Forbes, James, 1749–1819, James Forbes letter, Dhuboy, 1780 September 30, copied between 1794 and 1800
- Call Number:
- Folio A 2023 69
- Holdings:
- [Request]
- Creator:
- Forbes, James, 1749–1819
- Title(s):
- James Forbes letter, Dhuboy, 1780 September 30
- 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 10, page 245-257
- 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 his sixty-seventh letter with a brief recollection of past encounters with the city of Dhuboy (now Dabhoi) in Gujarat. He references his previous involvement with the East India Company’s military campaign against the Marathas, and suggests that he never expected they would come into possession of the city, let alone that he would be appointed collector for the town and the surrounding areas. He offers a brief description of the city and its environs—he provides figures on what he believes to be the income the area has provided in the past, and asserts that, given the current state of its fortifications, it is not a strong position, and could only withstand an Indian military attack, not a European one. He lists the pleasures of the governor’s mansion, where he now lives, and notes the numerous birds and creatures that live in the city, as they have “never heard the sound of a sportsman’s gun.” “Beauty of the Prospect” Forbes then turns to a description of the vista from his lodgings. He writes of a bucolic setting in the immediate area, and that, “beyond this rural scenery, rises in majestic grandeur, the lofty mountain of Powa-Ghur, one of the strong holds in the Mahrattta empire.” Forbes discusses what has captured his attention most, and what will occupy him for the remainder of the letter: though he spends a small amount of space investigating the inhabitants of the city, he claims that most of his energy will go into describing the inanimate, or the fortifications, structures, history, etc. He writes that, “in my former letters I have nearly exhausted the description of the various tribes of Indians” and that, once one has spent more time in India, “a sameness reigns, which does not befriend the inquisitive traveler.” “Inhabitants of Dhuboy” Nevertheless, Forbes does give an account of the town’s residents. There are, he says, several thousand brahmins, many of whom lead most “abstracted lives.” He explains that previous Muslim governments did not interfere with local religious customs, and that the city has, until now, had little contact with Europeans. Forbes then describes an encounter with local practitioners, one related to his official duties for the Company. He narrates the visit of several brahmin residents, who ask that Forbes request European personnel respect monkeys, refrain from shooting birds, and, as much as possible, confine the killing of cows for food to private settings not visible to the residents of the city. Forbes finds this request entirely reasonable, and only regrets that his countrymen do not share his own distaste for beef. He ends this section of the letter with a short quotation from Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man. “Fortifications and Buildings” From the inhabitants of Dhuboy, Forbes turns to the physical construction of the city. He is fascinated by the stones “curiously wrought and scattered about Dhuboy,” ones that must have once been imposing but are now in decay. One section of the original wall remains intact, and Forbes takes it as an indicator of a past in which the city possessed a staggering grandeur it no longer possesses. One exception to that, however, is the “gate of diamonds,” a gate and temple complex which is the “completest specimen of Hindoo architecture and sculpture I have yet seen.” Forbes regrets that his pencil cannot do it justice, and he speaks with high regard for the many sculptures adorning the various surfaces of the structure. “Origin of Dhuboy” The final section of Forbes’s letter concerns the history of the city. He describes his sources as “Bhauts” and “oral historians.” Forbes provides an account about a Hindu ruler named Sadara Jaising, the “Lion of Strength,” (probably Jayasimha Siddharaja). One of the women in his harem, expecting a child, fell victim to the jealousy—and the malicious magical powers—of the other women in the harem, and so left the city to perform a sacrifice for her child. Arriving at the site of Dhuboy, she was told by a holy man to go no further, and, after setting up camp, gave birth to a son at that spot. The king, wanting to ensure the safety of his wife, ordered a city built on the spot, and the son—once he had succeeded his father on the throne—returned to the city frequently. Forbes continues, explaining that for a long time the city had no Muslim inhabitants. At one point, a Muslim man ventured into the city to see its beauty, and bathed in its tank. He was killed for profaning the water, and his mother vowed revenge. She convinced a nearby sovereign to attack the city, resulting in its desolation. The mother, who died in the siege, is nonetheless today revered by both Hindus and Muslims as a saint. Mughal rule made the city prosperous once again, and Maratha rule rebuilt the walls. Now, the Company maintains control of it and the surrounding area. Portions of this text appear in <title>Oriental Memoirs</title>, volume 2, chapter 23.
- Physical Description:
- 13 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/3199917
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199917?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1