Enclosures to Bengal Secret Letters of 21 December 1808, 20 January and 3 April 1809 [‎237r] (482/616)

Content

The volume contains correspondence relating to affairs in Persia [Iran] and the Persian Gulph [ Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ]. The principal correspondents are: Sir Harford Jones [later Jones-Brydges], 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; Lord Minto [Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of 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. of Fort William; Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal From c. 1758-1858, the East India Company's administration in Bengal. From 1773-1833, the most senior of the three subdivisions of India, also known as the Supreme Government of India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. ; Brigadier-General Sir John Malcolm, Commander of the Expedition to the Persian Gulph; Captain Charles Pasley, Acting for Malcolm as Envoy to the Court of Persia; Jonathan Duncan, Governor in Council at Bombay; 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. ; and Andrew Jukes, Surgeon and Acting Resident at Bushire [Bushehr, also spelled Bushere in this volume]. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, comes from: Jafer Ali Khan [Ja‘far ‘Alī Khān, various spellings in this volume], Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. at Schyras [Shiraz, various spellings in this volume]; Mahomed Nebee Khan [Muḥammad Nabī Khān Shirāzī, various spellings in this volume], Vizier of Schyras; Prince Hooseen Alee Meerza [Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā Farmānfarmā, various spellings in this volume], 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 Fars; the King of Persia [Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh Qājār]; Nasr Oolah Khan [Naṣr-Allāh Khān Qaragūzlū, various spellings in this volume], Vizier 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 Fars; Mohumed Hussein Khan Karagoozloo [Muḥammad Ḥusayn Khān Qaragūzlū, various spellings in this volume], a Persian official; Meerza Sheffee [Mirzā Shafi’ Māzandarāni], Grand Vizier (First Minister) to the King of Persia; and Claudius James Rich, Resident at Bagdad [Baghdad].The volume covers the following matters:

• The diplomatic mission of Harford Jones: his arrival and reception at Bushire; his journey to Schyras and onwards to Tehran; correspondence with Persian officials and royalty; discussion of possible treaty articles, particularly in connection to promises made by Malcolm and Pasley during their earlier diplomatic mission; discussion of the appropriate degree of ostentation the mission should adopt; and discussion of the appropriate style and form of communication to be used between Jones and Persian officials
• The progress and movements of the French Embassy in Persia, under General Gardanne [Claude-Matthieu, Comte de Gardane]
• European politics in connection with the Napoleonic Wars and specifically concerning relations between Britain, France, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, including reports of the signing of the Treaty of Dardanelles, 5 January 1809, which brought an end to the Anglo-Ottoman War of 1807-09
• The Government of Bushire, including the removal of Shaik Abdoul Ressoul [Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān Āl Madhkūr] as Governor because of his treatment of Malcolm
• Political affairs in Persia, often reported by Jafer Ali Khan and his informants
• Malcolm’s Expedition to the Gulph to establish a British naval and commercial settlement on the island of Karrack [Kharg, various spellings in this volume], including: the political reasons behind the expedition; the abandonment of the expedition and the disbanding of the expedition force at Bombay; how (erroneous) reports of Malcolm’s imminent arrival in the Gulph were (or might be) received in Persia and Bagdad, and the impact this might have on Jones’s mission
• Events along Persia’s northern frontier, as part of the Russo-Persian War of 1804-13, particularly those at Erivan [Yerevan]
• Charges made by Lord Minto against the conduct of Jones and the latter's response to these charges.

The letters found on folios 132-180 are duplicates of those found on folios 47-85.

Extent and format

1 volume (304 folios)

Arrangement

The volume is arranged in approximate chronological order, from the left to the right.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 303; 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 foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading flyleaf.

Written in

English in Latin script

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