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Coll 34/3 'Slavery and Slave Trade: Red Sea and Arabia: Attitude of Ibn Saud' [41v] (87/886)
The record is made up of 1 file (444 folios). It was created in 6 Feb 1922-27 Dec 1934. 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.
considering the present negligible dimensions to which the trade has diminished,
CanI1 95 be Th^only sphere 1 in 1 whSh Action by His Majesty’s Government seems
J ■ urn Yemen which while not within the scope of this memorandum,
ts't presen^pTS Ts shown in paragraph 40 above, the main reservoir from
wh?ch the slave supplies of Saudi Arabia are drawn as needed. The Italian
Government’s “special position” vis-a-vis the Imam is hardly such a one as
? X them to uree him to take anti-slavery measures of any sort against
hm w U and the“e is nolvidence of their having attempted to do so If they and
His Maiesty’s Government could at any future time combine to urge such
measures on him or his successor, the result could not fail in the long run to have
“ on the prevalence of slavery in Saudi Arabia. In particular, a complete
stoppage of the transit trade in slaves across the land frontier from the Yemen
into Saudi Arabia would cut off the only remaining source from which slaves can
easily be brought, and would reduce the means by which the Saudi slave-market
could be replenished practically to one only, the birth of children of slavery.
Whether such action on the part of His Majesty’s Government is possible, and
whether if possible, it is practical politics, are entirely separate questions.
TenaUlity of His Majesty's Government's Position.
96. An anti-slavery decree by Ibn Sand, similar to that published by the
Emperor of Abyssinia in 1924, has been shown to be highly improbable. Ear less
unlikely of occurrence is an effort on his part to get rid of the manumission annex
to the Treaty of Jedda, his hostility to which has been described.
97. Whether he makes such an attempt probably depends largely upon the
internal position of the country and particularly on the outcome of the present
situation with the Yemen. If made, it will presumably be based on the promise
contained in Sir G. Clayton’s letter annexed to the Treaty of Jedda and on the
argument used in the letter attached to the treaty with Italy (see paragraph 81),
and will restate the fundamental difficulty of securing the immediate and total
abolition of slavery here while rehearsing the measures already taken by the Saudi
Government towards this end.
98. These measures, as indicated in paragraph 51, may be largely illusory,
but their existence cannot be categorically denied; and Ibn Baud can claim with
truth that the Red Sea slave trade is dead, even though it be economic causes and
not any action of his which have killed it. The manumission procedure itself, as
will be seen from the system detailed in paragraph 69, depends in at least three
of its main items (8, 9 and 10) on the co-operation of the local authorities.
Ibn Saud can claim with truth that obstructiveness on their part could easily
wreck the working of the system, but he has compelled them to adopt a helpful
attitude.
99. The fact remains that Ibn Saud and his Government have taken no
administrative measures whatsoever to limit or control the holding of slaves
within the country, that they themselves set an example in the opposite sense, and
that slavery in Saudi Arabia is a live institution of which all action yet taken,
either by Ibn Saud or by His Majesty’s Government, has touched only the fringes.
Appendix I.
Analysis of Manumissions performed by the British Legation, Jedda, in the
Years 1926-33.
1. Total number of slaves who took refuge ... ... 209
Locally manumitted—
Males ... ... ... ... 1
Females ... ... ... ... ... 7
Manumitted and repatriated—
Males ... ... ... ... 151
Females ... 50
209
About this item
- Content
Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and notes relating to slavery and slave traffic in the Red Sea and Arabian Peninsula. Principal correspondents include officials at 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. , Foreign Office, Colonial Office, Treasury, and Admiralty. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, comes from officials at the British Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Jeddah, the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Aden, the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Bushire, 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. , the Government of India (Foreign and Political Department), as well as the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Hejaz, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France, the Royal Legation of Saudi Arabia in London, the High Commissioner for Palestine, the Chief British Representative in Trans-Jordan, Ibn Saud, the ruler of Najd, Hejaz (after 1925), and its Dependencies, and John Hobbis Harris, Organising Secretary to the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society.
The file contains, often as enclosures, reports of proceedings by commanding officers of British vessels in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Parliamentary Notices of questions relating to the issue of slavery, extracts from Le Matin , a French daily newspaper, and a copy of the October 1934 issue of The Slave Market News .
Matters covered by the papers include:
- Reports on slave traffic in the Red Sea, including cases where suspected vessels have been seized
- Slave traffic within the Arabian Peninsula and along the Omani coast
- Cost of repatriating manumitted slaves
- French and Italian cooperation in the fight against slavery
- Protests to appropriate authorities in Arabia about the trade
- British subjects allegedly owning slaves
- Individual cases of slave seeking refuge with the British.
Also of note are the following memoranda:
- 'Memorandum on Slavery and the Slave Traffic in the Kingdom of the Hejaz and of Nejd and its Dependencies' by William L Bond, British Agent at Jeddah, 6 March 1930 (folios 215-221; this document is referred to often in the correspondence contained in IOR/L/PS/12/4088)
- 'Memorandum on Slavery in Saudi Arabia' by Sir Andrew Ryan, British Agent at Jeddah, 15 May 1934 (folios 31-44)
- Extent and format
- 1 file (444 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the back to the front.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 446; 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.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 34/3 'Slavery and Slave Trade: Red Sea and Arabia: Attitude of Ibn Saud' [41v] (87/886), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/4090, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100075136542.0x000058> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/4090
- Title
- Coll 34/3 'Slavery and Slave Trade: Red Sea and Arabia: Attitude of Ibn Saud'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:7v, 14r:43r, 44v:52v, 54r:62r, 63r:74v, 76r:90v, 92r:109v, 111r:158v, 159v:197v, 197Ar, 197Av, 198r:199v, 199Ar, 199Av, 200r:208v, 213r:226v, 226Ar, 226Av, 227r:262v, 264r:287v, 289r:292v, 292Ar, 292Av, 293r:307v, 309r:327v, 338r:348v, 352r:352v, 356r:362v, 365r:372v, 375r:407v, 410r:410v, 414r:445v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence