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Robert Townsend Farquhar letters to Robert Dundas
Title
Robert Townsend Farquhar letters to Robert Dundas, 1810 May-1811 May.
Physical Description
1.13 linear feet (2 boxes) + 1 broadside.
Language
English; French
Notes
Printed item also cataloged separately.
Provenance
Purchased from William Reese Co. on the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Fund, 2005.
Access and use
This material is open for research.
Biographical / Historical Note
Sir Robert Townsend Farquhar (1776-1830) was educated at Westminster and joined the East India Company in 1793, serving at Ambon Island, as commissioner at the Treaty of Amiens negotiations for British claims in the Moluccas, and as Lieutenant-Governor of Penang, 1804-1805. In 1810 he was ordered to accompany the British Navy's expedition against Mauritius and Bourbon Islands and to assume their governorship upon their capture. In the event, he served as Governor of Mauritius until 1823, when he returned to England. Farquhar was elected to the House of Commons in 1825 and served until his death in London in March, 1830.
Summary
Letters and letters copy from Robert Townsend Farquhar to his patron on the East India Company's Board of Control, Robert Dundas, concerning the British expedition against Mauritius and Réunion and Farquhar's appointment as Governor. Subjects include the initial phase of the naval campaign against the French islands; their capitulation; and Farquhar's preliminary establishment of British rule. Farquhar frequently alludes to the importance of Dundas's patronage in his advancement, and when he is abruptly displaced as governor of Mauritius he sends Dundas several copies of his reply to the change in orders.
Other items include a 1796 memorandum urging the British government to conquer the two islands; a 1798 letter by the emigre comte de Fouchecour claiming to have a secret plan to persuade the islanders to support the British; and a discouraging letter from Spencer Perceval to Dundas about a suggestion that the British take the Portuguese settlements in East Africa.
Format
Archives or Manuscripts
Added to Catalog
February 14, 2006
References
Robert Townsend Farquhar Letters to Robert Dundas. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Cite as
Robert Townsend Farquhar Letters to Robert Dundas. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Subjects
Genre/Form
Broadsides (notices)
Bookmark As
Citation
