‘Slave Trade at Zanzibar the Mauritius etc’

Content

This item consists of copies of correspondence, consultations, minutes, and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from 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. . The principal correspondents are 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. ; the Governor of Mauritius, Robert Farquhar; Captain Fairfax Moresby of HMS Menai .

The item concerns the abolition of the slave trade and particularly the negotiations, treaties, and agreements about the slave trade with the following: Radama, the King of Madagascar; the Haukim [Hakim] of Zanzibar, Sueed Ukburee [Sa’īd Akbari]; the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat and Oman [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; the Governor of Bourbon [Réunion], Pierre Bernard Milius.

The item describes the treaty Farquhar concluded with Radama, the King of Madagascar, who signed it on 11 October 1820, agreeing to prohibit the sale and exportation of slaves from Madagascar, and stop the attacks on the King of Johanna [Anjouan].

There is a discussion of the legal issues of the French and British capturing each other’s ships with slaves on board, including the British captures of Le Succes and L’Eleanore , and the French captures of Espoir and Favorite , with a discussion of the Amedie case from 1810. The possibility of the French forming depots at Providence and St Marie, Madagascar is also mentioned, as is the accidental seizure of two of the Imaum’s ships by the Psyche .

The main focus of the item is the treaty Moresby negotiated with the Imaum of Muscat in 1822, whereby the Imaum agreed that no slave should be sold to Christians from his territory, including Zanzibar, and that vessels carrying the Imam’s flag might be seized if they were carrying slaves east of the Moresby line (the line from Cape Delgado to Diu). The British were allowed to establish agents in the Imaum’s territory to enforce the treaty.

The item includes a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Political No. 12, Draft 496, P.C. 154, [Season] 1823/4’ and ‘Examiner’s Office 1823’.

Extent and format

1 item (170 folios)

Arrangement

The documents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front of the item to the rear.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 18, and terminates at f 187, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom 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 original pagination sequence.

Written in

English and French in Latin script

Type

Archival item

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/F/4/746/20306

History of this record

Date(s)

31 March 1819-6 Feb 1823 (CE, Gregorian)

Related material

Related primary sources

Bombay Pol 15 Sep 1824, draft 496/1823-24, IOR/E/4/1045 pp 237-39. See also IOR/F/4/617/15321

Subjects

TreatiesAbolition of slaverySlave trade

Places

BourbonZanzibarJohannaMadagascarMauritius

People & organisations

Imam of OmanGovernment of BombayGovernor of Mauritius

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Cite this record in your research

‘Slave Trade at Zanzibar the Mauritius etc’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/F/4/746/20306, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000001741.0x00034a> [accessed 4 October 2024]

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