Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Enquiry (41 page)

A treaty was first entered into with the Imaum of Muscat in 1822, by which a Right
of Search was granted to British Cruizers for all vessels belonging to the subjects of His
Highness, suspected of having slaves on board, intended for sale rendering the same
liable to confiscation on conviction, if found eastward of a line drawn from Cape
Delgade passing 60 miles to Seaward of the island of Socotra, and ending at Deer Head
unless they should happen to have been driven beyond the line specified by stress of
weather.

In December 1839 three articles were framed in supercession to the above, and
agreed to by the Imam. By the two first of which all vessels belonging to his subjects are
liable to search and seizure etc. if found Eastward of a line drawn from Cape Delgade
passing 2 degrees Seaward of Socotra to Pusseenor on the Mekran Coast, with a reservation that the vessels have not been driven beyond the line by stress of weather or other
case of necessity. The 3rd Article provided that the sale of any individual of the
Soomonlee tribe (inhabiting the country opposite to Aden and bordering on Abyssinia)
who are considered Hoor or Free, shall be considered as Piracy, and that those who may
be convicted in such an act, shall be treated as pirates. In the same year these said three
articles formed the treaty which was entered into with all the Shaiks except those of
Bahrein and Koweit. This treaty greatly extended our right of search etc. and prohibits
the importation of slaves under any circumstances into Scinde, Cutch etc.

In 1820 a treaty was entered into with all the chiefs on the Arabian Coast, except
the Imam of Muscat and the sheikh of Koweit, an article of which prohibits the
carrying off of slaves and renders any vessels having such on board liable to be treated
as pirates.

In 1838 an agreement was entered into with all the chiefs on the Arabian Coast
with the exception of the Shaiks of Koweit and Bahrein, which authorizes the Government Cruizers to detain and search any vessels belonging to those chiefs, or their
subjects, suspected of having any individuals whom the crews may have kidnapped, on
board, and renders them liable to be confiscated on conviction. Whatever may have
been the intention in framing these two Articles (the latter being merely a modification
of the former at the expiration of nearly 20 years) certain it is that not a single seizure
has been made for their meaning has not hitherto been held to preclude those (parties
to them) from purchasing slaves from others although they may have been Kidnapped
and carrying them on board their vessels with the intention of selling them.

I have the honor to be etc.

/Sig. of A. B. Kemball

Asst. Resident, Persian Gulf

6.
Letter from the Sultan to the Vizier Mehmed Nejib Pasha,
Governor of Baghdad (9 Safar 1263 A.H./January 27, 1847)

Whereas special agreements were made between the British government and certain rulers on the African continent, to prevent the transportation of black slaves from
the said African continent to America and other places, it has been observed that
certain merchant ships are still approaching the African coasts, stealing slaves, and
transporting them elsewhere. Since, for this reason, it has not been possible to enforce
the provisions of these agreements, the British government has requested that we help
them in this and initiate the appropriate measures.

The treatment accorded to slaves who are stolen and transported to those parts is
harsh and bereft of humanity and mercy, to a degree not comparable with the treatment of slaves coming to these parts. Since, for this reason it is in accordance with
justice and compassion to prohibit the slave trade, henceforth it is totally prohibited
for merchant ships flying the flag of my state to engage in this traffic of slaves. If any of
them violate this prohibition, then with God's help they will be seized by our warships
to be sent to those waters or by British warships cruising in those parts. The ships will
be surrendered to the officers in our ports on the Gulf of Basra, and their captains will
be arrested and punished.

7.
Draft of a Letter from the Grand Vizier Mustafa Reshid Pasha
to the Governor of Tripoli (Libya) (21 Muharrem 1266 A.H./
November 28, 1849)

The Sultan has received, with sorrow, the shocking and evil news that a caravan
which set out from Bornu in June with a great number of black slaves, bound for
Fezzan, ran out of water on the way, so that 1,600 blacks perished.

