Egypt and the Red Sea: Draft letters from the Company to their Agents in Egypt, the Red Sea, & c., 25 Jan 1847 to 5 Nov 1857 : Correspondence 1847-1857
- Published:
- Marlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital, 2019.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource
- Additional Creators:
- Adam Matthew Digital (Firm)
Access Online
- Summary:
- Description: IOR/G/17: Factory Records: Egypt and the Red Sea (1644-1858).Mocha letters and accounts, 1644-1828; correspondence re: overland route, 1773-1799; letters to Company from agent in Egypt, 1834-1858; letters received by agent in Egypt, 1832-1870; letters received by agent at Suez, 1838-1853; letters received by agent at Cairo, 1837-1859; letterbooks of Mr Walne, agent at Cairo, 1838-59; letterbooks of Capt. Johnson, agent at Alexandria, later Egypt, 1839-1869; letterbooks of Capt. Lyons, deputy agent then agent in Egypt, 1838-1841; accounts of agent in Egypt, packet agent at Alexandria, packet agent at Suez and at Cairo, 1838-1869.39 volumes.The Company had first attempted trade at Mocha in 1609. Pilgrim traffic had made the port, situated at the northern entrance to the Red Sea, an important commercial centre and a strong market existed for goods from the east. By 1618 permission had been obtained to trade and to establish factories at Mocha, Sana, Ties and Aden, all within the sultan of the Yemen's dominions. In the early days of trade the main export was coral, but Mocha later became an important centre for coffee. The factory, however, proved unprofitable and the Company closed it in 1662, obtaining coffee instead from Basra.In the early eighteenth century, as the importance of the coffee trade increased, the Company set in place a trading strategy. In most years one ship, overseen by a supercargo, would be sent directly from England to Mocha. The merchants would buy coffee from Mocha and the northern coffee market at Bait al'Faqih and ship it home. Meanwhile, the council at Bombay had re-established the Mocha factory, resulting in some friction because of these overlapping areas of Company activity. In 1752 the factory was given up and the Mocha trade managed exclusively by supercargoes.From around this time, the areas bordering the Red Sea began to assume strategic importance in the struggle for supremacy in India between Great Britain and France. Later this importance increased as the two countries sought to gain control in Egypt. Mocha became a residency and then an agency, a British official residing there from 1802 to 1830. In 1839 the agency was abolished and by 1849 Mocha was overseen from the Company's Egyptian agency.Related resources: Records of the Cairo, Alexandria and Suez agencies (IOR/R/19); Records of the British administration at Aden (R/20); Persia and Persian Gulf Factory Records (G/29); Bombay proceedings (P).Custodial history: The following volumes previously catalogued under IOR/G/17 have been moved to the classification IOR/R/19 (Records of the East India Company and India Office agencies in Egypt) because, archivally speaking, they bear more resemblance to the residency and agency records classified under IOR/R than to the Factory Records.The records formerly listed in G/17 have been renumbered as follows: G/17/18-24 now R/19/1-7; G/17/25-26 now R/19/25-26; G/17/27-32 now R/19/17-22; G/17/33 now R/19/11; G/17/34 now R/19/10; G/17/35-36 now R/19/12-13; G/17/37 now R/19/27; G/17/38 now R/19/23; G/17/39 now R/19/16.This is a truncated version of the full sub-class description for this record. For the full description, please see Margaret Makepeace and Antonia Moon's essay by clicking on the 'More information' link in the Class Description field above.
- Other Subject(s):
- Note:
- IOR/G: East India Company Factory Records (1608-1858). A 'factory' was a trading post where a number of merchants, or factors, resided. When company ships arrived at the factories, ships' merchants were thus enabled to exchange goods for trading immediately instead of having to wait to make deals with local merchants. Factories were run by a chief factor and a council of factors. The 'Factory Records' is an artificially created sub-fonds; the records of individual Company factories consist mainly of consultations (records of administrative decisions and of correspondence), diaries (records of daily activities), letters received, copies of letters sent and collections of papers on particular subjects.
AMDigital Reference: IOR/G/17/9. - Original Version:
- Reproduction of: Egypt and the Red Sea: Draft letters from the Company to their Agents in Egypt, the Red Sea, & c., 25 Jan 1847 to 5 Nov 1857 1847-1857.
- Location of Originals:
- The British Library
- Copyright Note:
- The British Library Board
View MARC record | catkey: 25805446