Author
an agent.
in Muscat. The majority of the manumission cases featured in the volume are straightforward
Publication Date
5 Feb 1935-29 Jan 1939 (CE, Gregorian)
Publication Place
Manumission cases heard at Muscat were sent 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.
for final dec -
Subject
1
Type
Document
Language
English
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Pages Count
453
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
IOR/R/15/1/219
Record ID
vdc_100000000193.0x0000c0
Library Location
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.
Date
5 Feb 1935-29 Jan 1939 (CE, Gregorian)
Notes
The volume contains correspondence related to slave 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. The majority of the manumission cases featured in the volume are straightforward, with correspondence following a regular pattern. 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 (Major Watts for most cases, who was in charge from June 1935 to April 1939) sent slave manumission statements 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.
in Bushire. In those cases where slaves had absconded from the
Trucial Coast
A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
, 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.
referred the details of the case 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 until August 1935, 'Abd al-Razzaq Razuqi from 1936) requesting he make enquiries into the slave's story. In many of 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's enquiries, it was found that slaves were not in fact slaves, but indebted divers who were seeking to escape their debts. In a number of cases the Sharjah Agent sent details of divers' debts 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.
(see for example, folios 170-175). In these situations 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.
authorised the issue of a manumission certificate to the indebted pearl diver, on the proviso that he return 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 to settle his debts.
Subject 7 of the volume includes a statement made at the Political
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
at Muscat in 1935, by a man who was seeking to retrieve his son, who he claimed had been kidnapped from him (folio 54). Enquires by 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 revealed that the man in fact gave his son as security against a debt, and that the boy would be sold unless the security was paid back (folio 67). Ongoing investigations carried out by 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 Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Loch) showed that the boy was sold (or 'mortgaged') three times, twice in Ajman and once in Sharjah, the last time to an uncle of the Shaikh of Sharjah. 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 Loch in July 1936, stating that there is a 'clear case against the shaikh of Sharjah for breaking his Slave Trading Agreements with us.' However, it was noted that 'any action against the shaikh of Sharjah might have an adverse effect on [Frank] Holmes' negotiations about oil, and also make us unpopular in Sharjah.' (folio 87) The Resident suggested a fine of 500
rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
for the Shaikh of Sharjah, as punishment for the slave trading offence.
