‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13 [542r] (1092/1978)
The record is made up of 1 volume (983 folios). It was created in 19 Jan 1871-27 Dec 1872. It was written in English, French, Persian and Russian. 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.
Affairs at Aden and in its vicinity.
Enclosure No. 51.
No. 26o3j dated Bombay Castle, 21st June 1871.
From Acting Secretary to 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.
,
To Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department, with G.-G.
In continuation of my letter No. 2309, dated 31st ultimo, I am directed
to forward herewith copy of Report No. 108-768, of the 17th idem, from 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.
at Aden, regarding the further operations of Mahomed Redeef
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
against the Asseer tribe.
No. 108-768, dated Aden, 17th May 1871.
From—Political Resident, Aden,
To—Secretary to 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.
.
I have the honor to forward, in continuation of my letter No. 93-651,
dated the 27th April last, a report of Mohammed Redeef Pasha’s latest
operations against the Asseerees. The report has been condensed from a letter
written by the Agent of the Aden merchants at Hodeida, who has copied ver
batim a narrative written by an officer employed with the Turkish troops and
who has personally taken part in the campaign.
This officer, writing to a comrade at Hodeida, states that after Mohammed
Redeef
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
had taken Sooka, orders were received by the detachment to
which the
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
belonged to proceed from Konfidah to Shookeyk, and thence
to Reida. Pour regiments proceeded by sea to Shookeyk, and marched to Reida
with four large pieces of ordnance. The journey was difficult; the road was
bad, and it was a work of great toil to carry the guns. The force arrived before
Reida on the 26th of Mohurrum (17th April) but could only place one gun in
position. The Asseerees fired on the troops from Reida, and the fire was returned
from this gun, from which 300 rounds were fired that day. At night the Turks
approached nearer to the fort until they arrived within about 400 yards. An
earthwork was then thrown up behind which this gun was placed. The bom
bardment recommenced the following day. Mohammed bin Aiedh had previously
thrown up a battery, which caused the Turkish troops considerable loss, so at
nioJit two Buluks were ordered to take this work by assault. This was effected
with complete success and with considerable loss (on the part of the Asseerees)
in killed and prisoners. All the stores within the battery were captured. Next
day a vigorous cannonading was kept up by the Turks, both from their own
gun, and from that which had been captured. Great injury was done to the
houses in the town. On the 4th of Safar (4th May) Mohammed bin Aiedh
was attacked in force. He raised a flag of truce on the fort, but the troops
did not see this, or if they did, it was imposssible to restrain them at tlm time
Mohammed bin Aiedh, with his brother Sa-ad bin Aiedh, and twenty-nine of
his principal Chiefs were killed, fighting hand to hand, together with 170 men
whilst 450 were taken prisoners Among them was Abd-ur Rahman bm
Mohammed bin Mufarrih, a celebrated Chief, and Mohammed bin Lahak
These were sent to Constantinople m a steamer.. The spoils captured by the
Turkish troops were considerable, arms, horses provisions, 8,000 purses ($ dOO 000
i onn i 1 1 4 * On the side of the Turks only five men were killed
am 310 barre s o P • p ^ distributed a small part of the booty among
and ten wounded. Redeef Taslm m i ^ protect the powder, hut it
the troops, and placed an offlcei with ^ of E J a ^ war is
caught fire and t iey vs ^ ^
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
has sent Osman Effendi in command of
nearly at an end; hut Eedeet ka ^ ^ ^ (Brigadier _ Genel , al)
a regiment against 1(3 Mn.a Under the
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
of the narrative have
Moosa Bey against the and Musleeh.
been sent three regiments against fca )
rrii „ tt i vio I® rioted 15th Safar (15th May). The
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
The letter from 0 ei , ^ construct a Railway between Jeddah and
states that it has been decided to cons j
About this item
- Content
Government of India Foreign Department letters marked ‘Secret’, ‘General’, or ‘Political’ and sent to His Grace the Duke of Argyll, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for India, with enclosures. The papers are reporting on the state of affairs in a number of regions including: the Khanate of Khiva, the Khanate of Khelat [Kalat], Afghanistan, Persia [Iran], Yemen, Nejd [Najd], Oman, Zanzibar, and Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. .
