Forbes, James, 1749-1819, James Forbes letter, Tannah, on the Island of Salsette, 1775 January 15, copied between 1794 and 1800
- Call Number:
- Folio A 2023 69
- Holdings:
- [Request]
- Creator:
- Forbes, James, 1749-1819
- Title(s):
- James Forbes letter, Tannah, on the Island of Salsette, 1775 January 15
- 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 6, page 279-282
- 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’s twenty-third letter is a brief narrative of conquest. He reminds the reader of his previous letter from Salsette, written when the island was under Maratha rule. Forbes does not want to go into the details of political disputes, he insists, but does want to emphasize the radical shift that has taken place since his previous communications. On the 12th of the previous month, an English force left from Bombay and seized the fort at Tannah (now Thane) from the Marathas. Forbes gives detailed figures for the attacking force, and describes a fierce battle culminating in a “dreadful slaughter of the garrison, who made a very obstinate defense.” Upon hearing of the victory, along with the capture of several other nearby areas, Forbes leaves to visit the fort. Forbes describes the fort as large, in a pentagonal shape, though in parts near ruin after the siege. It was constructed by the Portuguese, and had been changed by the Marathas during their occupation of it. Forbes has mixed feelings about the surrounding area: he suggests that, due to its location, it’s likely an unhealthy spot, though admits that the spire of a nearby Portuguese church, along with the surrounding Hindu temples and Islamic minarets, makes for a “pleasing variety.” This text does not appear in <title>Oriental Memoirs</title>.
- Physical Description:
- 4 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/3199667
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199667?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1