Forbes, James, 1749–1819, James Forbes letter, Bombay, 1775 September 15, 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, Bombay, 1775 September 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 8, page 175-177
- 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:
- Letter fifty-nine marks a drastic turn of events. It begins with a mission: having been entrusted with some of Ragobah’s (Raghunathrao) thoughts “which he did not think it proper to commit to paper,” Forbes leaves for Bombay (Mumbai) by boat. After sailing through a squall, Forbes arrives in the city, only “to find my embassy frustrated.” Having learned of the conflict between Ragobah, the company, and the Maratha confederate forces, company leadership in Calcutta (Kolkata) desired that the conflict cease, and sent one of its own officers to negotiate a treaty with the opposing forces. Forbes laments: “we have no reason to expect [it] will terminate in favour of Ragobah.” The move comes as a blow to Forbes; he took the war to be almost won, and now fears that the company’s victories in Gujarat will come to nothing. He decides to return to the army. Though still feverish, “I mean to take the chance of the army to which I was attached, until it is ordered to Bombay.” The text does not appear in <title>Oriental Memoirs</title>.
- Physical Description:
- 3 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/3199767
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199767?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1