‘File 5/190 II Manumission of slaves at Muscat: individual cases’

Name: ‘File 5/190 II Manumission of slaves at Muscat: individual cases’
Author: an agent. in Muscat. During the period covered by the file

İsim	‘File 5/190 II Manumission of slaves at Muscat: individual cases’
Yazar	an agent. in Muscat. During the period covered by the file
Basım Tarihi:	7 Sep 1921-11 May 1929 (CE, Gregorian)
Basım Yeri	During the period covered by the file, 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 Agen -
Tür	Belge
Dil	İngilizce
Dijital	Evet
Yazma	Hayır
Sayfa Sayısı	523
Kütüphane:	Katar Dijital Kütüphanesi
Demirbaş Numarası	IOR/R/15/1/216
Kayıt Numarası	vdc_100000000193.0x0000bd
Lokasyon	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.
Tarih	7 Sep 1921-11 May 1929 (CE, Gregorian)
Notlar	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).

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‘File 5/190 II Manumission of slaves at Muscat: individual cases’

Yazar an agent. in Muscat. During the period covered by the file

Basım Tarihi 7 Sep 1921-11 May 1929 (CE, Gregorian)

Basım Yeri During the period covered by the file, 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 Agen -

Tür Belge

Dil İngilizce

Dijital Evet

Yazma Hayır

Sayfa Sayısı 523

Kütüphane Katar Dijital Kütüphanesi

Demirbaş Numarası IOR/R/15/1/216

Kayıt Numarası vdc_100000000193.0x0000bd

Lokasyon 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.

Tarih 7 Sep 1921-11 May 1929 (CE, Gregorian)

Notlar 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).