The correspondence related to the state of affairs in Oman and Zanzibar [Sultanate of Muscat and Oman] covers: the violation of the rights of British subjects at Sohar [Suhar] by Ibrahim bin Ghes [Ibrāhīm bin Qais Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Governor of Sohar]; ‘the application of Seyd Toorkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] for payment of the Zanzibar subsidy’; ‘the alleged importation of slaves on the Arabian Coast under the French flag’ from Zanzibar; the hostilities by sea between Syed Ibrahim bin Ghes and the Sooltan [Sulṭān] of Muscat; the re-lease of the Customs Revenue of Zanzibar by Syud Burgash bin Saeed bin Sooltan [Sayyid Barghash bin Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān]; and ‘An account of the Tenets of the IBADHI Sect of ‘Oman’, translated from an Arabic manuscript work 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 Muscat.
The correspondence related to the state of affairs in the Khanate of Khelat covers: a raid committed from Khelat territory into Persian territory by a Persian subject; the demarcation of the Perso-Khelat boundary; the disputes between the Khan of Khelat and his nobles; the Marri [also spelled in the volume as Murree] and Bogtee [Bugti] tribes’ activities; trade routes and trading activities; proposed measures for preserving the peace of the Sind [Sindh] frontier; and petitions raised by a number of Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. from Khelat.
The correspondence contains copies of Cabul [Kabul] diaries reporting on the state of affairs in Afghanistan. The diaries include news on the deputation of an envoy from the Khan of Khiva to the Amir of Afghanistan, Sher Ali Khan [Shīr ‘Alī Khān, also spelled in the volume as Shere]; the spread of cholera; military operations; the appointment and dismissal of local governors; the Budukshan [Badakhshan, also spelled in the volume as Badakshan] affair; the boundary between Afghanistan and Bokhara [Bukhara]; relations between Afghanistan and the Russian Empire; and correspondence between the Governor General of Russian Toorkistan [Turkestan] and the Amir in relation to border affairs.
The correspondence contains news reports of affairs at Aden covering: the spread of cholera at Aden and Hodeida [Al Hudaydah]; the attack on Hodeida by the Arab tribe of Asseerees [‘Asīr]; accounts of the trade routes leading to Aden and the principal tribes in the neighbourhood with which the Government of India have treaty relations; 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. at Aden, Major-General Charles William Tremenheere, visiting Lahej territory; the advance of Turkish troops in Yemen; reports of incidents on board British ships; military action towards the Munsooree [Al-Manṣūrī, also al-Manāṣīr] and the Soobaihee [al-Ṣabīha, also spelled in the volume as Soobahees] tribes of Yemen; an agreement signed between the Soobaihee chiefs of Yemen and 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. at Aden related to roads safety; a detailed ‘report of the Arab tribes and the vicinity of Aden’ prepared by Captain William Francis Prideaux, Assistant 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. at Aden; and an agreement signed between the tribe of the Foodthlees [al-Faḍlī] of Yemen and 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. at Aden.
Other topics covered in the volume are:
- The military operations of Russia in Central Asia
- ‘The subject of the sovereignty of Kohuk [Kuhak, also spelled in the volume as Kuak]’ with detailed description of the Perso-Baloch frontier
- The employment by the Ottoman Government of an English diver, James Thomas, in seeking for pearls on the Arab Coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
- ‘Complaint made by the Persian Government of instructions having been issued to Her Majesty’s representative at Gwadur [Gwadar] to recognise Charbar [Chah-Bahar, a town on the Makran coast of Persian Baluchistan] as belonging to Muscat’
- ‘A piratical attack on the British India Steam Navigation Company’s steam ship Cashmere at Busreh [Basra, also spelled in the volume as Busrah]’
- The claim of Hajee Moosa Meymennee [Ḥājī Mūsa Mīmanī, also spelled in the volume as Meymenee], a British Indian subject, to compensation for ‘the wheat supplied by him to the people of Bushire [Bushehr] under a compulsory order of the Persian Government’
- ‘The infraction of the interdict on the export of grain and provisions from Persian ports’
- An account by Dr David Livingstone, Her Majesty’s Consul in Inner Africa, of his explorations in Central Africa
- ‘The trade between India and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the proposal for a new Commercial Treaty with Persia’
- The dispute between Turkey and Bahrein [Bahrain] concerning the murder of a Turkish messenger, and other Bahrein Affairs
- The Turkish expedition to Nejd
- News of the arrival and departure of ships at Kateef [Qatif], Ojair [Al-Uqayr], Ras Tanoorah [Ras Tanura] and other ports
- The request of Messrs Gray, Paul and Company for permission to place steam barges at Bushire for the purpose of landing and shipping cargo
- Relations between the Russian authorities and the Turkoman tribes
- ‘Captain St. John’s explorations in Persia, and containing information on certain points of Persian geography’
- The arbitral opinion given by Major General on special mission Frederick John Goldsmid, in the matter of the Seistan [Sistan] arbitration
- News of appointments of British Agents and other officials in various locations in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Afghanistan.
