Forbes, James, 1749-1819, James Forbes letter, Bombay, 1769 December 23, copied between 1794 and 1800
- Call Number:
- Folio A 2023 69
- Creator:
- Forbes, James, 1749-1819
- Title(s):
- James Forbes letter, Bombay, 1769 December 23
- Date:
- copied between 1794 and 1800
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Series:
- Series I: A voyage from England to Bombay with descriptions in Asia, Africa, and South America
- Part of Collection:
- volume 3, page 131-135
- Provenance:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The materials are open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
- Scope and Content:
- Forbes begins this letter with a consideration of the timelessness of Asia and Asian peoples. Having discussed the “general traits” of various peoples, Forbes suggests “such as I have described them, were the Asiatics, at least the inhabitants of Hindostan, some thousand years ago” and such they will remain for the foreseeable future. They are “rivetted to the religion and manners of their forefathers” and, unlike Europeans, show little curiosity of the outside world. The timelessness of foreign peoples was, in Forbes’s time and beyond, a common trope used by European to describe other cultures. The outside world, however, has shown considerable interest in Asian peoples, beginning with the arrival of Vasco de Gama in the fifteenth century. This marked the beginning of the Portuguese presence in India, which Forbes here describes. The descendants of the original Portuguese now live under English law, “enjoy free liberty of conscience in the exercise of their Romish religion,” and retain European practices of dress and speech, though the latter is “greatly corrupted.” Forbes also speaks of indigenous converts to Catholicism, noting that they are generally “among the lowest classes of the people” who change many aspects of their lifestyle after conversion. Forbes then observes the presence of “many reputable Armenians” in Bombay, deeply involved in trade and industry. They also enjoy freedom of religion—Forbes identifies them with the “Greek Church”—and “their conversation and manners [are] grave and polite.” Forbes acknowledges the presence of “Persians, Turks, Jews, and Arabians” in the city as well, but suggests they are not permanent residents. Finally, Forbes alludes to his next letter, which, he explains, will be about his own countrymen, who, despite attempting to live in “the English style” have inevitably adopted some local customs. The letter closes with a lengthy quotation from Lady Anna Miller, beginning, “A considerable benefit arising from seeing other countries, is the eradicating, by the testimony of our own senses, many prejudices and littlenesses of thinking.” Portions of this letter appear in <title>Oriental Memoirs</title>, volume 1, pp. 121-122. Bibliography: Said, Edward. <title>Orientalism</title>. New York: Vintage, 1978.
- Physical Description:
- 5 pages
- Genre:
- Correspondence , Botanical illustrations, Ornithological illustrations, Travel sketches, Maps, Watercolors (paintings), Drawings (visual works), Engravings (prints), and Portraits
- Subject Terms:
- Forbes, James, 1749-1819. Descriptive letters and drawingsForbes, James, 1749-1819. Oriental memoirs
- Associated Places:
- EnglandItalyScotlandWales
- Associated People/Groups:
- East India CompanyForbes, James, 1749-1819
- Finding Aid Title:
- James Forbes archive
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199467
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199467?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1