be informed every
year when the pearl fishery is to begin and end, and I would then endeavour
to arrange for a gun-boat to police those waters during the time the fishery was
being carried out.
4. If it is decided that an armed dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. is necessary, I am of opinion
that she should be commanded by a Royal Indian Marine officer who would
require a commission from the Admiralty; the vessel would fly the white
ensign and be under the orders of the Naval Commander-in-Chief on this
station, and be a tender to the Senior Naval Officer’s ship in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
She might be provided and maintained by the Sheikh of Bahrein and
partly manned by his subjects, as his interests are primarily affected, but he
could have absolutely no control over her movements and actions on the high
seas.
5. With regard to paragraph 3 of your letter, the Consul-General at
Berbera has recently bought and equipped two armed dhows, and could give
you all details, so as to enable an estimate of the cost of one to be arrived at.
As far as I am aware, they have each one 3-pounder quick-firing gun.
Two Europeans, one as Captain and one as Mate. The Captain receives £120
a year.
The services of his dhows are confined to the territorial waters of British
Somaliland.
6. The dhows recently employed by the Royal Navy in the Gulf of Aden
for the suppression of the arms traffic were hired by us at the rate of Rs. 225
a month, which included the services of the native crew.
The guns, fittings, etc., were supplied by the ships to which the dhows
were attached.
t
V
G. C. Press, Simla.-No. S-S66 F. D.-27-8-07-14r-J. D*

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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' [‎196r] (400/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100042383035.0x000001> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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