Among the main correspondents in the volume are: Charles Umpherston Aitchison, the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department; D C Macnabb, Officiating Commissioner and Superintendent, Peshawur [Peshawur] Division; C Alison, Her Britannic Majesty’s Minister at Teheran [Tehran]; Ronald Thomson, Her Majesty’s Chargé d’Affaires at Teheran; Colonel C Herbert, Her Majesty’s 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 Baghdad; H LePoer Wynne, Under Secretary to the Government of India; Captain G J Stevens, Commandant, Aden Troop; Colonel Lewis Pelly, 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; Dr John Kirk, Acting 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. and Her Majesty’s Consul at Zanzibar; Major Edward Charles Ross, Her Majesty’s 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. and Consul at Muscat; Captain C Grant, Assistant Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; and Captain C H Harrison, 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 Khelat.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (983 folios)
- Arrangement
The Letters and Enclosures are filed in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume. The volume includes an index on folios 4-91. Entries in the index refer to entries in the volume, in accordance with the pagination system on folios 92-982. Many of the correspondences consist of the Despatch, an Abstract of Contents, and the Enclosures to the Despatch, each numbered in accordance with the number given in the Abstract of Contents. The Enclosures to each Despatch are in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- 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 985; 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.
Pagination: the volume also contains an intermittent pagination sequence.
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- English, French, Persian and Russian in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/5/271
- Title
- ‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge , head, tail, front-i, 2r:95r, 97r:114v, 116r:121v, 122v:123v, 125r:135r, 136v:137r, 138v:140v, 142r:146v, 147ar:147av, 148r:150v, 151v:158r, 159r:168r, 170r:170v, 171v:172v, 173v:174r, 177r, 178r:184v, 186r, 189r:189v, 192r, 194r, 196r, 198r:198v, 200v:203v, 204v:208r, 210r:223r, 224r:229v, 230v:240v, 242r, 243r:269v, 270v:271v, 273r:274v, 275v:280v, 282v:289r, 291r:301v, 303r, 304r:310v, 311v:314v, 316r:328r, 329v:351v, 352v:368r, 370v:386v, 388r:391v, 393r:394r, 395v:409r, 410v, 414v:421r, 422v:424v, 426r:438r, 439v:457v, 458v, 460r:466r, 467r:472v, 474v:480r, 483v:484v, 486r:490v, 492r, 493v:498r, 499r:540v, 542r:547r, 549r:554r, 556v:561r, 565r:569v, 571r:584r, 585r:599v, 601r:607v, 609v:616v, 618r:626v, 629r:633v, 635r:648r, 652r:670v, 671v:673v, 675r:714v, 715v, 716v:742r, 743r:749v, 751r:751v, 754v:779v, 780v:785v, 786v:791v, 803r:806v, 812r:825r, 826r:828r, 829v:832r, 833v:834v, 836r, 837r:838v, 840r:840v, 842v:855r, 856r:863r, 876r:879r, 883r:884v, 886r:888r, 890r:895v, 897r:903r, 906v:908r, 909r, 910r:925v, 928r:933r, 935r:940v, 943r:944v, 946r:955r, 956v:984v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence