"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٦‎٢] (١٧٨٢/٢٠٥)

62
Visit of the On the 23rd of July 1699 the Shah, attended by the ladies of his
English 0 Fax- Haram, paid a vieit in state to the English Factory at Isfahan, then
torj at Isfa- under the management of Mr. Bruce, where sumptuous preparations had
reaults^l699- ^ een ma ^ e ^ or reception. The visit was prompted by his own curiosity
1700. to examine a building of which the agreeable exterior had attracted its
notice, but it did not take place until the Shah had satisfied himself that
a precedent existed, to prove its consistence with his dignity, in a similar
visit by Shah 'Abbas I to the English Factory after the taking of
Hormuz. On the appointed day the Factory building and warehouses
were vacated by the staff, who had also petitioned the Shah " that direc
tions might be given to the eunuchs to prevent persons from attempting,
by means of the holes in the buildings, to look at the King and his attend
ants, J ' and everything passed off happily. The expenses of the reception
amounted to more than £12,000, but the results were advantageous. Not
only did the Shah testify to his gratification by presenting a robe of
honour, a valuable sword and a horse to the Agent, but one year's arrears
of customs were immediately paid at Bandar 'Abbas, and other solid
advantages followed. The Dutch soon afterwards tried to induce the
Shah to visit their Factory likewise, but in this they were not successful.
In 1700 a gift of " optical glasses of all descriptions " and a a collection
of rich sword blades for his selection " were sent by the Company to the
Shah in acknowledgment of the favour shown by him to their representa
tives ; and the Agent, now a Mr. Oliver, was instructed to present a
petition for the privilege of exporting raw silk from Persia.
Prescott's In 1 / 04 a Mr. Prescott was sent from England to convey a letter,
miSon' tUl accom P anie<1 b J presents, from Queen Anne to the Shah and to take
1704-0o. charge of the Company's Factories in Persia. He died at 'Isin near Bandar
Abbas in November 1705, three months after his arrival in the
country, commemorated only by a remark of the Agents in Persia,
that an honourable Agent would have been better than a poor
Ambassador. "
Disci edit to The credit of the English in Persia had now again fallen to a low
from the pre- ^ eve ^ 011 acc ount of the dishonourable treatment to which they were
valence of being subjected by the Mughals in India and of their own failure to
piracy9 6*2, j « _ #
1705-07. repress piracy; and in 1707 the Shah proposed to send a Persian
merchant as an envoy to Bombay to solicit naval aid against the pirates.
TLe English Agent in Persia, however, fearing that the state of affairs
in India did not reflect credit on his country and that closer acquaintance
with them on the part of the Persians might lead to a combination be
tween the Persians and the Dutch, dissuaded him from his intention by
promising that suitable measures should be taken against the pirates as