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'File A/2 III Correspondence regarding slaves and their manumission certificates' [‎95r] (193/714)

The record is made up of 1 file (356 folios). It was created in 29 Jun 1937-3 Jun 1939. 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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Statement of Slave Bakhit bin Mubarak born at Bishah (South
Hijaz) ag£L about 23 years, recorded in the political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
Bahrain, on the Sth November 1937.
I was born as a slave at Bishah. At the age of
12 years while I was playing with other youngsters, I was
kidnapped by a relative of my masters who took me to Zahran
and sold me to one Muhammad bin Saeed for 10 Dollars. The
latter took me to Tihamah where I was sold to one hid, for
20 Dollars. Eid took me to Khamis al idikhwar (Thursday market
of Mukhwar) where he sold me to a certain Saleh bin L'aeech
for 45 dollars. This Saleh brought me back to Bishah where he
sold me to a Nejdi called Abdullah bin Aifan of Shaqrah for
100 dollars . Abdullah bin Aifan took me together with another
13 male slaves and 16 female slaves to Biadh where H.LI.King
Ibn Saud took three female slaves and two male slaves from
amongst us . Then v/e left for Rassa wnere I was sold to
Muhammad bin Saad al MutawA for 500 dollars. All these tran
sactions and the changing of masters took place within e
period of seven months. Muhammad al Mutawa who purchased me at
Rasa brought me to v^atar where I was sold at Doha to my present •
masters Abdullah bin Rashid and Nasir bin Rashid with whom
I stayed for 14 years-. During the dispute between Bahrain and
Qatar my masters emigrated to Banrain with all their belongings
I came to Bahrain with them. I was always watching for an
opportunity to come to tne Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and seek protection. Yester
day one of my masters was out and the other busy in carrying
their belongings to boats in oraer to shift to the mainland
and as I was sure that they will be taking me with them, I ran
away yesterday from Rufa and came to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. to seek their
protection and to apply for manumission and freedom.
L.T.I. ofBakhit bin Mubarak
Recorded before me this Sth Day of November 1937
-tant to th**

About this item

Content

The file contains correspondence and other papers related to slavery, received by or sent from the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Bahrain. The majority of the papers in the file are related to manumission applications (over fifty in total), made by slaves in Bahrain or Muscat. In most instances, the slaves applying for manumission were owned by inhabitants of the towns of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , and Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. staff in Bahrain make enquiries 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 (then 'Abd al-Razzaq Razuqi) in Sharjah to assess the validity of slaves' claims. The replies from the Sharjah Agent, in English and Arabic, are included in the file.

Besides manumission applications, the file also includes a small number of other items related to the slave trade, including a Government of Bahrain notice (in English and Arabic) on the proclamation of the Governor-General of India (folio 169); statements of debts and balances of accounts for indebted divers (e.g. folios 175-76, 188-89, 193-94, 248-49); allegations of slave trading in Kalba which incur the displeasure of 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. , Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven Fowle (folios 264, 270, 292); and an unclaimed manumission certificate (folio 354).

Extent and format
1 file (356 folios)
Arrangement

The correspondence and other papers in the volume have been arranged in rough chronological order, from the earliest at the front to the latest at the back. The prioritisation of chronological order over arrangement by subject means that papers relating to particular issues are usually scattered through the file, rather than being kept together as subjects. Office notes are included at the front of the file, and mirror the chronological arrangement of the papers (ff 1B-39).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The main foliation sequence begins on the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written and circled in pencil, 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. A second incomplete foliation sequence runs through the first part of the file between folios 2-30; this sequence is also written in pencil, but is not circled and is crossed out. A third incomplete foliation sequence runs through the second part of the file between folios 40-352; again, this sequence is written in pencil, but is not circled. Foliation anomalies: 1A and 1B.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File A/2 III Correspondence regarding slaves and their manumission certificates' [‎95r] (193/714), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/1827, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100080688249.0x0000c2> [accessed 7 April 2025]

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