Page 180 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf - Vol II) 1907-1953

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Batinah Coast in Muscat territory for onward despatch to the slave mart at
Hamasah (Chapter 6, paragraph 96). It is known that Fujairah was concerned in
this traffic and it is probable that abductions also took place from the Trucial
Coast towns, but as in those days the Government of India refrained from
interference in the internal afTairs of the Trucial States they did not come to notice.
It is also believed that from time to time slaves have been sent by sea from the
Trucial Coast to Qatar or Kuwait for sale in Saudi Arabia and two such cases in
which Dubai was concerned, have come to notice since the last war (paragraph 20
above). Before the period under review, Dubai was reported as playing a
prominent part in the slave traffic(,i0) and it is probable that certain members of
its ruling family and its mercantile community are still the principal agents through
whom slave-dealers in Hamasah and Saudi Arabia obtain their goods.
138. After the last war a regular traffic in slaves between the Trucial Coast
towns and Hamasah developed and a detailed report on the subject was submitted
by the Political Resident at the beginning of 1949.(,3°) This showed that in 1947
and 1948 reports had been received of 48 persons, mostly women and children,
being sold into slavery, all except two of whom had been forcibly kidnapped. It
should be noted here that although by their treaties the Rulers are only bound to
stop the traffic in slaves by sea, none of them has ever denied his responsibility for
stopping it also by land. The Political Resident discussed the ways and means of
bringing political and economic pressure to bear upon the Rulers to enforce this
responsibility and enquired whether resort could be had to naval bombardment
when circumstances appeared to justify this.(m) He had previously recommended
the bombardment of Hirah on account of the complicity of its Shaikh in an
abduction and called attention to the fact that sanction had been received to
bombardment of Abu Dhabi in similar circumstances in 1938. His enquiry led
to much inter-departmental discussion and no definite reply appears to have been
sent to it, but it was decided that naval bombardment was no longer practicable
and that in order to deal with slave traffic a force of levies should be raised. As a
result the establishment of the Trucial Oman Levies was sanctioned (paragraph 43
above) and the force came into being early in 1951. In that year no case of
abduction came to notice and only a very few cases have been reported since.

(ii) Domestic Slavery
139. According to a report submitted by the Political Resident in 1952(l”)
domestic slavery is widespread on the Trucial Coast, and a number of slaves are
employed by the oil company, a proportion of their wages being taken by their
masters. The Political Agent exercises the right of manumission and a number of
slaves are freed every year. Since 1931 when the Shaikh of Hirah surrounded the
house of the Arab Residency Agent and demanded the return of some slaves who
had applied for manumission, no attempt has been made to interfere with this
right.
140. The question of domestic slavery was taken up with the Rulers at the
third meeting of the Trucial Council in April 1953 and they were urged to follow
the example of the Ruler of Qatar who had recently abolished slavery in his
territory. The Ruler of Sharjah spoke in defence of the institution and it was
argued that its abolition was impossible as the Rulers could not afford to pay
compensation to the owners as the Ruler of Qatar had done. Eventually all agreed
without enthusiasm that it was desirable that the institution should gradually
disappear. At the next meeting of the Council all the Rulers undertook to issue
decrees prohibiting the buying and selling of slaves.C33)
141. In 1952 the oil company were requested not to engage in future, any
persons who were known to be slaves and to discharge all such persons already in
their employ when occasion arose. The company pointed out that it was difficult
for them to obtain sufficient labour without employing slaves and it is not known
to what extent they have complied with the request.

('”) Para. 5 at p. 136, P.G. 13.
(,1#) P.R. toF.O. Despatch 10 of January 27. 1949 (E 1765/1731/91 of 1949).
(m) PR. toF.O. 132/3/49 of January 24, 1949 (E 1424/1731/91 of 1949)
('“) P.R. to F.O. Despatch 50 of May 12. 1952 (EA 2184/4 of 1952).
('”) P.R. to F.O. Despatch 106 of December 5. 1953 (EA 1015/4 of 1953).
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