Diary and Consultations of Mr Alexander Douglas, Agent of the East India Company at Gombroon [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] in the Persian Gulf, commencing 2 December 1761 and ending 7 February 1763. [‎72v] (153/218)

Content

The volume is in the form of a diary, which contains records of consultations at the Gombroon [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] Factory An East India Company trading post. . The Chief Agent, Alexander Douglas, and the Factory An East India Company trading post. 's Council member Dymoke Lyster headed the consultations. They recorded the daily activities, the administrative decisions made, and letters sent and received. Records of significant political and military operations in the region are also preserved. Folios 2-4 are mistakenly dated 2-3 December 1762, considering how the diary is dated from folio 5 onward, the correct date of folios 2-4 should have been 2-3 December 1761.

The diary contains records of letters, sundry interrogatories and testimonies between the Factory An East India Company trading post. and the Bussorah [Basra] Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Staff members regarding the following: the dismissal of William Shaw and Robert Garden from the charge of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. ; the delivering over the charge of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. and all 'merchandize' books, papers and cash belonging to the Company; the case of the contract between Mr Shaw and a contractor called Hadjee Eusuph [Haji Yusuf]; the state of affairs at Bussorah; the Company's packets to be sent via Bagdat [Baghdad] to Aleppo; the woollen goods supplied to Bussorah market; the trade with the Turks; the status of the roads and the activities of the Arab tribes between Bagdat and Aleppo; managing the estates of the late Bussorah Residents Martin French and James Stuart, respectively; the activities of the Turkish governors in the region; and relations with local merchants.

The diary includes records of letters exchanged with the Court of Directors The London-based directors of the East India Company who dealt with the daily conduct of the Company's affairs. for Affairs of the East India Company at Bombay [Mumbai], and sundry paragraphs received from Bombay and details of their contents including: news of the death of King George II, in October 1760, and the proclamation of George III as the King of Great Britain, France and Ireland; news of the formation of a Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. at Fort Marlborough, and the names of its Council members; notes on the prohibition of ophium [opium] import upon the west coast of Summatra [Sumatra] and Gombroon; the case of wounded soldiers from Bengall [Bengal]; records of the names and positions of dismissed and appointed staff at the Company's councils; discussing accounts books received from Gombroon; and records of the cash accounts and balance.

The diary also includes records of the state of affairs and military operations in a number of provinces in Persia including: Carmenia [Kerman], Assehannon [probably al-Sana south of Būshehr, also written as Aschannon, and Acchannon], Schyrash [Shiraz], Tairun [Tehran, also written as Tarroun], Spahaun [Eṣfahān], Yazd, Kaderabaud [Qaderabad and Qadirabad], Taberez [Tabriz], and Carazoon [Khorāsān]. Among the governors and families involved in the operations are: Carem Caun [Karīm Khān Zand, Vakil Elected representative or attorney, acting in legal matters such as contracting marriage, inheritance, or business; a high-ranking legal official; could also refer to a custodian or administrator. of Persia, also written as Carim], Sadduek Caun [Sadiq Khān Zand, Governor of Shiraz, and brother of Karīm Khān], Ahmet Shaw [Ahmad Shah Afghan Dorrani, known as Ahmad Shah Abdali r 1747-1772], Fatally Caun [Fath Ali Khān Afshar, Persian Military General], Moolah Ally Shaw [Mulla Ali Shah], Nassir Caun [Nāsir Khān Āl Mazkūr, Shaikh of Būshehr, ruled 1162-1203/c 1749-1788], Jaffer Caun [Ja‘afar Khān Āl Mazkūr, Governor of Gombroon and brother of Nāsir Khān], the Julfar Arabs [Julfār, in what is now Ra's al Khaymah], Benimines [Banu Mu‘in] of Bunderick [i.e. Bandar-e Rīg] and Ormuse [Jazīreh-ye Hormoz, Hormuz, Ormuz] and the Charrack Arabs [Al-‘Ali, based at Charrack, modern Bandar-e Chārak].

Among other issues and news recorded in the diary are: the activities of Dutch and French vessels; the shipment of wool from Carmenia; letters exchanged with commanders of the Company's ships along with sailing orders; indent of woollen goods proper for the Persian market including the type of cloth, amount and colours required; accounts of damaged goods delivered out of the Company's warehouse; list of account salaries due to the Company's staff at Gombroon; news of the sudden death of Bussorah Resident James Stuart on 21 July 1762; and the appointment of Dymoke Lyster as the new Resident at Bussorah.

The diary includes records of the arrival and departure of ships, including the Swallow , the Drake , the Earl of Elgin , the Speedwell , the Dadely , the Berkshire Snow , the Monmouth , and the Fanny Snow .

Ships sailed mainly to and from Gombroon, Bombay, Bussorah, Bengall, Muscat, Charrack, Madrass [Madras, i.e. Chennai], China, the Malabar Coast, Ormuse, Bushire, and Batavia [Jakarta].

In addition, the diary includes abstracts of the standard account disbursements for each month. These cover the following: garrison charges, hospital charges, stable charges, merchandised charges, the Afseen [Afsin] Garden, extraordinary charges, servants' wages, house rent, house repairs, house expense, and ships' charges.

Extent and format

1 volume (104 folios)

Arrangement

The volume includes one diary, numbered 1-201, which corresponds to folios 2-102. The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the diary.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 104; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading flyleaf.

Pagination: the file also contains an original pagination sequence.

Written in

English in Latin script

View the complete information for this record

Share this item

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100113925413.0x00009a">Diary and Consultations of Mr Alexander Douglas, Agent of the East India Company at Gombroon [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] in the Persian Gulf, commencing 2 December 1761 and ending 7 February 1763. [&lrm;72v] (153/218)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100113925413.0x00009a">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001251.0x00036b/IOR_G_29_14_0153.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>

Copyright: How to use this content