![‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎129v] (98/114)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001a7/IOR_L_PS_18_B150A_0098.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎129v] (98/114)")
‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [129v] (98/114)
The record is made up of 1 file (55 folios). It was created in 1872. It was written in English. 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.
90
Slave Trade-
doubtful, bad engendered throughout the entire African and Arabian coast a feeling of the
most bitter animosity against the English ; that in few places was a Christian's life safe beyond
the immediate precincts of the Sultan's forts; and that such a feeling of insecurity was
engendered, that legitimate commerce languished and threatened to collapse."
The Lords of the Admiralty, while admitting an unauthorized destruction
of certain dhows by the
boatswain
An officer responsible for the equipment on a ship and overseeing the work of the ship's crew.
of the Gorgon, took exception to the state
ments of Colonel Playfair, who, when called upon for an explanation, defended
his remarks on the authority of Colonel Pelly, Captain Oldfield, himself a
naval officer, and all the European residents of Zanzibar. He further in
stanced the case of a Turkish
dhow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
improperly destroyed by the Lidon for
which Her Majesty's Government had to pay damages to the amount of £5,771,
and the proceedings in Mombasa harbour of the boats of Her Majesty's ship
Ariel. Of this latter case, Colonol Playfair wrote—
"Dr. Krapff, the celebrated African traveller, who was an eye-witness of the affair, says
in regard to it; f It is the indiscriminate destruction of property which enrages the Natives
against the English, not the suppression of the slave trade itself/ I could enumerate other
acts of a similar nature were it necessary, but the above are sufficient, and I have no desire to
make specific accusations against any officer."
With regard to the
dhow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
captured by the Gorgon, Colonel Playfair
observed—
" People who are only too ready to take exception to our acts, will not be content to abide
by the decision of a warrant officer, and they will naturally ask whether it is right that he
should be judge, who is also captor and pecuniarily interested in the capture, and whose social
standing does not offer a sufficient guarantee for his impartiality."
Colonel Playfair defended himself from the imputation of adopting the
statements of interested persons which had been made against him by the
Admiralty, and asserted that he had always lent his cordial support in the
suppression of the slave trade, which duty he, nevertheless, wished to see carried
out with care and circumspection. He concluded—
" I believe that no naval officer now on the station will deny that f arbitrary acts'
have been committed, and it is mainly owing to these having been fearlessly reported that
they have ceased to exist, and, as I have before now pointed out, that the recollection of them
has in a great measure been effaced."
Earl Russell entirely concurred in the views set forth in Colonel
Play fair's reply.— {Folitical, A, March 1865, Nos. 206 fy 207.)
106.— C olonel P latfair's views on the slave trade .—The following
observations are extracted from a despatch addressed by Colonel Playfair to
Earl Kussell in May 1865, reporting on the measures adopted for the sup
pression of the slave trade during the season then closed, and their results.
He wrote—
" From what I have stated, it is evident that our operations during all the years over
which they have extended, have had no appreciable effect in stopping the slave trade, and from
the experience 1 have gained at Zanzibar, I have no hesitation in saying that nothing, we can
do will ever stop it. Many slavers may be taken, and, if we put sufficient pressure, the
export may even be entirely suspended for a time ; but the moment that pressure is removed,
and our efforts relaxed, it will be resumed with as great activity as ever.
" The whole fabric of Arab society is so interwoven with slaverv, and the manners and
customs of that race are so unchangeable, that it is hopeless to expect that they will ever
permanently abandon their pursuit of slaves. Their fathers have possessed them ever since
Arabia was peopled, and they have no idea of a state of things in which slaves do not occupy
a prominent place. The institution is one sanctioned by their religion; such a thing as civil
law or any other not contained in the Koran is unknown to them ; and I fear that no efforts ot
ours can induce them to regard slavery with the horror which its name excites in a Christian
mind.
About this item
- Content
The file is a précis of correspondence related to affairs at Zanzibar between the years 1856 and 1872, prepared by Captain Philip Durham Henderson of the Foreign Department in the Government of India. The contents of the précis, which includes reports from Christopher Palmer Rigby, the British Consul at Zanzibar, and Sir William Marcus Coghlan, relate to: the death in 1856 of the Sultan of Muscat Syed Saeed [Sa‘id bin Sulṭān al-Sa‘id] without a direct heir; the succession struggle between Syed Thoweynee [Thuwaynī bin Sa‘id al-Sa‘id] and Syed Majid [Sa‘id Majid bin Said al-Sa‘id]; British arbitration in the dispute; succession arrangements at Muscat and Zanzibar; the slave trade between Zanzibar and Muscat. The précis is organised into six chapters (labelled I to VI), as follows:
- I – Events preceding the arbitration by the Government of India;
- II – Arbitration of the Government of India;
- III – Proceedings subsequent to the arbitration relating to the question of subsidy;
- IV – Events at Zanzibar from the arbitration to the death of Syed Majid;
- V – Events in Zanzibar from the death of Syed Majid;
- VI – Slave Trade.
The contents page lists four appendices (labelled A to D) that are not included in this copy of the précis.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (55 folios)
- Arrangement
The correspondence contained in the précis is arranged in an approximate chronological order, with those of earliest date (1856) at the front, and those of latest date (1872) at the end. The correspondence is further arranged into six chapters labelled I to VI. Subheadings throughout the précis are numbered from 1 (for the first subheading in chapter I) to 131 (for the last subheading in chapter VI). A contents page (ff 82-84) lists the chapters, subheadings and subheading numbers. Note that a discrepancy appears between the subheading numbers and the subheading contents in chapter VI.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 81, and terminates at f 137, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additonal foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-192; these numbers are also written in pencil but, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Pagination: The file also contains an original printed pagination sequence 1-105.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [129v] (98/114), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B150A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000063> [accessed 24 January 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000063
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000063">‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎129v] (98/114)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023935572.0x000063"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001a7/IOR_L_PS_18_B150A_0098.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001a7/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B150A
- Title
- ‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’
- Pages
- 81r:137v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence