!['File A/2 I Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications' [‎219r] (443/686)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000282.0x000230/IOR_R_15_2_1825_0443.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'File A/2 I Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications' [‎219r] (443/686)")
'File A/2 I Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications' [219r] (443/686)
The record is made up of 1 file (343 folios). It was created in 18 Jan 1932-27 Sep 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
N0.459/V.O.
Political
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
,
Bahrain, dated the 27th hay 1934
To,
The Under Secretary to the
Honourable 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.
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, B U S H I R E .
■■"f.
Memorandum.
Your memorandum Ho•675/5/196 dated the 17th harch
1934 regarding!i)the Slave Trade and(ii)JDomestic Slavery.
2. Owning slaves is a normal part of life in Hajd for
anyone who can afford to do so. Exact figures are impossible
to give, but any well to do man would be liicely to have two
slaves in his house • ah important Governor, such as the
Amirs of Hasa or Hail,might have fifty for domestic purposes.
King Bin Sa'ud is said to have "hundreds” and I am told that
they are a lazy, good-for-nothing lot and expensive to keep.
Tribal chiefs keep slaves in accordance with their position.
3. The sources from which Slaves are now obtained are
(a)by births among existing slaves and!b;by the capture(or
purchase)of free persons.
4. The majority of slaves in Najd are said to be of
tixe ’lAuwalid* or born-in-siavery type. I am told, however,
that the death rate among children born in slavery is
disproportionately high, if compared with the ordinary death
rate for children.
5. hew slaves are said to be more difficult to obtain
than formerly(and especially in the last five years)owing to
the strict watch in the Red Sea, but reports differ on the
subject. The impression that I have formed!though I can only
give it as a personal impression)is that slave trade in the
old sense has largely diminished owing to the difficulties
of carrying it on in modern conditions, but that there is
probably a fair trade in individuals. As an example of
what I mean, one girl slave of Bin Sa'ud’s told an informant
About this item
- Content
The file contains correspondence related to around sixty cases, involving slaves who have applied for manumission at the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Bahrain. Copies of correspondence relating to many of these cases can also be found in the following Bushire 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. files: 'File 5/161 IV Manumission of slaves at Bahrain: individual cases' (IOR/R/15/1/205), 'File 5/161 V Manumission of slaves at Bahrain: individual cases' (IOR/R/15/1/206), and 'File 5/168 V Manumission of slaves on Arab Coast: individual cases' (IOR/R/15/1/209).
Many of the items in the file relate to the financial difficulties caused by Gulf's dwindling pearling industry, and the effects this had on the status of region's slaves. The file includes numerous applications made by pearl divers for barwa – documents freeing them of their contractual obligations to their nākhud ā (boat captain). Copies of barwas are included throughout the file. Other correspondence (folios 98-99) raises the issue of pearl divers with debts fleeing from the pearling towns on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. to Bahrain.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (343 folios)
- Arrangement
The correspondence and other papers included in the file are arranged in a rough chronological order, as they were received and filed by staff at the Bahrain Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. . This means that the papers are not arranged on a manumission case-by-case basis, the result being that correspondence related to specific cases is scattered through the file. Office notes at the end of the file (ff 284-339) mirror the chronological order of the correspondence.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 340; 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 present in parallel between ff 286-338; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. The file contains five foliation anomalies, including f 1a, f 1b, f 1c and f 82a, and missing out f 14.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'File A/2 I Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications' [219r] (443/686), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/1825, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100083766365.0x00002c> [accessed 26 November 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100083766365.0x00002c
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100083766365.0x00002c">'File A/2 I Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications' [‎219r] (443/686)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100083766365.0x00002c"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000282.0x000230/IOR_R_15_2_1825_0443.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000282.0x000230/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/1825
- Title
- 'File A/2 I Slave Trade. Correspondence with Bushire regarding slaves and their manumission certificates and applications'
- Pages
- 1r:1v, 1ar, 1bv:1cv, 2r:9v, 11r:52v, 54r:82v, 82ar:82av, 83r:87v, 89r:97v, 98v:125v, 127r:129v, 132r:147v, 149r:164v, 166r:228v, 300r:340v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence