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‘File 5/168 V Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases’ [‎11r] (30/569)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (277 folios). It was created in 30 Mar 1931-26 Jun 1936. It was written in English and Arabic. 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. .

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SUMMARIES OF DECLARATIONS - OF REFUGEE SLAVES
No*l- ISjAIJ. BIN 0',','Ar ( Sv/aiiili) Native of MKokotoni, district
of ZansabaEAge about 40 years.
Was taken at the age of 10 by a Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. of Sur. Landed and
sold near Suv/addi Isle. First ov/ner (Uncle of present owner)
Abdullah Bin Hamran, present owner Salim Bin Sultan Hamur of
Sharjah, with whom he has served 20 years.
Pearl diver by profession.
Deserted because of ill treatment.
When asked why he Sad not reported to Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent Sharjah
replied that ne had been told Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent always returned'
slaves at once to their masters.
Ismail (His mark)
No.2* J UI.1A (Sv/ahili) Native of Mufenesini, district of Zanzibar,
Age unknown - Judged about 26 years.
States he served as orderly to a Captadin of British
Forces in Campaign against Germans in East Africa and shows mark
of wound on leg obtained at that time.
Was kidnapped five years ago from Zanzibar end taken in Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
belonging to one Hamid Bin Salim of near Madis (Batineh) to Debai
where he was sold by Hamid to Khalifa Bin Mubarrak.
Khalifa later sold him to Mohamed Bin Ibrahim of Sharjah (His
present owner).
Deserted because of ill treatment.
Pearl diver by profession
Further states was after the war Cook-boy to Mr.
Twisdal (?) Political Officer of Killifi - but discharged 3 or 4
weeks before date of capture.
He had taken passage at Zanzibar in Hamid's Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. to go to
Mombassa to get work but Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. never called at Mombassa and he (Juma)
was overcarried to Arabia.
Juma requests Repatriation.
s Juma (His mark)
a
\
No.S B ALUL (Swahili - Baluch) Born Mekran (Father pure Swahili,
Mother Baluchi) Age about 20 years.
Taken at age of 10 years - Captor unknown.
Landed and sold at Ras-al-Khaima to Salim bin Abdullah of
Sharjah (present ov/ner)
Pearl diver by profession.
Deserted because of ill treatment.
States he has made eight appeals before to Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent Sharjah
but has been turned away each time.
Balul (His mark)
>£> ■
v£*r
No.4. nHARRHALi bey (Balach - but -mm' negroid) Born Lash (MEKRAN)
Age unknown - judged about 20 years. ^
Kidnapped 7 years ago sailed from GaleK and landed at
Batineh Coast by Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. belonging to one Abdul Karim,
First owner (served one year)Sahabdad of Muladdha (inland from
Wudam)
Second (and present owner) Mohamed Bin Ibrahim of Sharjah.
Pearl diver by profession.
Deserted because of ill treatment.
Charsham Bey (His mark)

About this item

Content

The volume is comprised of correspondence related to twenty-four manumission or other slave-related cases, received by the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. from the Political Agents at Bahrain, Sharjah and Muscat. The majority of the cases are of a straightforward nature. The Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. received the manumission statement of a slave from one of the Agencies, and Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Staff authorise the slave’s manumission in return correspondence, based on the 1913 Guidelines for Manumission.

A number of other slave-related cases arise from exceptional circumstances. In May 1933 the Senior Naval Officer (Captain Denison) on board H.M.S. Bideford , and moored over half a mile off Dubai, reporteds 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. (then Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard-Fowle) that a slave had boarded his vessel after making a hazardous swim from the coast (folio 91). In his statement the slave claimed that the previous year he had sought refuge with the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent in Sharjah (‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif), who sent for the slave’s owner. The slave was returned to his owner in return for a fee paid to the Agent (folio 93). Similar accusations against the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent at Sharjah were made by slaves at the British Consulate in Addis Ababa in August 1933. The Consulate wrote 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. , to ask if the claims of slaves seeking refuge being handed back to their owners were true.

Throughout the spring and summer of 1935 the Secretary 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. sent a series of letters to the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent in Sharjah requesting information on the status of a number of slave manumission cases. Having received no reply the Secretary wrote on 5 August 1935 that the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent “may furnish me with an early explanation of the long delay experienced and to report at the same time, the result of the action which you promised to take” (folio 232). No correspondence from ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif was forthcoming. Later, on reference was made in a letter of 8 October 1935 from the Acting Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent in Sharjah to the Secretary 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. , of the recent death of ‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif.

Extent and format
1 volume (277 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged by manumission cases, of which there are 24 in total. At the front of the volume (ff.3-4) is a handwritten index which lists the names of the slaves requesting manumission in each of the cases. Each manumission case can involve one or more slaves. The cases are arranged in rough chronological order, with the earliest case as number 1 at the front of the volume, and the latest as number 24 at the end of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the last page with pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each front-facing page. Blank pages are not included in this foliation.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 5/168 V Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases’ [‎11r] (30/569), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/209, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023730596.0x00001f> [accessed 1 April 2025]

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