IOR/F/4/1881/79881

This item consists primarily of copies of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, secret letters from the Government of Bombay. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and the Resident in the Persian Gulf, Captain Samuel Hennell.

The subject of the item is the ratification of the Treaty of Commerce agreed between Captain Robert Cogan and Hassan bin Ebrihim [Ḥasan bin Ibrāhīm] and Alli bin Naser [‘Alī bin Nāṣir] 31 May 1839 in Zanzibar. The treaty was ratified on 22 July 1840 by Hennell and Syed Mahomed bin Syed Shurruf [Sayyid Muḥammad bin Sa’īd Shurruf] on behalf of the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd]. The item contains a copy of the treaty and certificate of ratification in English and Arabic.

The treaty concerns:

• Rights and privileges of merchants of both countries to enter either country
• Rights of citizens of both countries to own property in either country
• Rights of consuls in both countries
• Protection of servants of British subjects in the dominions of the Imaum
• Settling disputes involving British subjects
• Disposal of property of subjects of either country who die in the other
• Treatment of bankrupt subjects of either country living in the other
• Payment of debts owed to subjects of the other country
• Duties levied on goods entering ports and limitation of monopolies
• Regulations for importing goods
• Provisions in case of war between Britain and Muscat
• Helping vessels in distress
• The renewal of the treaty of 1822 to suppress the slave trade.

The item contains a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Collection No. 6, Draft 431, P.C. [Previous Communication] 3075, [Season] 1841’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.