The navy of the sultan of Muscat Oman in October 1833

I found an interesting article in the American Magazine of useful and entertaining knowledge, vol. 3, no. 8, p. 327 of May 1837 an article dealing with the navy of Muscat Oman, written by a certain S. Probably this was William Sullivan. The list he gave is undated. The same article was earlier published by Edmund Roberts in his Embassy to the eastern courts of Cochin-China, Siam and Muscat in the U.S. sloop-of-war Peacock during the years 1832-1834. New York, 1837, p, 363. See also the notes on this weblog.(1) Here the list was dated October 1833. Both books are digitized by Google.

“Liverpool, 74 guns, built at Bombay, stationed at Zanzibar (2)

Shah Alum, 56 guns, built at Bombay, stationed at Zanzibar (3)

Caroline, 40 guns, built at Rangoon, stationed at Muscat (1)

Prince of Wales, 36 guns, built at Demaun, stationed at Muscat

Henningshaw, 36 guns, built at Cochin, at Calcutta

Piedmontese, 32 guns, built at Muscat, stationed at Muscat

Mossapa, 24 guns, built at Cochin, stationed at Muscat

Rahmani, 22 guns, built at Bombay, stationed at Muscat

Falke, 18 guns, Demaun, stationed at Bombay

Soliman Shah, 18 guns, built at Muscat, stationed at Muscat,

Curlew, brig, 12 guns, built at Bombay, stationed at Muscat

Psyche, brig, built at Cochin, stationed at Muscat

Sage, yacht, 6 guns, built at the Malabar Coast, stationed at Zanzibar

Vestal, 6 guns, built at Muscat, stationed at Muscat

Elphinstone, 6 guns, built at Bombay, stationed at Bombay

Also 50 baghelas, carrying from 8 to 18 guns; and 10 balits, carrying from 4 to 6 guns. The baghela is a one masted vessel, of from 200 to 300 tons. The balit is also a one masted vessel, from 100 to 200 tons. Part of these vessels are used to convoy vessels to the Persian Gulf, and some are in Africa, &c. Thus it is seen that the sultan of Muscat is a powerful prince. He possesses a more efficient naval force than all the native princes combined, from the Cape of Good Hope to Japan. His possessions, in Africa, stretch from Cape Delagado to Cape Guardafur ; and from Cape Adra, in Arabia, to Ras el Haud ; and, from Ras el Haud, they extend along the northern coast of Arabia, or the coast of Aman, to the entrance to the Persian Gulf, and he claims, also, the sea coast and islands within the Persian Gulf, including the Barhein islands, and the Pearl Fishery, contiguous to them, with the northern coast of the Gulf, as low down as Scindy. The vessels of the sultan trade not only with his own ports in Africa, and the valuable islands of Monpoea, Zanzibar, Pemba, and Socotra, but also to Guzzerat, Surat, Demaun, Bombay, Bay of Bengal, Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, the Mauritis, the Comora islands, Madagascar, and the Portuguese possessions, bringing Indian, African, and European articles. About two thousand vessels are thus engaged in this trade, of which a very large proportion are small craft, to be sure. The naval force of the sultan gives him entire control over all the ports in East Africa, the Red Sea, the coast of Abyssinia, and the Persian Gulf. This force consists, it seems, of between seventy and eighty sail of vessels, carrying from seventy-four guns to four. The officers of this force practise lunar observations, and have excellent chronometers. Since our treaty with the sultan, in 1835, our vessels are beginning to push an advantageous trade there, though they encounter formidable competitors in the British, who enjoy great advantage from their Indian possessions. The exports are gum copal, aloes, gum arabic, ivory, tortoise shell, hides, beeswax, cocoa, rice, ghee, dates, raisins, and a great variety of drugs. These statements are corroborated by information which we have received from a gentleman who has seen the Liverpool and Shah Allum, and two or three sloops and brigs of war, at Zanzibar, a place which he has repeatedly visited. Zanzibar is an important port in the sultan of Muscat's dominions, and probably the town contains ten or twelve thousand inhabitants. The people are of course chiefly Arabs; but they have a great number of slaves, brought from Africa. The merchants who speak English very well, are the Banyans, a sect from Hindostan. The island itself is fertile and pleasant, and a considerable trade is carried on there by the Americans, in gum copal, ivory, &c. which are brought -from Africa. The sultan has a palace of stone, built at Zanzibar within three or four years, and quite handsome. He is a fine looking and pleasant man, and very generous and hospitable to the Americans. When our informant was lying there at anchor, a person who had been staying on board was obliged to go on shore to wait for his vessel. The sultan ordered him to be provided with a house and every thing needful.”“If any of our readers were told that the sultan of Muscat had a navy about as large as ours, they might be very incredulous, till they looked at facts. But, nevertheless, the sultan has a powerful navy. We gather, from ‘a Digest of existing Regulations for foreign countries, with which the United States have intercourse,’- a most valuable work, by the way, printed by order of Congress-the following statement of the naval force of the sultan of Muscat.

Sources

Edmund Roberts. His Embassy to the eastern courts of Cochin-China, Siam and Muscat in the U.S. sloop-of-war Peacock during the years 1832-1834. New York, 1837

Ruttonjee Ardeshir Wadia. The Bombay dockyard and the Wadia master builders. 2004.

American Magazine of useful and entertaining knowledge, vol. 3, no. 8, p. 327 of May 1837.

Notes

1. “James Edward Alexander’s notes dealing with the navy of the Imaum of Muscat in 1825-1826”, “Skinners’ description of the navy of Muscat in 1833”, “The frigate built in Burma for the Imaum of Muscat in 1825-1826”,and “The Liverpool of the Imaum of Muscat broken up in 1825?”

2. Wadia: 74-guns ship of the line, built 1826, measured 1715 tons, presented to the British king.

3. Wadia: 56-guns frigate, built 1819, dimensions 181’3” x 41’5”, measured 1111 tons.

4. Wadia: 36-guns frigate built 1814, costs Rs. 125 or £ 21:3:9 per ton, measured 575 24/95 tons.