Various Papers Relating to the Work and Activities of the East India Company in the Gulf of Persia

Content

The volume comprises correspondence, reports, notes, and other papers relating to the work and activities of the East India Company (EIC) in the Gulf of Persia [also spelled as the Gulph]. The volume consists of thirteen items covering various subjects, including:

• The dispute between the EIC and the Bashaw An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. [Pāshā, also spelled as Pashaw, and Bacha] of Bagdad [Baghdad, also spelled as Bagdat]
• Correspondence of the EIC with the Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Company related to their rights to trade
• Complaints raised against the EIC’s Factory An East India Company trading post. at Surat
• The right to trade in Mecca, Judda [Jeddah], Bussorah [Basra; several spellings appear in the volume] and Mocha
• The Company’s request for naval assistance against its maritime enemies in the Gulf
• A ‘Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the Troubles in the Gulph of Persia’
• An ‘account of the Maritime Force of the several Indian maritime powers’
• French military and naval activities and their capture of the Imaum [Imām] of Muscat’s ship
• The war with Hyder Ally [Ḥaydar ‘Alī, Sulṭān of Mysore]
• Appointment of Sir John Lindsay as Commander-in-Chief of the EIC’s naval force
• The Treaty of Perpetual Friendship and Peace made and concluded between the EIC and the Sultan of Mysore (ff 136-137)
• Appointment of Samuel Manesty to be in charge of the Company’s affairs at Bussorah
• Reports of the activities of the Monteficka Arabs [al-Muntafiq Arab tribal confederation, also spelled as Montificka]
• Correspondence with local woollen goods contractors and merchants in Bussorah and Bagdad
• A detailed ‘Report on the British trade with Persia [Iran] and Arabia’
• The mission of Mirza Mehedy Ali Khan [ Mīrzā A title of honour originally applied to princes, later to military leaders, and later still to secretaries, chieftains, and other ‘gentlemen’. Mahdī ‘Alī Khān, several spellings appear in the volume], Resident at Bushire [Bushehr] to the Persian Court, and his diplomatic efforts to impede the advance of Zeman Shah [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Amīr of Afghanistan, also spelled as Zemaun] into Hindostan [Subcontinental India]
• Appointment of Captain John Malcolm to the office of Envoy from the British Government to the Court of Persia on 12 October 1799
• A Memoir on the Whahaubee [Wahhābīs, also spelled as Wahabies]
• A proposal of a treaty with Persia
• The arrival and departure of ships, and trading activities in various towns and ports
• Ottoman-Persian relations
• Ottoman-British relations
• Russian-Persian relations
• French-Arab relations.

The main correspondents in the volume are: Lord Halifax [George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax], Secretary of State for the Northern Department; the Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Company; Lord Viscount Weymouth [Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath], Secretary of State for the Northern Department; Robert Wood, the Under-Secretary of State; the EIC’s Court of Directors The London-based directors of the East India Company who dealt with the daily conduct of the Company's affairs. ; Sir John Lindsay, Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies; William Digges Latouche and Samuel Manesty, the EIC’s Residents at Bussorah respectively; Jonathan Duncan, the Governor at Bombay; Soliman Bacha [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, also spelled as Soleyman] of Bagdad; Mirza Mehedy Ali Khan, Resident at Bushire; and Hajy Mahomed Kheleel Mullik Ettijar [Ḥājī Muḥammad Khalīl Qazwīnī, Malik al-Tujjār of the Persian Empire; several spellings of his name and title appear in the volume].

Extent and format

1 volume (479 folios)

It is grouped into

Correspondence of the East India Company with Lord Halifax

12 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 1-6

Correspondence of the East India Company with the Levant Company

30 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 7-21

Correspondence Related to the Trade in Mecca, Judda, Bussorah and Mocha

18 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 22-30

Correspondence Regarding the Naval Powers in the East Indies and the Gulph of Persia

162 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 31-110

Correspondence Related to the Company’s Affairs in India and the Persian Gulf

64 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 111-142

French Naval Activities in the Persian Gulf

20 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 143-152

Letters and Enclosures from the East India Company’s Residents at Bussorah

94 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 153-199

‘Report on the British Trade with Persia and Arabia.’

180 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 200-289

Correspondence Related to the Mission of Mirza Mahdi Ali Khan to Impede the Advance of Zeman Shah into India

44 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 290-311

The Mission of Mehedi Ali Khan in Persia, Appointment of John Malcolm as Envoy in Persia, and Other Matters

252 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 312-437

A Memoir on the Whahaubee

16 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 438-445

Proposed Treaty with Persia

12 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 446-451

Home Correspondence of the East India Company in Relation to its Naval Force in the Gulf

54 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/25, ff 452-478

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 478; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 452-478; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading flyleaf. The sequence contains two foliation anomalies: f 64A and f 75A.

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/G/29/25

Former external reference(s)

Persia 21

History of this record

Date(s)

31 Dec 1600-14 Apr 1810 (CE, Gregorian)

Places

Persian Gulf

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Various Papers Relating to the Work and Activities of the East India Company in the Gulf of Persia, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/G/29/25, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000001251.0x000376> [accessed 13 September 2024]

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