Abstract: A collection of letters sent from and received at the East India Company's Bushire Residency from the establishment of the settlement in early 1763 until late 1788. The letters are mostly between the Residency and the Agency in Basra or the Presidency at Bombay, but there are several letters from other individuals and Company servants.The correspondence covers a wide range of topics:Trade - mainly the import of English woollens for the Persian market and the export of Carmenia wool (from Kirmān province) and raw silk. Other commodities discussed are tin, lead, and coffee.Political developments in Persia and along the Gulf coast. The dominant events focus around relations between Mīr Muhanna, the Banu Ka‘b, Karim Khan, the Ottoman Turks, the Sheikhs of Bushire, the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) and the English, and cover a period of increasing political and military activity by the British East India Company in the region.Financial and administrative matters, including the relationship between the Agency in Basra and the Residency, structural changes within the Company as a whole, and the issues of sick leave, salaries, and allowances.Scientific and geographical matters, such as botanical collections and weather.Physical description: Condition: Some of the pages in the volume have been damaged by bookworm, stains, and general wear and tear which has obscured parts of the text, but generally the condition of the documents is good. There has been some recent restoration using a silk laminate and more modern paper.Foliation: The main sequence, and the one used for reference, is written in pencil in the top right corner of the recto of each folio.There are also two pagination systems, which are inconsistent. The first is written in large numbers, in pencil, in the top outside corner of each page. It appears throughout the volume but is often out of sequence. The second appears only on the later letters (those between 1786 and 1788) and seems to be original. It is written in ink on the top outside corner of each page.In addition to this, the later (1786-1788) letters are also individually numbered at the bottom of each item. This is an original numbering.
Abstract: This volume contains correspondence sent to and from the East India Company Factory at Bussora [Basra] between 27 April 1779 and 1 December 1783 including:The correspondence of William Digges Latouche and George Abraham, agents at the English factory in Bussora, with the Court of Directors of the East India Company in LondonThe expedition of Shaik Tamar [Shaikh Thamir bin Sa’dun al-Kabir] of the Montificks [Muntafiq Tribe] against the Khesaal [Khaza’il] ArabsThe Government of the Mussaleem [Mutasallim] of Bussora, Soliman Aga [Sulayman Agha]The imprisonment by Sadoo Caun [Muhammad Sadiq Khan Zand] of his nephew Abdul Fatty Caun [Abu’l-Fath’ Khan Zand], the eldest son of the Vakeel [Karim Khan Zand]The capture of Bushire [Bushehr] by Reis Baackir Caun [Ra’is Baqir Khan] of the Tanksoors [Tangsiris]The victory of Ally Morat Caun [‘Ali Murad Khan Zand] against Zolfacker Caun [Dhu’lfaqar Khan Afshar] and his preparations to march against Sadoo Caun at Schyras [Shiraz]The defeat of Mahomet Bey [Muhammad Bey] and Mahomet Khaleel Oghly [Muhammad Khalil-oghli’s] Turkish and Persian forces outside Bagdat [Baghdad]The correspondence of Latouche with Sir Robert Ainslie, British Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul]The expulsion of Jaffer Caun [Ja’far Khan Zand], and departure of the armies of Ally Nacquy Caun [‘Ali Naqi Khan Zand] and Ackba Caun [Akbar Khan Zand] from SchyrasThe letters of John Beaumont, Resident at Bushire to the Chairman of the Court of DirectorsThe correspondence of Captain Richard Scott from Bussora with the Secretary of the East India Company Peter MitchellThe arrival of the new Mussaleem Ismael Aga [Isma’il Agha] from BagdatThe appointment of Edward Galley to succeed John Beaumont as Resident at BushireThe clashes between Ally Nacquy Caun and Ally Morad Caun over possession of Ispahan [Isfahan]The arrival of Samuel Manesty for the ‘assistance of the settlement’ at BussoraThe correspondence of Latouche with the Secret Committee of the East India CompanyThe accounts of profits and losses taken from the General Books of the English Factory at BussoraThe accounts of ‘charges general’ listing expenditures, reasons, and the amount of cash in accountThe letters of Commander-in-Chief, India, Sir Eyre Coote to Colonel John Brathwaite, dated 6 July 1781The correspondence of the President of Bombay, William Hornby, with Latouche at BussoraThe ‘dispossession’ of Rajah Chit Sing [Raja Chait Singh] of Benaras [Benares]The clashes between the forces of Hyder [Haydar ‘Ali] and CooteThe death of Taggy Caun [Taqi Khan Zand], entrance of Ally Morat Caun into Schyras, and withdrawal of Sadoo Caun and Abdul Fatty Caun into the citadelThe surrender of the citadel of Schyras to Ally Morat Caun, the blinding of his rival Sadoo Caun, and the latter’s subsequent suicide from opium poisoningThe correspondence of Latouche with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Court of DirectorsThe Bacha of Bagdat and his Montifick allies’ campaign against the Ghesaal [Khaza’il]The correspondence of Rawson Hart Boddam from Surat with Latouche at BussoraThe treaty of alliance between the British and the Maharata [Maratha] statesThe success of General Richard Matthews in taking the fortress of BednoreThe rumours about the death of Bussey [Charles Joseph Patissier, Marquis of Bussy-Castelanu]The death of Hyder and Tippoo [Tipu Sultan’s] joining the army of MysoreA packet of letters from Bussora, received by Ambassador Ainslie at Constantinople, and forwarded by him to Envoy Extraordinary at Vienna, Sir Robert Murray Keith, to be delivered to the Secret CommitteeThe correspondence of Major Thomas Geils from Bagdad with Sir Henry FletcherThe war between Mahomed the son of Shaik Soliman [Shaikh Muhammad bin Sulayman al-Ka’bi] and Shaik Gathban [Shaikh Ghadban al-Ka’bi] of the Chaubs [Banu Ka'b tribe]The request from Latouche to leave the factory in charge of ManestyA rumour about the death of Madjee Scinida [Mahadji Sindhia] near Oude [Awadh]The correspondence of David Hays from Aleppo with Latouche, with the attestations of Vincenzo Ottonelli and Giuseppe Donato about the packets from BussoraThe agreement between the Chaub and Shaik Swiney [Shaikh Thuwayni bin ‘Abd Allah al-Sa’dun], andThe disagreement between Shaik Nasir [Shaikh Nasir Al Mazkur] of Bushire and the Shaik of Julfar [Shaikh Saqar bin Rashid al-Qasimi]Physical description: 1 volume (184 folios)
Abstract: These volumes contain the correspondence of the East India Company Factory at Bussora [Basra] with the Court of Directors and Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the Company in London, as well as occasional correspondence with the Bacha of Bagdat [Pāshā of Baghdad], the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Porte, the Zand rulers of Persia [Iran], and the President and Governor in Council at Bombay [Mumbai].Physical description: Foliation: this file consists of four physical volumes. The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio of volume one (ff 1-201a), through volume two (ff 202-404a), volume three (ff 405-606a), and terminates at the last folio of volume four (ff 607-804); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves of each volume. The sequence contains three foliation anomalies: f 201a; f 404a; f 606a.