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IOR/R/15/2/601
- Record Id:
- 040-000228886
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 036-000228236
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000241.0x0003c8
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- IOR/R/15/2/601
- Title:
- ‘File 20/1 I Slave Trade in the Persian Gulf’
- Scope & Content:
-
The volume comprises correspondence sent to and from the Political Agency in Bahrain, in response to Sir George Maxwell’s (British adviser to the League of Nations Advisory Committee on Slavery) requests for information on the extent and nature of the slave trade in the Persian Gulf. Copies of correspondence in this volume sent to and from the Residency can also be found in the Bushire Residency series: ‘5/193 II (B38) Slavery in the Gulf’ (R/15/1/226), and ‘5/193 III (B46) Slavery in the Gulf’ (R/15/1/227).
Items of note in the file include:
- Memorandums on slavery and domestic slavery, written by former Political Resident Hugh Biscoe in 1930 (folios 12-17, folios 19-25);
- A report on the proceedings of the League of Nations Slavery Committee, dated 22 April 1935 (folios 52-57);
- An intelligence report (in Arabic and English) from the Residency Agent at Sharjah (‘Abd al-Razzaq Razuqi), describing the trafficking of slaves from the Oman coast via Dubai to Saudi Arabia and Qatar (folios 127-32);
- A printed copy of the League of Nations Report on Slavery, produced by the Advisory Committee of Experts, dated 15 May 1936 (folios 136-85). Annex 8 of the report outlines the slavery situation in the Persian Gulf states (folios 171-72), while folios 178-80 include uncaptioned photographs of slaves and the tools used to incarcerate slaves in Ethiopia;
- Correspondence from 1937 concerning the possible proclamation of the prohibition of slavery in Bahrain, taking place between the Bahrain Political Agent (Percy Loch), and the Advisor to the Bahrain Government, Charles Dalrymple Belgrave (folios 210-11, 213, 259-60);
- Explanations written by Belgrave, dated July 1937, on the status of pearl divers in Bahrain, including a description of the ‘selafieh’ loan system (folios 293-94), and the Residency Agent at Sharjah, on the status of pearl divers on the Trucial Coast (folios 298-99);
- A number of press cuttings related to the slave trade in the Persian Gulf, taken from British newspapers, can be found on folios 85, 110 and 200.
- Collection Area:
- India Office Records and Private Papers
- Project / Collection:
- India Office Records
Qatar Foundation Partnership Programme - Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-000209245
033-000227426
036-000228236
037-000228401
038-000228885
040-000228886 - Is part of:
- IOR/R : India Office Records transferred later through official channels
IOR/R/15 : Records of the British Residency and Agencies in the Persian Gulf
IOR/R/15/2 : Political Agency, Bahrain
IOR/R/15/2/139-916 : Bahrain Agency, Confidential Office Files
IOR/R/15/2/601-604 : File 20 Slavery: Slave Trade in the Gulf
IOR/R/15/2/601 : ‘File 20/1 I Slave Trade in the Persian Gulf’ - Hierarchy:
- 032-000209245[0010]/033-000227426[0002]/036-000228236[0003]/037-000228401[0022]/038-000228885[0001]/040-000228886
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: IOR/R
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
1 volume (332 folios)
- Digitised Content:
- Languages:
- Arabic
English - Scripts:
- Arabic
Latin - Start Date:
- 1931
- End Date:
- 1937
- Date Range:
- 18 Mar 1931-30 Jul 1937
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Foliation: Foliation starts on the first folio of text (the third page in the volume) and continues to the last folio of text at the end of the volume. The front cover and first two folios are unfoliated, as are four blank sheets and the inside back cover at the end of the file. The main foliation sequence uses circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. There is an additional inconsistent foliation sequence in uncircled numbers which starts with 1 on folio 3. The printed material at folios 136-185 has its own original pagination. Some items in the volume are marked with red or blue crayon numbers (either circled or uncircled), which constitute part of the original filing arrangement.
Fold-outs: folios 9, 10 and 71 fold out to larger than the rest of the volume.
- Former External References:
- Confidential file: 20/1 I
- Arrangement:
-
Correspondence in the volume is arranged in approximate chronological order. The volume begins with the earliest items at the front, and runs through to the latest at the end. There are office notes at the end of the file (ff 303-319) which mirror the chronological sequence of the volume. The office notes contain a numbered list of correspondence found in the volume. Each item is written in red or blue/blank ink, dependent on whether it refers to an incoming (red) or outgoing (blue/black) communication. The correspondence referred to in this list references items in the file marked with red or blue numbers, and constitute part of the original filing arrangement.
- Administrative Context:
- The League of Nations' Slavery Convention, an international treaty aimed at abolishing slavery and the slave trade, was published in 1926. In 1936 the League's Advisory Committee of Experts published a report on the scope of slavery around the world. The British representative on the Advisory Committee was Sir George Maxwell, who worked closely with the governmental departments to procure details of the extent of the slave trade in British dominions around the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Public Record(s)
- Names:
- League of Nations, Advisory Committee of Experts on Slavery, 1934?-1939?
Maxwell, William George, Knight, colonial administrator, 1871-1959 - Subjects:
- Boundary disputes
Reports - Related Archive Descriptions:
- IOR/R/15/1/226
IOR/R/15/1/227