IOR/R/15/1/214

The volume contains copies of covering letters sent with copies of the 1873 Slave Trade Proclamation, which was reissued on an annual basis. The letters were sent by Bushire Political Residency staff to a range of British representatives around the Gulf, including the Political Agents (Bahrain, Muscat, Trucial Coast, Consulates), representatives at the region’s telegraph stations (including Jask), and a representative of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company at Ganawah [Bandar Ganaveh]. The volume also contains numerous replies from recipients of the treaty, responding that they have posted or distributed it as requested.

The volume also contains two copies of the treaty (folios 93 and 148). The treaty is printed in five languages (English, Arabic, Marathi, Gujarati and Kanarese). In a letter of 1926 to the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Prideaux), the Political Agent in Kuwait (James More) notes the poor quality of the Arabic translation of the treaty. In response, Prideaux arranges for an improved Arabic translation be sent to him by More, for use on future reprints of the treaty. The revised translation is distributed for the first time in 1929. The two copies of the treaty enclosed reflect the ‘before’ (folio 93) and ‘after’ (folio 148) versions of the Arabic treaty text.