Abstract: The volume consists of chronological entries containing transcripts of correspondence sent and received, and notes on the arrival and departure of vessels at Bushire. The Resident during the period covered was William Bruce (acting).The correspondence sent is entered under the date the letter was written; that received is entered under the date of receipt at Bushire. The correspondence is mostly between the Resident and other East India Company officials, particularly the Government of Bombay; the Government of Bengal, Fort William, Calcutta; the Resident at Bussora [Basra] (Samuel Manesty, and deputising for him Lieutenant Edward Hutchins Bellasis and John Law); the Resident at Bagdad [Baghdad] (Harford Jones); the Resident at Muscat (David Seton); and commanders of ships of the Bombay Marine (the East India Company navy) .The records of shipping consist of a note of the day of arrival and departure of ships of the Bombay Marine and country ships (privately-owned merchant ships, which operated under licence from the East India Company), and information on their port of origin and destination. The term 'imported' is used to indicate the arrival of a vessel.General topics covered in the volume include:appointments;piracy;movements of ships;financial and accounting matters;sales of merchandise;relations with Persia;political developments in the region;administrative matters;the transmission of packets of correspondence;the activities of French privateers in the Gulf.Specific topics (dated by date of diary entry) covered in the volume include:the capture of the
Creoleand the fate of the body of the late Resident at Bushire, Mirza Mehedy Alli Khawn [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān], 31 October 1805 (ff. 2v-3r);correspondence between the Government of Bombay and Bruce concerning discrepancies in the audit of the Bushire Residency accounts for the period 1801/02, 13 November 1804 (ff. 3r-4r);the capture by Joasem [Qāsimī] pirates of the British brigs
Shannon and Trimmer(e.g. entries for 6 December 1804 - 12 January 1805, ff. 26r-32v).The volume contains transcribed correspondence from dates earlier than the first diary entry. The earliest such letter is dated 30 November 1803.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the first folio after the front cover and terminates at 90 on the last folio before the back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Foliation anomaly: ff. 1, 1A.Pagination: a pagination sequence numbered 1-176 runs between ff. 2-89. These numbers are written in ink and appear in the top right (recto) or top left (verso) corner of each page. Damage to the edges of the pages has resulted in the loss of some of these numbers. In consequence, the pagination sequence has been duplicated in pencil on each page; these numbers appear in the top centre of each page and are not circled.Condition: the volume has suffered damage to the edges of many of the folios. This has resulted in the loss of some of the pagination numbers (as above) and (particularly between ff. 2-22) the ends of some lines of text; however, the missing text can generally be reconstructed. There are also two holes in the top centre and top right of folios 1-11. These have also occasioned some loss of text, but the sense of the original is generally unaffected.
Abstract: The item consists of extracts of Political Consultations, Council Resolutions and Orders, minutes, and correspondence of the Government of Bombay. The papers relate to Persia [Iran], covering the following specific matters:The diplomatic mission of Sir Harford Jones to the Persian Court at Tehran, including discussion of his perceived misconduct, his progress at Sheerauz [Shiraz] and Ispahan [Isfahan], and the question of bills drawn by Jones at the expense of the Government of IndiaBrigadier-General John Malcolm’s preparations for an expedition to the Island of Kharack [Kharg] in the Persian GulfIntelligence regarding the French Embassy in PersiaCommunications between the Persian Ministry and the British.The correspondence is principally between: the governments of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras; William Bruce, Acting Resident at Abusheher [Bushehr] (later Andrew Jukes, Surgeon and Assistant in Charge of the Residency); Sir Harford Jones, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Persia; and Brigadier-General John Malcolm.Physical description: 1 item (64 folios)
Abstract: Two copies of letters from Sir Harford Jones, British Envoy Extraordinary to Persia [Iran], to James Justinian Morier, Secretary to Jones’s mission, and Lord Minto, Governor-General of Bengal, sent from Tehran and dated 4 and 9 June 1809. The letters are principally concerned with the discovery of members of the French mission to Persia under General Claude-Mathieu Gardane remaining in Tebreze [Tabrīz], Jones’s suspicions of French and Russian intrigue and fears of a French resurgence at the Court of Persia, and the need to counteract this.The letters were enclosed in Jones’s letter No. 10 to Sir Robert Dundas, President of the Board of Control, dated 13 June 1809.Physical description: 1 item (11 folios)
Abstract: The item consists of abstracts, in English, of French papers, probably intercepted, relating to relations between France and Persia [Iran]. The papers are as follows:Abstract of a letter from General Gardanne [Claude Mathieu de Gardane], Envoy to Persia, to DeCaen [Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen], Governor-General of Isle de France [Mauritius]Abstract of a Treaty of Commerce between France and Persia, negotiated in 1807 but never ratifiedAbstract of a letter from Monsieur Conte (?), Consul at Bagdat [Baghdad], to DeCaen.Matters covered include Gardanne’s mission to the Persian Court in Tehran, the influence and activities of the English, and commercial affairs.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: The item consists of a note regarding French agents and representatives sent to Persia [Iran] between 1796 and 1808.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Abstracts of dispatches from Sir Harford Jones, British Envoy Extraordinary to Persia [Iran], to the British Government, sent from Tehran and dated between March and April 1809. Subjects covered include:The French presence in TehranThe Preliminary Treaty signed between Jones and Persian Ministers, and the terms of subsidy and loan of personnel and artillery offered to Persia under this treatyA demand by Lord Minto, Governor-General of Bengal, that Jones abandon his mission and leave Persia, and Minto’s refusal to continue paying Jones’s expensesThe appointment of Meerza Abdul Hassan [Mīrzā Abul Hassan] as Vakeel (Envoy) to London.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)