Sir John Malcolm's mission to Persia: copies of his letters and enclosures to the Governor-General, Fort William [‎37r] (78/590)

Content

The volume contains letters and enclosures from Captain John Malcolm, British Envoy at Abusheher [Bushehr, various spellings appear in the volume] to the Earl of Mornington, Governor-General, Fort William (Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess, Wellesley, spelled Marquis in the volume). Letters were also sent to Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Secretary to the Government in the Secret Political and Foreign Department, Fort William; Lieutenant-Colonel William Kirkpatrick, Secretary to the Government in the Foreign Department, Fort William; Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay [Mumbai]; Henry Dundas, President of the Board of Control Formally known as the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India, it was established by an Act of Parliament in 1784 to supervise the activities of the East India Company. ; and 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. of the Court of Directors The London-based directors of the East India Company who dealt with the daily conduct of the Company's affairs. .

The letters cover a variety of issues and topics including:

• Malcolm's journey to Persia [Iran], via Muscat, and his meeting with the Imam of Oman [Sayyid Sulṭān bin Aḥmad Āl Bū Sa‘īd, also written as Imaum]
• Malcolm's arrival at Abusheher and his reception by Persian officials
• His visits to a number of cities and regions including: Muscat, Hormuz [Jazireh-ye Hormoz], Kishm [Qishm], Anjam, Sheraz [Shiraz, various spellings appear in the volume], Isfahaun [Isfahan], Kashan [Kashan], and Teheraun [Tehran]
• Malcolm’s observations on the following: a general view of the former trade of European nations with the Persian Gulph [Gulf], from its first establishment until the year 1763; the present state of the trade with the Persian Gulph; the model by which the East India Company (EIC) could improve its trade; the port best situated for a settlement in the Gulph; an estimate of revenues and expenses; and the best way to carry this plan (ff 29-62)
• His communication with the ambassadors from the late Tippoo Sultan [Sulṭān Fātiḥ ʻAlī Ṣāḥib Tīpū, Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, d 1799], to the Court of Persia offering his advice to enable them to return to India
• Correspondence with Jaffier Ali Khan [Ja‘far ‘Alī Khān, various spellings appear in the volume], ‘Native Agent’ in Sheraz; and with Mirza Mehdi Alli Khan [Mirzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān, various spellings appear in the volume], ‘Native Agent’ in Abusheher
• Malcolm’s memoir on the origin and rise to power of the Royal Family of Persia, covering narration of the character of Baba Khan [Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh Qājār], his ministers and generals, the Persian army, the internal state of Persia, and its foreign relations (ff 68-76)
• ‘Abridged memoir of the Khajar [Qājār] Family’ (ff 77-92)
• Reports received from Herat about the advance of Zemaun Shah’s army [Zamān Shāh Durānī, Amīr of Afghanistan] in Persia
• Russian-Persian war over Georgia
• Persian-Afghan War
• British-Afghan relations
• ‘Substance of a Declaration or manifest of the Empress Catherine the 2nd on taking up arms against Aka Mahummud Khan [Āqā Muḥammad Khān Qājār], King of Persia, printed at Astracan [Astrakhan] 23rd May 1796 in the Russian and Armenian languages’ (ff 114-117)
• Translations of rukums [royal grants confirming specific trading privileges] from the Shah of Persia, Futteh Ally Khaun [Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh Qājār, various spellings appear in the volume] (ff 128-129 and ff 182-183)
• The relations between Zemaun Shah and the late Tippoo Sultan
• Arrangements for Malcolm to meet with the Shah of Persia
• The French activities in Baghdad [also spelled as Bagdad] and Bussorah [Basra]
• The appointment of certain officials in the Persian Court
• The communication between the Shah of Persia and Prince Mahomood [Maḥmūd Shāh Durānī, brother of Zamān Shāh]
• Copies of a Political treaty (ff 247v-251) and a Commercial treaty (ff 253v-259r) between the English Government and the Government of Persia. Each treaty was preceded by firmaun [farman, also spelled as Firimaun] from Futteh Ally Khaun (ff 246-247, 252-253, and 258v-259r)
• The possibilities of the Russian Government forming a connection either with the Aosbegs [Uzbeks] led by Shah Mooraud [Shāh Murād r 1785–1800], Zemaun Shah, or the Persians for the purpose of invading India
• Malcolm’s arrival at Baghdad and his meeting with Soliman Pacha [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, also spelled as Pashaw]; Harford Jones, British Resident at Baghdad; and Samuel Manesty, British Resident at Bussorah
• A journal of Malcolm’s mission to Persia including notes on the manners and habits of the Persian Court, and details of general military affairs in the region (ff 288-291).

Further correspondence, included as enclosures in the volume, comes from Persian officials: Cheragh Ali Khan, Wakeelud dawlah [Chirāgh ‘Alī Khān Navā’ī, Wakil Elected representative or attorney, acting in legal matters such as contracting marriage, inheritance, or business; a high-ranking legal official; could also refer to a custodian or administrator. al-Dawlah, Vizier to the Prince Regent of Shiraz]; Hajy Abrahim [Ḥājjī Ibrāhīm Khān Zand Kalāntar Shīrāzī, Eʿtemād al-Dawlah, Persian Prime Minister]; and Reza Kouli Khan, Governor of Kazeroon (Rezā Qulī Khān, Governor of Kazerun]. Besides some intelligence received from notable merchants, and native inhabitants of Afghanistan, Georgia and Persia.

The volume includes some duplications, and some faded letters/enclosures.

Extent and format

1 volume (291 folios)

Arrangement

The papers are 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 inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 293; 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.

Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.

Written in

English in Latin script

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