IOR/P/441/96

This volume contains the Abstracts of Proceedings of the Political Department of the Government of Bombay for the months of January-December 1866. These Proceedings comprise abstracts of correspondence sent to the Government of Bombay, and the resolutions taken by the Political Department in relation to that correspondence. Specific pieces of correspondence marked ‘not separately reported’ are included in full as appendices at the end of some months.

The subjects covered include:

• Affairs in and around the Aden Settlement, including relations with tribes and polities around Aden, military operations against the Foodlee [Faḍlī Sultanate], and the Resident’s proposal to form local security forces
• The trade in enslaved people, the destruction by British ships of dhows suspected of trafficking enslaved people, and the opinion of the Advocate-General of the Government of Bombay on the law making British subjects criminally liable for involvement in the trade of enslaved people
• Affairs in Muscat, in particular events following the death of the Sultan, Syud Thowenee [Sayyid Thuwaynī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], including: unrest in the Sultanate; a Government Notification declaring Muscat unsafe for British subjects; moves to defend British subjects and interests such as the telegraph stations in Mussendom [the Musandam Peninsula] and Gwadur [Gwadar]; possible threats from the Government of Persia [Iran]to Gwadur and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ‘Abbas], which are leased by the Sultan of Muscat; British relations with Syud Thowenee’s successor Syud Saulem [Sayyid Sālim bin Thuwaynī Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; allowances paid to Syed Toorkee [Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], brother of the late Sultan, and Syed Toorkee’s later attempt to capture Muscat; the question of the appointment of a new Native Agent in Muscat; and the proposal of Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to reconsider British treaty engagements with the Sultan of Muscat
• Relations with the Wahabees [Wahhābī movement], including both military operations and negotiations led by Lieutenant-Colonel Pelly
• Other affairs in the Persian Gulf, including: pearl fishing; the seizure by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf of a ship belonging to the Ruler of Bahrein [Bahrain] and the question of Bahrein’s sovereignty in relation to Persia and Turkey [Ottoman Empire]; and the destruction by fire of the British ship Berenice
• The British coaling station at Bassidore [Basaidu] and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf’s proposal to establish a station in the south of the Gulf
• Telegraphs in Persia and the Persian Gulf, including the proposed transfer of the Indo-European Telegraph station in Mussendom to Angaum [Henjam island]
• Deployments of British ships in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Aden
• Affairs in Persia, including: a cholera outbreak on the Gulf littoral; the prohibition of the export of corn from Fars; the proposed extension of the Foreign Jurisdiction Act to Persia; and the treaty rights of British subjects to own property in Persia
• Affairs in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], including volunteers from India for police service in Baghdad, and the export of horses
• Affairs in East Africa, including relations with the Sultan of Zanzibar and the Mijerteyn [Majertīn Sultanate], the wreck of the ship St Abbs, and the mission of Dr David Livingstone
• Appointments, leave, pay, and allowances of particular British officers
• Expenditure at British Residencies and Agencies.

The Proceedings also contain correspondence relating to political, economic, and military affairs in: Baroda State [Vadodara]; Afghanistan; Deccan and Concan [Konkan]; Jedda [Jeddah]; Katteewar [Kathiawar]; Khandeish [Khandesh]; Kolhapoor [Kolhapur State]; Kutch [Cutch State]; Mahee Kanta [Mahi Kantha Agency]; Peint; Rewa Kanta [Rewa Kantha Agency]; Satara; Sawunt Waree [Savantvadi State]; Sind [Sindh]; Southern Muratha [Maratha] Country; Surat; Pahlanpoor [Palanpur State]; Sholapoor [Solapur]; and Abyssinia [Ethiopia] (included in correspondence from Aden). The Proceedings also contain abstracts of petitions from various individuals received by the Government of Bombay.