"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎١‎٢] (١٧٨٢/٢٥٥)

112
who had now a great influence in the Gulf and whose settlement on
Kharag faced Rig, was to be avoided ; but it is difficult to resist the
conjecture that the Rig enterprise was in reality directed chiefly against
them.
Mr. Wood, though his instructions referred to Rig only, stopped at
Bushehr on hie way and endeavoured to come to an agreement with
Chief of Rig, Shaikh Nasir for settling there instead ; but the Shaikh would not agree
to cede the customs on British goods except on condition of receiving a
fixed payment of R b . 1,500 a year. Eventually the IJesident, in consequence
of remonstrances and orders from Bandar J Abbas, proceeded to Rig
where he arrived in June. He found no merchants present at the port,
but the chief Mir Husain, who had been summoned to Shiraz by Karim
Khan and was on the point of leaving, postponed his departure for three
days, readily granted the privileges which Mr. Wood had been directed
to solicit, and assured him that " the credit of the English would very
" soon draw all the merchants back again to Bunderick and restore the
"place to its former flourishing condition/'
The demeanour of the inhabitants of Rig became so insolent after
their chiefs departure that the Resident withdrew to Basrah and thee to
Bushehr, where he proposed to remain until Mir Husain's return to Rig;
there under a ^ ie rece jpt of a Raqam from Karim Khan, authorising the establish-
Kaqam from r 1 . . . i tt
Karim Khan, ment of a Factory at Rig, caused him again to change his mind, tie
September returned to Hig in September and, being well received on this occasion
1756. by the people of the place, proceeded to settle down.
Proceedings On the 6th of April 1756 Mr. Wood crossed over in the "Neptune
deni at^RK g a ll e y Kharag Island, where he remained until the 15th, carefully
April 1756. observing the methods and proceedings of the Dutch, whose guest he
was. On the 20th of April Mir Husain and his brother Mir Mahanna
arrived at Rig from Shiraz, where they had both been imprisoned by
Karim Khan, and only released " in consideration of their known
* povertythey had performed the journey home on foot in company
with Qaid Haidar Khan, the ruler of Hayat Davud, and with a great
number of Rushehr people. Mr. Wood, Hnding them " quite bare of
" provisions, cloths and money, .... was obliged to make them
" a present, consisting chiefly of rice and piece-goods, to the amount of
u nearly three hundred and sixty (360) Rupees, which . • wa6 no ^
" only necessary but quite unavoidable."
* And possibly on account of the straits to which Azad Khan, Afghan, had at this
time reduced Karim Khan.
Agreement
with Mir
Hnsftin.
June 1755.
Temporary
withdrawal
from Rig
and return