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'Papers Respecting the Slave Trade on the East Coast of Africa and the System Pursued for its Suppression' [48v] (36/72)
The record is made up of 1 volume (34 folios). It was created in 29 Oct 1869. 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.
36
On the day after the Sultan's return to Zanzibar, and immediately after the " Ides "
of Ramadan, I drew up a notice informing the natives of India who had placed themselves
under His Highness' protection, that they would no longer be allowed to purchase or sell
slaves, and that they had to present themselves at the Consulate in order to enable me to
determine whether the slaves in their possession were in domestic slavery or otherwise.
It will, I fear, be a difficult matter to distinguish between domestic slavery and the
real Slave Trade, as the former may assume the character of the latter at any time if
domestic slavery be not kept within certain bounds. Taking my stand, therefore, on the
spirit if not the letter of his Excellency the Govern or-General's opinion in this matter, I
have decided that no Kutchee slave-owner should be allowed to hold more than a very
limited number of domestic slaves, say two or three according to his circumstances.
I beg leave to forward, for the information of his Excellency the Governor in Council,
a copy of my letter to Seyd Majid on this subject, together with two notices affixed at the
Custom-house and at the Consulate, that I have addressed to the Kutchees under the
Sultan's protection with reference to the carrying on of the Slave Trade by them.
I shall avail myself of the first opportunity to proceed along the coast in order t.o
carry out more effectually the wishes of the Indian Government. The total absence at
present of any British man-of-war renders my doing so, just now, impossible, and I doubt
whether any of Her Majesty's ships would be available for this purpose as they come here
with special instructions from the Commodore. I therefore strongly beg to suggest the
expediency of sending to Zanzibar a small vessel of the Indian navy to be placed at the
disposal of 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.
. There are many occasions on which a vessel of this kind
would be invaluable at Zanzibar, and it would render the Governor's Agent much less
dependent on the Sultan's goodwill in carrying out the orders of Government. A steam
ship would be preferable to a sailing-ship, but the latter would be better than none at all,
and I urgently venture to press the matter on the consideration of his Excellency the
Governor in Council.
I have, kc.
(Signed) HY. A. CHURCHILL.
Inclosure 2 in No. 42.
Mr. Churchill to the Sultan of Zanzibar.
(After compliments.) January 20, 1869.
WITH reference to your Highness' letter of the 23rd Shaban, 1284, relative to the
natives of India under your Highness' protection being amenable to British law, I have the
honour to inform your Highness in writing, as I have already done verbally, that the
Government of India by no means recognize the claim set up by certain Kutchees and
other subjects of the Protected States in India to be emancipated from all control over
them by this Political
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
on the ground that they have neglected to inscribe theii
names in the Consular Registers; and I am enjoined to interfere authoritatively and by all
the means at my disposal to put down slave-dealing when carried on by such persons.
The majority of the Kutchees engaged in this illicit trade having placed themselves
under your Highness' protection, it is necessary to inform you that I have, by a public
notice, posted up at the Custom-house and at the Consulate, ordered all Kutchees and other
natives of India residing in your Highness' dominions who may possess any slaves, to
present themselves at this Consulate without loss of time under pain of severe punishment,
in order that I may be enabled to carry out the orders of the Government of India.
I have the honour to forward to you a copy of this notice, and trust that your
Highness' will, on this occasion, as you have always done in other matters of a similar
importance afford me your valuable co-operation in preventing the natives of India
domiciled in your dominions from continuing a practice which inflicts incalculable misery
on a weak and helpless population, and the existence of which is a source of much pain to
Her Majesty's Government.
I have, &c.
(Signed) HY. A. CHURCHILL.
About this item
- Content
This file contains printed copies of correspondence between British officials regarding Britain's attempts to prohibit slave traffic on the East Coast of Africa, relations between Britain and the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and Zanzibar's relations with Muscat. The correspondence dates from September 1866-July 1869.
The file contains translated copies of correspondence between the Sultan of Zanzibar, Majid bin Saeed and the Viceroy of India, John Laird Mair Lawrence as well as translated correspondence between an Envoy of the Sultan of Zanzibar and the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Stanley [Edward Henry Stanley].
On folio 42r, the file contains a translation of a letter from Queen Victoria to the Sultan of Zanzibar, Majid bin Saeed. The letter confirms the friendly relations between the two and informs the Sultan that a sword has been specially commissioned for him as a gift.
The file also contains translated correspondence between the Sultan of Johanna [Anjouan Island, now part of the Comoros Islands] and Henry Adrian Churchill, Britain's Agent in Zanzibar.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (34 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in rough chronological order, with the earliest correspondence at the beginning of the file and the latest at the end of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Condition: the file is contained within a bound volume that contains a number of other files.
Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 31, and terminates at f 66, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 5-134; these numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Papers Respecting the Slave Trade on the East Coast of Africa and the System Pursued for its Suppression' [48v] (36/72), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B83, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023608767.0x000025> [accessed 22 March 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B83
- Title
- 'Papers Respecting the Slave Trade on the East Coast of Africa and the System Pursued for its Suppression'
- Pages
- 31r:54r, 55r:66v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence