IOR/R/15/1/210

Correspondence relating to 26 manumission cases, received by the Bushire Political Residency from the Political Agents on the Arab Coast. The majority of cases originate from the Native Agent at Sharjah ('Abd al-Razzaq Razuqi), who sends his correspondence via the Political Agent in Bahrain. The role of the Political Agent at Bahrain was occupied by three individuals in the time period covered by the file: before April 1937 Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Loch, from April to October 1937, Tom Hickinbotham, from October 1937 Hugh Weightman.

The majority of the manumission cases follow a set pattern. They begin with covering letters from the Agent to the Residency, in which the Agents makes his own recommendation on whether the slave should be manumitted, based on empirical evidence such as signs of mistreatment. The letter is followed by the manumission statements of the slave(s) involved. Manumission statements were composed by Agency staff, based on an interview with the slave, and follow a rigid format. The slave's name is given, along with their approximate age, origins (if known), details about those who traded them (if known), their work, and their reasons for absconding. Letters from the Political Residency follow, authorising manumission. In some of the cases, internal Residency office notes follow the correspondence, which give some insight into the decision making process in the case. Office notes are occasionally used to draw attention to similar manumission cases that can be used as precedents for the existing case.