'Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia, including a journey from Bagdad by Mount Zagros, to Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, researches in Ispahan and the ruins of Persepolis, and journey from thence by Shiraz and Shapoor to the sea-shore. Description of Bussorah, Bushire, Bahrein, Ormuz, and Muscat, narrative of an expedition against the pirates of the Persian Gulf, with illustrations of the voyage of Nearchus, and passage by the Arabian Sea to Bombay.' [‎383] (414/582)

TRADE OF BUSSORAH. 3^3
protection to both Jews and Christians, without fear or favour;
and yet sufficient firmness to resist all encroachments on his pri
vileges, and to enforce the rigid observance of all existing condi
tions between the Government and the nation, or the Company,
whom he represents.
The situation of Bussorah is so highly favourable for trade,
that, under every obstacle which a bad government, and unsafe
passages to and from it by sea and land occasions, it continues to
enjoy a commerce sufficient to enrich many by its profits, and to
furnish the means of subsistence to a large population. The his
tory of this trade is not easy to be gathered from even the oldest
residents here, since few people care about preserving memorials
of the past; and the governors, as well as their dependants in
office, change so frequently, that no records of a very old date re
main for the examination of their successors. A period is spoken
of, about fifty years ago, when the trade of Bussorah was most
flourishing, and the amount of the imports in India produce, and
of the exports in treasure, is stated at a sum so enormous, as to
prove its origin to have been in the warm imagination of some one
fresh from the tales of Haroun el Raschid. From more authentic
documents it appears, that in the year 1805, the trade of Calcutta,
Madras, Bombay, and Surat, with Bussorah, left a balance of about
half a million sterling in favour of British India annually. This
trade is rather increased than diminished, and the value of the
articles entering into it makes it amount to more than the number
of vessels employed would seem to warrant. During the last
year, there have been, altogether, fifteen ships from Bengal and
Bombay, averaging from three to four hundred tons each. These
brought Bengal muslins and piece-goods, pepper, spices, drugs,
rice, sugar, indigo, silk, and cotton-yarn, Surat manufactures,
shawls, china-ware, china-paper, dye woods, coffee, lac One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , beads, sugar-
candy, and other articles, as the produce of India; with lead, iron,
cutlery, quicksilver, tin, steel, cochineal, and other articles, as the
European exports to that country. The returns were made chiefly