Enclosures on Persia from the Secret Department, Fort St George, to the Secret Committee, 1809-1810

Content

The volume contains the contents of three packets sent by the Secret Department, Fort St George, Madras [Chennai], to the Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. , London, dated 21 December 1809, 10, and 26 January 1810.

The contents consist of correspondence relating to Persia [Iran], particularly in connection to British interests and policy in the country. Main subjects covered include:

• Sir Harford Jones’s diplomatic mission to Persia, including updates on his progress, negotiations with the Persian Ministry over the Preliminary Treaty, allegations against his conduct by the Governor-General of India and efforts to disavow Jones of his ministerial functions, and issues of finance and supply
• Preparations and instructions for the diplomatic mission to Persia of Brigadier-General Sir John Malcolm
• French influence in Persia, including the activities of diplomatic agents in the country
• Events of the Russo-Persian War, 1804-13, including Persian gains at Erivan [Yerevan] and negotiations for peace
• Discussion of the supply of arms to Persia from India.

Other more minor matters covered include:

• Political affairs in Persia
• A request for leave of absence by Andrew Jukes, Surgeon at Bushire [Bushehr, various spellings in this volume]
• Alleged acts of ‘piracy’ in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
• Events of the Napoleonic Wars, including the Battles of Aspern-Essling and Wagram, 1809
• British relations with the Ottoman Porte, including the signing of the Treaty of Dardanelles, 1809
• Plague in Eastern Arabia [part of present-day Saudi Arabia].

Principal correspondents include: Lord Minto [Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto], Governor-General of the 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 William; Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Chief Secretary to the Governor-General (often writing from Fort St George); William Bruce, Acting Resident at Bushire; Captain Charles Pasley, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Persia; Sir Harford Jones, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary A diplomatic representative who ranks below an ambassador. The term can be shortened to 'envoy'. to the Court of Persia; and Brigadier-General John Malcolm, Envoy to the Court of Persia.

Other correspondents, included as enclosures, include: Fath Ali Shah [Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh Qājār], Shah of Persia; Meerza Sheffea [Mirzā Shafi’ Māzandarāni, numerous spellings in this volume], Prime Minister to the Shah of Persia; Haujee Mohummud Hoossaine Khaun [Ḥājī Muḥammad Ḥusayn Khān Isfāhānī, numerous spellings in this volume], Second Prime Minister to the Shah of Persia; Hossain Ali Meerza [Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā Farmānfarmā], Prince-Governor A Prince of the Royal line who also acted as Governor of a large Iranian province during the Qājār period (1794-1925). of Shirauz [Shiraz]; Nusr oolah Khan [Naṣr-Allāh Khān Qaragūzlū], Minister to the Prince-Governor A Prince of the Royal line who also acted as Governor of a large Iranian province during the Qājār period (1794-1925). of Shirauz; Thomas Henry Sheridan, Acting Public Secretary to Harford Jones; Robert Adair, Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul]; the Military Boards at Bombay [Mumbai], Madras, and Bengal; Francis Warden, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. ; Abbas Meerza [ʻAbbās Mīrzā A title of honour originally applied to princes, later to military leaders, and later still to secretaries, chieftains, and other ‘gentlemen’. Qājār], Crown Prince of Persia; and Alexander Termasoff [Aleksandr Termasoff], Russian General.

Extent and format

1 volume (277 folios)

Arrangement

The volume is 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 first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 273; 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 volume also contains an earlier foliation sequence.

Written in

English and French 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/29/37

Former external reference(s)

Persia 30A

History of this record

Date(s)

29 May 1809-27 Jan 1810 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)DiplomacyInternational relations

Places

Persia

People & organisations

Government of BengalGovernment of MadrasHM Ambassador to Iran

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Enclosures on Persia from the Secret Department, Fort St George, to the Secret Committee, 1809-1810, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/G/29/37, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000001251.0x00039a> [accessed 27 August 2024]

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