Forbes, James, 1749–1819, James Forbes letter, Ahmed-abad, 1781 May 7, 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, Ahmed-abad, 1781 May 7
- 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 11, page 231-255
- 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 seventy-sixth letter describes the city and surroundings of the city of Ahmedabad. He begins with the history of the city: it was built in 1426, and Forbes relates a story in which the founder of the city, on a hunting expedition, had liked a particular location and constructed a city on that spot. Now, he says, “lofty minarets, decaying palaces, and ruined aqueducts for miles around, indicate its former extent magnificence.” “Decline of Ahmedabad” Forbes compares Ahmedabad (at its height) to London, and then discusses the rise and fall of Babylon. He dwells at length on the decline of Babylon, suggesting that, like that ancient city, Ahmedabad now “seems hastening to the period of its dissolution.” Forbes alludes to the previous glories of the Indian city, noting that before “all was on a grand scale when a luxurious court was kept in this city, and many of the chief nobles attended the imperial princes during their appointment as Vice-roys of Guzerat.” The current settlement, in Forbes’s view, “now exhibits an unhappy mixture of Mogul splendor and Mahratta wretchedness.” This poverty is seen in both the buildings and the inhabitants, who, having once lived in luxury, now subsist in “the gloom of obscurity.” They sell jewels and other treasures to survive, without any recourse to charity. “Public Buildings” Forbes then chronicles the more prominent buildings in the city. He starts with a magnificent mosque, one whose architectural details he describes at length. He compares the structure to cathedrals in Europe, writing, “There is an uncommon solemnity in this Musjid; a grandeur united with simplicity which is extremely striking, and leads the mind to reverential awe and devotion; similar to the venerable Gothic piles in England, which I think are peculiarly calculated to inspire pious thoughts.” He likewise comments on the solemnity of the worshippers: “whatever may be the characteristics of the Mahometans in other respects,” they exhibit a “profound humility” inside the mosque. Near the mosque are the tombs of Ahmad Shah I (d. 1442) and his sons. These are maintained by several “Fakeers and holy men,” and funded by land endowed for their support. Forbes, interpreting these and other monuments as signs of decay, quotes Virgil: “Troy is no more! And Ilium was a town!” He discusses other structures in the city, such as a mosque he refers to as the “ivory mosque,” and relates another anecdote of destruction, that of the Alexandrian library—“the literary world have ever lamented this cruel disaster”—to illustrate the decline of Ahmedabad. Forbes then turns to the Dutch presence in the city: there is a Dutch burial ground, though they no longer maintain a factory in the city. There was an English factory, but Forbes does “not find it was ever properly established.” Ahmedabad used to produce a wide array of elaborate and luxurious goods, such as gold, silk, and ivory, but “very few traces of its commerce now remain.” It does, however, maintain some reputation for gilding, lacquer, and other crafts. “Oriental Paintings” Forbes reports that he has bought a few original Indian paintings, rather than making his own copies, though he doesn’t think they will have any success in Europe. He describes them as “more curious than beautiful,” and that, while Persian artists far excel their Indian counterparts (in his opinion), he has been unable to buy any of those. “Sercaze, and Caaba at Mecca” Several miles away, Forbes describes another fantastic mosque. This one, he explains, is an exact model of the mosque at Mecca, an includes a copy of the Kaaba. He offers some details as to the origins and practice of the hajj—labeling it as the “most solemn act of their [Muslims’] devotion”—while immediately offering another historical, rather than theological, justification for the pilgrimage. It was, Forbes argues, a political and commercial design of the Prophet Muhammad, intended to draw trade into the region. “Shah-Bauhg” Forbes moves on to describe a brief stay at a summer palace north of the city, built by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan (1592-1666). It appears, to Forbes, a pleasing and opulent place, surrounded by canals and fountains, though the royal park and many of the nearby structures are now in ruins. Forbes comments on the nature of Indian gardens, noting that the best he has seen are, compared to English gardens, “more in the formal style of the last century; but in the remains of trees, plants, and buildings, display an uncommon degree of magnificence.” He closes with a quotation from Sirach. “Attah of Roses” “Asiatics,” Forbes says, are invariably fond of the rose. And so he includes a discussion of how one makes perfume (attar) from the rose. He describes the process in detail, remarking on the enormous quantity of roses to produce even a small amount of the essential oil so valued in India. He also laments the difficulty of finding attar that is not in some way doctored, either with sandalwood or kusha grass. He includes in this section a brief reflection of the beauty of birds in India, comparing them with those he saw in Brazil. He quotes Joseph Warton’s (1722-1800) poem, “The Enthusiast: or The Lover of Nature.” “The Nurses Well” Outside the city, Forbes finds a beautiful well: the “reservoir is all of hewn stone, surrounded by galleries, with circular steps leading to them, and a small dome, supported by light columns, over each.” He relates the various explanations for its existence, considering the large sum necessary for its construction. Some attribute it to a nurse, while others say that a rich dancing-girl, after selling one of jeweled anklets, funded its construction. Forbes continues: “the other she threw into the water, to reward the search of those who should dive into its deep abyss.” He closes with a short quotation from Genesis. “Ancient State of Ahmedabad & Guzerat” The final portion of Forbes’s letter returns to the history of Ahmedabad and Gujarat. He claims that the population of the city use to exceed three million, though it has now declined steeply. It was, he argues, once ruled by Hindus, before the invasion of “Pathans” and the advent of the “empire of Ghisni” (likely the area ruled by Mahmud of Gazni). Forbes attributes this political transition to the innate qualities of Hindus: “The effeminate Hindoos, languid and enervated by the heat of their climate, and naturally fond of indolence and ease, were unable to withstand the incursion of these northern barbarians.” Nonetheless, Forbes tells a history of incredible violence, marked by a “torrent of revenge.” There are, however, a few bright spots, and Forbes notes the incredible riches of India, and the foundation of a university by the Muslim rulers. Timur (Tamerlane) also makes an appearance in Forbes’s history, though he is described as bloodthirsty and doing anything to achieve power, an image Forbes argues for in distinction to more positive depictions of the ruler. He cites Nicholas Rowe’s (1674-1718) play Tamerlane as a take on Timur that ignores historical reality. Forbes then gives a quick overview of the cities more recent history: after being brought under Mughal control by Akbar, the city fell to Maratha forces, before again falling to Company forces under Thomas Goddard (d. 1783), who turned the city over to a Gujarati ruler. Forbes is, in a general sense, positive about Mughal rule, saying that Mughal rulers, “tho’ too fond of foreign conquests, and humbling other princes, in their own dominions encourage agriculture, and all the arts of peace.” He criticizes Aurangzeb for being overly violent, though praises his rule, and at one point laments the fall of the Mughal Empire as a whole. He eventually backtracks, however, asking that the reader “not imagine that I wish to paint despotism in a favorable light,” and attempting to pinpoint precisely what distinguishes monarchies from despotisms. He finally concludes, however, that despotism—and he does not doubt that any Indian governments fit that label—seem “best suited to the slavish minds of the Asiatics.” He closes with a quotation from Richard Glover’s (1712-1785) <title>Leonidas</title>. Portions of this text appear in <title>Oriental Memoirs</title>, volume 3, chapter 30.
- Physical Description:
- 25 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/3199983
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199983?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1