IOR/G/29/28

The volume consists mostly of correspondence, with enclosures, from Samuel Manesty, East India Company Agent at Bussora [Basra], to Richard Colley Wellesley, Governor-General of India, Fort William. The letters concern Manesty's unauthorised diplomatic mission to the Court of the Shah of Persia [Iran]. They reflect the purposes of that mission, which were: to ease tensions between Britain and Persia following the death of the Persian Envoy, Hajee Khaleel Khan [Ḥājjī Khalīl Khān] in Bombay [Mumbai]; to obtain compensation for East India Company property seized by Shaik Raha [Shaikh Rahma] of Nakhilu [Bandar-e Nakhīlū] at Busheab [Lavan]; and to address the Russian occupation of Georgia and Armenia and their activities along the Persian frontier.

Manesty's correspondence contains regular reports from his mission through Persia, written from Bushire, Kazeroon [Kāzerūn], Shiraz (in this volume sometimes written Sherauz), Persepolis, Isfahan, Tehran, Sultania [Soltaniyeh], Hamdan [Hamadān], Kermanshah, Bussora, and Bagdad [Baghdad]. They provide details of his reception in the different parts of Persia; the internal state of the country; Manesty's thoughts on the threat posed by France and Russia to Britain's imperial possessions in India; and his justifications for the costs and style of the mission as well as his response to the disapproval it incurred from his superiors at Fort William.

Other matters covered by the papers include:

• Arrangements for the mission, including personnel, gifts, carriage, and guidance
• The conduct of Jonathan Henry Lovett, Resident at Bushire, and his request to swap places with Manesty at Bussora due to ill health
• Accounts and bills of exchange relating to the costs of the mission
• The Persian military campaign against the Russians
• Manesty's intentions and recommendations following the mission
• Affairs at Bagdat [Baghdad], including the appearance of Saoud [Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Muhammad bin Sa‘ūd] the Wahaby [Wahhabi] chief in Bussora, and tensions between the Resident, Harford Jones, and the Ottoman Bacha [Pasha]
• Relations between Britain and Persia, often expressed through pledges of alliance exchanged between Manesty and Persian officials.

Other correspondents, mostly included as enclosures, are as follows: Lieutenant Charles Pasley, Assistant Resident at Bushire; Jonathan Henry Lovett, Resident at Bushire; Andrew Jukes, Surgeon at the Bushire Residency; Mr Tanner, a member of Manesty's retinue; Lieutenant Edward Hutchins Bellasis, Bombay Engineer and Officer of Manesty's Guard; Fatḥ ʻAlī Shāh, Shah of Persia; Meerza Reza Kouli [Mirzā Reza Quli], Persian Minister; Monsieur Rousseau, French Consul at Baghdad; Mahomed Allee Meerza [Mohammed ‘Alī Mirzā], the Shah's eldest son; Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Secretary to the Government of India, Fort William; Harford Jones, Resident at Bagdat; Cheraug Ali Khan [Chiragh ‘Alī Khan], Vizier of Fars; J G Vashon, Commander of HMS Fox; Hossein Ally Mirza [Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mirzā], Prince-Governor of Fars; the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors; Jacob Bosanquet, Chairman of the Court of Directors; Lord Castlereagh, President of the Board of Control; Jonathan Duncan, President and Governor in Council, Bombay; Henry Addington, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; John Barker, Consul General in Aleppo; William Drummond, Ambassador to Constantinople; and Lieutenant William Bruce, acting Resident at Bushire.

Near the beginning of the volume (folios 3-4) is a list of the correspondence contained within, dated 15 September 1806. This list gives a number (1-27) and description of each letter. Details of the enclosures are not given.