It is a well-known fact, which there is no need to state, and which was indeed sent
in writing to your province in the time of your predecessor as governor, Raghib Pasha,
that while our Holy Law permits slavery, it requires that slaves he treated with fatherly
care; those who act in a contrary manner will he condemned by God.

Those people whose practice it is to bring such slaves from inside Africa and make
commerce with them, if they wish to bring thousands of God's creatures from such far
places and bring them through such vast deserts, then it is their human duty to procure
the necessary food and drink for the journey, and ensure that these unfortunates suffer
as little as possible on the way. When these people in no way accept this duty, and
cause the death of so many human beings in misery and suffering, they are behaving in
a way that is not compatible with humanity.

The Sultan can neither condone nor forgive such cruel conduct, and such inhumane
behavior is categorically and emphatically forbidden. It will be announced and clearly
conveyed to them personally, that if the people engaged in this trade in these regions
treat their slaves in a manner contrary to humanity and justice, and if slaves thus perish
on the way from thirst and hunger, they will be subjected to various severe punishments.
Since it is an obligation of the official duties of a holder of authority to give no scope to
such cruel persons and actions, you will be held responsible and reprimanded for the
slightest negligence on your part. You will therefore henceforth give this matter your
close and personal attention, so that slavedealers known to have acted in this cruel way
and notorious in this regard will be brought before the courts and subjected to condign
and exemplary punishment. This is required by the Sultan's exalted command.

8.
Letters from Benghazi Concerning the Traffic in Slaves (1875)

Bengazi 31 December 1875

His Excellency

the Right Honorable Sir Henry Elliot ACB

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your Excellency's Dispatch No. 5 of the
11th October last with Inclosure.

I inclose herewith a copy of a report I have made to the Secretary of State by his
request, on the Slave Trade at OzIa and Jalo from which Your Excellency will gather
how far the reports of Moustapha Pasha to the Sublime Porte are in accordance with
the truth.

His Excellency cannot plead ignorance of the real state of affairs as the Kaimacam
of Jalo (whom I know very well) has reported to him the extent to which the trade in
slaves is being carried on, and when I was in Jalo in November last the Kaimacan [sic]
informed me of the purport of a Dispatch which he had then addressed to His Excellency on this very subject and which I myself forwarded to him through Mr.
Drummond Hay.

I would not accuse His Excellency of Wilful misrepresentation but his Dispatch to
the Minister of Foreign Affairs must have been written under a very great misapprehension or without having taken any pains to ascertain the truth. When I was at Jalo
the Kaimacam and myself verified the arrival of 118 slaves by a caravan which had
arrived at Jalo the day before me and I handed the names of the forty three owners of
the slaves to the Mutasariff of Bengazi on my return. The caravan arrived here some
time ago but I only succeeded in liberating three of the one hundred and eighteen
slaves and that after such opposition that I have been obliged to abandon all hope of
liberating any others.

With reference to Hadi Harried Mehduai. I can only state that he was caught by my
own cavass' in the very act of shipping five slaves for the Levant and the then Governor imprisoned his two servants for four months; and during the time they were in
prison Hamed Mehduai paid them a dollar a day each and they were only liberated
after he had paid the usual hush money to the Pasha.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, Your Excellency's most obedient humble servant,

P. Henderson

P.S. I would request that the name of the Kaimacam of Jalo should not be mentioned
as the person from whom I derived my information as I fear, were it known, it might he
prejudicial to him. P.H.

Copy

No. 3

Slave Trade

Bengazi 24 December 1875

The Right Honorable the Earl of Derby

My Lord

With reference to Mr. Lister's No. 1 Slave Trade of the 31st of August last I have
the honor to report to your Lordship that, availing myself of the sanction contained
therein to visit the slave entrepot in Jalo I accomplished this journey last month Mr.
Kirri having acted for me during my absence.

