IOR/F/4/2238/112342

The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 30 September 1847. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2238/112322, alongside details of further enclosures. The item is the twenty-first in a series of fifty-nine items on events in the Persian Gulf.

The item relates to a report, dated 1 June 1847, from Moollah Housseen [Mullā Ḥusayn], Native Agent at Shargah [Sharjah], to Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, on the subject of recent events at Shargah since Hennell’s visit in May 1847. Moollah Housseen writes that a treaty has been drawn up between: Sheik Abdoollah bin Rashid, Chief of Amulgavine [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Rāshid al-Mu‘allā, Shaikh of Umm al-Qaywayn]; Sheik Mukhtoom, Chief of Debaye [Shaikh Maktūm I bin Buṭṭī Āl Bū Falāseh, Shaikh of Dubai]; Sheik Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboothabee and the Beniyas [Shaikh Sa‘īd bin Ṭaḥnūn Āl Nahyān, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi and leader of the Banī Yās]; and Sheik Sultan bin Suggur, the Joasmee Chief [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī, leader of the Qawāsim]. Moollah Housseen notes that Sheik Mukhtoom is conflicted as he is unhappy with the terms of the treaty but does not wish to go against his ally, Sheik Abdoollah bin Rashid. Moollah Housseen also shares his opinion that the chiefs of the Joasmee and the Beniyas are hoping to cause a rift between the other two in order to subjugate them.

Moollah Housseen's report also contains a couple of additional brief updates from Shargah.

The item contains multiple spellings for individuals and places.

The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 345/48’, ‘Collection No. 2 of No. 118, Vol: 21.’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.