‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’

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

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/L/PS/18/B150A

Former external reference(s)

B 150a

History of this record

Date(s)

1872 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Kings and rulers--Succession

Places

ZanzibarMuscat

People & organisations

Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Āl Bū Sa'īd DynastySultan of ZanzibarPolitical Agent and Consul, ZanzibarGovernment of India, Under-Secretary to the Foreign and Political DepartmentMājid bin Sa'īd Āl Bū Sa'īd, Sultan of ZanzibarSayyid Sa'īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa'īdSayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa'īd Āl Bū Sa'īdSir William Marcus Coghlan

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‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B150A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x0001a7> [accessed 22 December 2024]

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