At the last moment many obstacles were put in the way to prevent my making the
journey and the Governor much to my surprise and disappointment declined to accompany me, as he had volunteered to do alleging the road to be too dangerous, the season
to be unfavorable and various other excuses too frivolous to be worth a moments
consideration, but promising if I would postpone my journey for a month or two to
accompany me without fail.

I determined to go without him as a favorable opportunity presented itself for
enabling me to meet a large caravan which had arrived at Koffra from Wadai and
which was expected to arrive at Jalo about the same time as I had calculated I would
arrive at that place myself and it was to prevent my attaining this object that so many
difficulties were placed in my way. When the Pasha found that his refusal to accompany me in no way changed my determination he formally protested against my going,
refused to give me the usual escort and hinted at detaining me by force. I however
provided my own escort and left Bengazi on the 28th of October. After my departure
the Pasha thinking better of his refusal sent an escort after me, and although it increased the expense of my journey considerably was very useful to me.

I was most desirous to inspect this caravan from Wadai in order to see and judge
for myself if the various accounts which had reached me, of the deplorable condition of
the negroes on their arrival and the excessive cruelty of their masters were exaggerated
or not. The Slave dealers at Jalo considered my presence there as a most unwarrantable intrusion on a locality sacred to slavery and previous to my arrival had held a
meeting at which it was resolved that I should not be permitted to enter the oasis at all.
On my arrival however their resolution quite failed them and after reading my firman
to the principal sheiks all opposition ceased and they received me hospitably and
placed every facility at my disposal for visiting the different villages in the Oasis.

The caravan had arrived five days before me and I was unable therefore to verify
by personal observation the exact number of slaves it brought but I saw and learnt
quite enough to convince me of the magnitude and atrocity of the Slave trade at this
place.

I was informed that two hundred and fifty two slaves had arrived with this caravan
but I can only assert that it brought one hundred and eighteen as I was enabled to
verify this latter number myself.

I quite believe that the former number is in no way magnified but owing to the
shortness of the time at my disposal and the unwillingness of the people to give me any
information on this subject I could not verify their number. 1 therefore confine myself
to the smaller number as I am adverse to making a statement of this kind unless I am
satisfied of its accuracy.

Two hours before entering the oasis we met four slaves in charge of an Arab on
their way to Ozla and as we entered the palm groves we met another Arab leading a female slave by a rope tied around her waist. These slaves had arrived by the caravan.
A little further on some ten or twelve were crouching round a well. I went up and
examined them; they had also arrived on the caravan and could not speak a word of
Arabic. They were emaciated to mere skeletons, their long thin legs and arms and the
apparently unnatural size and prominence of their knees and elbows and hands and
feet giving them a most repulsive and shocking appearance and I have never seen in all
my life a more disgusting spectacle than they presented. I have seen the slaves in Cuba
and in Brazil but their very value in those countries ensures their being well fed and
well treated.

The poor creatures who are brought to Jalo from the interior do not fetch more
than Ten or Twelve Pounds and if one out of every three reaches Jalo alive the owner
still realizes a profit which amply repays him for all his risks as the cost of a slave in
Wadai is from three pieces of calico upwards.

Twenty three degrees these miserable beings traverse on foot, naked, under a
burning sun with a cup of water and a handful of maize every twelve hours for their
support. For fourteen days between Tukkru and Jahuda not a drop of water is found
and the caravan pursues its weary journey depending for its very existence on the
gerbas which have been filled up at the wells of Tukkru. Thirst and hunger in vain
lessen the numbers of the exhausted negroes. in vain they drop down way worn and
fainting on the dreary journey to die a frightful death in the desert. The market at Jalo
must be supplied and supplied it is but at what a cost of human life.

The journey from Morah, the capital of Wadai, to Jalo is one of unparalleled
hardship and fatigue and cannot be accomplished under three months, two being
consumed in actual travel. In Koffra the distance is about fifty days journey.

The distance in days journey between the intermediate resting places on the route
are, as described to me by the courier, as follows