IOR/R/15/1/143, ff 353-355

The letter relates to the purchase of two slaves by Indian British subjects at Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh] who are pilgrims on their way from India to Kerbelah [Karbalā']. The male and female slave in question were both dressed as women to avoid discovery, but landed by the nakhuda of the vessel in which they were travelling at Bushire, after he became suspicious of their identity and status. Kemball writes that the legal implications of such trade is unclear in cases where British subjects from India are involved in the buying and selling of slaves in Persia. Kemball finishes his letter by drawing attention to the ongoing small trade in slaves from the Red Sea and Muscat to Bombay and Calcutta.

Included with Kemball’s letter is the translation of a statement (folio 355) made by Abdool Nubbee, undated but received at the Residency on 9 April 1854, which is an account of the slaves’ boarding and disguise, their subsequent discovery by the nakhuda of the vessel they were travelling on, and their later despatch to Bassidore.