Enclosures to Bengal Secret Letter of 2 Sep 1806: Copies of Correspondence of Mr Lovett, Resident at Bushire

Content

The volume contains copies of correspondence, intelligence reports, diary extracts, and memoranda relating to the appointment, service, and conduct of Jonathon Henry Lovett (1778-1805) as Resident in Bushire [Būshehr].

The principal subjects covered are:

• Lovett's instructions to deliver a letter of apology from the Governor-General, Lord Wellesley [Richard Colley Wellesley], to the Court of the Shah of Persia [Iran], intended to ease tensions with the Persian authorities following the death in Bombay (August 1802) of their Envoy to India, Hajee Khalleel Khan [Hajji Khalil Khan], including providing financial assistance for his close relatives (listed on folios 26-27)
• Lovett's request to Manesty, Resident in Bussorah [Basra], that they swap residencies and that, due to the former's ill health, Manesty take over Lovett's duties and ambassadorial mission to the Persian Court
• Admonishment of Manesty, by Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Secretary to the Government of India, Fort William, for undertaking Lovett's ambassadorial mission to the Persian Court (July 1804) without sanction from the Governor-General
• Lovett's efforts to recover the Company property 'plundered' at Busheab [Jazīreh-ye Lāvān] after both the Alert and the Hector were ship-wrecked there, including attempts to obtain Persian assistance and the organisation of an expedition to the island (related papers include extracts of the diary of William Bruce, Assistant Resident in Bushire (folios 89-92 and 96-101) and the narrative of proceedings of Khoja Awanoos Ishak, Bushire Factory An East India Company trading post. Broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. (folios 63-67), both of whom were sent to Busheab to investigate).

Other subjects covered include:

• The political situation in Khorassan [historic Khorāsān] and Afghanistan, in particular Herat, Kabool [Kabul], and Meshhed [Mashhad]
• Local and regional affairs in Persia
• The movements of the Persian Army , particularly along the country’s northwest and northeast frontiers
• Ship movements in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including the sighting of two French vessels, the Atalanta and the Corvette
• Lovett’s persistent ill health which eventually led him to make the request that Manesty take on his duties at Bushire
• An epidemic in Persia of an unspecified disease during the autumn of 1803
• The appearance of a Persian man, believed by Lovett to be a fraud, calling himself 'Hyder Beg' and claiming to be in the employment of the French Government.

The volume chiefly comprises letters from Lovett to Edmonstone. Correspondence between Lovett and John Malcolm, Acting Private Secretary to the Governor-General, in Bombay, is also included.

Lovett’s letters contain many enclosures, mostly correspondence with the following: Cheragh Ally Khan [Chirāgh ‘Ali Khān], Vizier of Fars; Meerza Ameer [Mirza Amir], an informant of the British at Shiraz; Aga Mohummed Nebee [Muḥammad Nabī Khān Shirāzī], Hajee Khalleel Khan’s successor as Persian Envoy to India; Stephen S Beaufort, Supercargo of the Endeavour ; Shaikh Nusser [Nāṣir], Governor of Bushire; Khoja Awanoos Ishak, Bushire Factory An East India Company trading post. Broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. ; Shykh Rehma bin Sunnud of Nukheeloo [Shaikh Rahma bin Sunnud of Bandar-e Nakhīlū]; Captain Edward Stephenson, Commander of the Panther ; Lieutenant William Bruce, Assistant Resident, Bushire; Shaikh Jubara of Kangoon [Bandar-e Kangan]; Captain Robson, Commander of the Endeavour ; Mirza Reza Kooly [Mirza Reza Quli], Prime Minister of Persia; Prince Hoossein Aly Meerza [Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā], Governor of Fars; Captain William Maughan, Commander of the Ternate ; Captain David Seton, Resident at Muscat; and Khoja Fareed Oo Deen [Farīd al-Dīn], Moonshee [ Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. ] in Shiraz. At the back of the volume is correspondence between Lovett and John Lumsden, Chief Secretary to the Government of India, in Fort William, concerning his decision to leave Bushire and containing his explanation of why he did so.

Extent and format

1 volume (202 folios)

Arrangement

The volume is arranged in chronological order, from the front to the back, with the exception being the opening letters (folios 5-7). On folios 8-9 there is a list of correspondence in the order they appear in the volume. Each item in the list is given a number (1-40) and a brief description.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 200; 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 122-200; 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.

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/29/29

Former external reference(s)

Persia 24A

History of this record

Date(s)

3 Nov 1802-2 Sep 1806 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Diplomacy

Places

PersiaBusheab

People & organisations

ResidentResidentPersian Ambassador to IndiaGovernment of Bengal

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Enclosures to Bengal Secret Letter of 2 Sep 1806: Copies of Correspondence of Mr Lovett, Resident at Bushire, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/G/29/29, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/node/9581> [accessed 7 April 2025]

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