Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1831 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 scroll 54 feet, 10 inches by 25 inches parchment
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Sir Charles Forbes was educated at Aberdeen University before going to India as head of the first mercantile house, Forbes and Co. of Bombay. He not only conducted business but was also involved in community projects such as ensuring fresh water for the local inhabitants. On leaving India he returned to England where he served as MP for Beverley, Yorkshire, from 1812-1818, and then for Malmesbury, Wiltshire, from 1818-1832. He supported Catholic emancipation and votes for women.
He married Elizabeth Cotgrave (d.1861) in 1811. Forbes died in 1849. His eldest son, John, had predeceased his father. The title Forbes had inherited from his uncle was, in turn, inherited by his second son, Charles. His daughter, Elizabeth, married General, Lord James Hay, second son of the seventh Marquess of Tweeddale.
Repository
Archival history
The petition was in the care of Sir Charles Forbes before his presentation of it to the Royal Asiatic Society.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The petition was presented to the Royal Asiatic Society by Sir Charles Forbes at the Society's General Meeting of 15 May 1835. At the same meeting he also presented a printed version of this petition and one signed by 95 principal inhabitants of Bombay, the original of which had also been presented to the House of Commons on the same occasion. He also presented the impression of a Seal adopted by Bomanjee Hormarjee of Bombay. These items no longer are in the Society's collections.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
A duplicate of a Petition to the House of Commons from the Natives of Bombay (Mumbai) and others: Christians, Jews, Chinese, Parsis; Muslims and Hindus; more than 4000 in number. All the signatures, along with the petition, are on the document which is made of 25 skins of parchment. It is written in English, Gujarati and Marathi and is dated Bombay, 25 January 1831. It asks for a reform in the judicial regulations of the government at Bombay; for more impartial administration of the laws, that native people may freely be admitted to civil and judicial offices; and for the diffusion of the English language among the inhabitants to be encouraged by the British government. The original was sent to England by Sir Charles Forbes, M.P. and Joseph Hume, M.P. and was presented to the House of Commons on 1 September 1831.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.
Conditions governing reproduction
Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.
Language of material
- English
- Gujarati
- Marathi
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Forbes Sir Charles 1773-1849 (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
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Sources
Archivist's note
The material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2022.