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‘File 5/190 II Manumission of slaves at Muscat: individual cases’ [‎2r] (10/1055)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (523 folios). It was created in 7 Sep 1921-11 May 1929. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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Content

The volume contains correspondence related to thirty-seven manumission cases heard at the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Muscat. During the period covered by the file, seven different individuals held the post of 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. Most of the cases are straightforward affairs, in which the Muscat Agent sent a covering letter and copy of the slave’s manumission statement to the Secretary to 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. , requesting a decision on manumission. In cases where the slave was owned by a subject of one of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. towns, the Secretary to 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. wrote to 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. Agent at Sharjah (‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif), requesting that he make enquiries to ascertain the credibility of the slave’s story.

A large number of cases relate to men employed as a pearl divers seeking manumission. In these cases it was necessary for the Political 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. to establish whether the individuals in question are indeed slaves, or simply indebted to their nakhudas (pearl boat captains). In case number 34 (early 1929) ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif wrote to the Secretary to 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. , claiming that a man seeking manumission at Muscat was not a slave but an indebted diver, and that he should return to Sharjah once he has been issued with a manumission certificate, in order to settle his debts. In this instance the man was unhappy to return to Sharjah, for fear of being “molested” (i.e. re-enslaved) (folio 474).

Two cases in the volume are more complex and protracted than the other cases. The first involves a slave (subject 12) from Dubai who, having been given the freedom by his owner to conduct his own trading business, had amounted a debt in the region of 7,000 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. . The former slave had also attempted to mortgage a property that he did not own, in order to pay some of his debts. In a letter of February 1926, the Secretary to 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. wrote 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 (then Major C. Barrett), describing the slave as “a notorious rascal who has been giving considerable trouble to this 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. owing to his indebtedness to Hindus” (folio 190). The indebted slave was finally declared bankrupt by his creditors, and moved first to Bushire, then to Bahrain. Four years later he wrote to the Political 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. , requesting financial aid to return to Dubai where his family resided. His plea was rejected (folio 236).

In another case, a man who had been manumitted by the British Government in 1927, was kidnapped by an uncle of the shaikh of Abu Dhabi in 1928. The Political 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. , upon being informed of the incident, wrote to the shaikh of Abu Dhabi, expressing displeasure at these actions, and demanding that the shaikh secure the man’s release (folio 432). Shaikh Shakbut bin Sultan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, denied any complicity in the case. The kidnapped man was finally released, but not until late 1929. In the meantime, 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. (then Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Barrett) and his Secretary (as recorded in the office notes section of the case correspondence: folios 450-455) discussed the options for using force against the shaikh of Abu Dhabi, because of his non-cooperation in the issue. Specific reference was made to two precedents for reference: the bombardment of the Sheikh of Ajman’s fort in 1921 (see IOR/R/15/1/267 - subject file 14/163 I) and the bombardment of the fort of Fujairah in 1925 (see IOR/R/15/1/278 - subject file 14/196).

Extent and format
1 volume (523 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is comprised of manumission subjects that are arranged in chronological order, based on the earliest piece of correspondence within each subject, and beginning with the earliest at the front of the volume, and the latest at the rear. Within each subject the correspondence is also arranged chronologically, from earliest to latest. At the front of the book (ff.2-4) is a handwritten index listing all manumission subjects contained within. The subjects are numbered 1 through to 37. The contents pages do not include page numbers.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume has been foliated with a number in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. , from the title sheet to the last folio in the volume. An earlier foliation system has been used on some of the manumission cases, expressed as page x of subject y , written in pencil in the top-right corner of front-facing pages

Condition: Some of the pages are in a fragile condition. On some pages the text has been cut off where it runs too close to the edges of the page, though not sufficiently to adversely affect the legibility of any items.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 5/190 II Manumission of slaves at Muscat: individual cases’ [‎2r] (10/1055), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/216, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084645101.0x00000b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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