Forbes, James, 1749–1819, James Forbes letter, Cochin, 1772 February 16, copied between 1794 and 1800
- Call Number:
- Folio A 2023 69
- Holdings:
- Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
- Creator:
- Forbes, James, 1749–1819
- Title(s):
- James Forbes letter, Cochin, 1772 February 16
- 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 5, page 157-165
- 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:
- Soon after his departure from Calicut, Forbes arrives at Cochin (now Kochi). After saluting the Dutch fortress, the party goes ashore. Forbes immediately casts contrast between Goa, the Portuguese city of “fanaticism” and “superstition” now in decline, and Cochin. The latter is a bustling commercial center; “the road is filled with vessels; the streets are crowded with merchants; a trade carried on to every part of India; and valuable cargoes provided to Europe.” Forbes’s reception by the governor further cements this positive impression. The governor makes a point of entertaining and engaging with his guests: “music and dancing exhilarate every evening.” There are, though, some downsides to life at Cochin. Though food is cheap and plentiful, the water is toxic, and those who drink it often experience “a violent swelling in the leg which is never to be cured; nothing can be more distressing than the sight of these objects; I have met with several whose leg was much larger than my body.” Nonetheless, Forbes praises the villas and houses of the elite of the city, remarking, “the Dutch settlements in general are far more improved and better regulated than ours.” This is, Forbes contends, in part because the Dutch see their move to India as permanent—many marry, and do not desire to return to Europe. The English, however, have a different attitude, and refrain from investing what they might save for their return home. Forbes describes the governor’s menagerie as another of Cochin’s many amusements. There he finds a creature with the head of a “sheep,…horns like a goat, but smoother, and of a finer polish; the hind quarters, legs, hoof, and tail…of a cow.” He further describes the cockatoos and lories kept by the Dutch as some of the most beautiful birds he has yet seen. Next, Forbes spends considerable time describing a Jewish community near Cochin. There, on the banks of the river is a settlement where the community is permitted “free exercise of their religion, have two Synagogues, and a number of priests.” Many inhabitants are from Poland and other parts of Europe, and have resided in the settlement since the advent of Dutch rule. Others, however, are, according to Forbes, the decedents of communities that have lived in Cochin since the Babylonian captivity. Some claim to have records tracing their history to this time, and Forbes sees little reason to doubt their veracity. Forbes closes his discussion of the Jewish community with a comment on their relation to biblical narratives and prophecies. He writes: “How completely are the prophecies verified in this unhappy nation! How are they fallen!” He then quotes extensively from Deuteronomy 28, beginning, “If thou forgettest the Lord thy God and servest other Gods, the Lord shall scatter thee among all people.” The letter closes with a brief reference to the King of Cochin, who is, at this point, “little better than a vassal to the Dutch,” and who “is seldom thought of in the arrangement of Oriental politics.” Portions of this text appear in <title>Oriental Memoirs</title>, volume 1, pp. 326-34.
- Physical Description:
- 9 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
- Collection PDF:
- https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/11734.pdf
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199586
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199586?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1