Global Encounters and the Archives: Britain’s Empire in the Age of Horace Walpole
Item
Copy of a letter of Intelligence from the Secretary Office, Outlining French Seizure of Madras, April 21, 1747
Title
Copy of a letter of Intelligence from the Secretary Office, Outlining French Seizure of Madras, April 21, 1747
Description
When war reached its peak in 1746, the French captured the British East India Company's Fort St. George in Madras, India, with the assistance of a "Black Governor." This governor was indigenous potentate Anwar-ud-din, Nawab of Arcot, who supported the French because they promised him Madras. This intelligence –notably from a secretary of state –showcases the indispensability of French-allied Indians to French ambitions in India and highlights the ways in which French-allied native peoples shaped policy choices available to ministers back in London. It also reflects how indigenous potentates leveraged alliance to achieve indigenous ends: after this victory the French withdrew their promise of Madras, and Anwar-ud-din struck back by forging a new military alliance with the British.
Contributor
Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University Library
Relation
Charles Hanbury Williams Papers (1708-1759)This massive and underused collection is an invaluable resource for scholars interested in diplomatic history and politics during a crucial period in Britain's imperial formation. Boasting over 6,000 texts, it is the largest Hanbury Williams archive in the world. The collection also contains material relating to the language of polite society, the Grand Tour and both political and literary circles of the mid-eighteenth century.Extent: 99 volumesSummary: Sir Charles Hanbury Williams (1708-1759) was a vitally important cultural and political figure in mid-18th century Britain and Europe. This collection of his papers, with over 90 volumes and 6,000 texts, provides insight into Britain's diplomatic relations at a key moment in Britain's formation as an Empire. Hanbury Williams was a diplomat and a successful satirical poet who published several best-sellers in the eighteenth century. While the majority of the collection centers on the lifetime of Hanbury Williams, there are documents as early as 1584 and as late as 1808, so the collection spans over two centuries. The collection comprises personal and diplomatic correspondence in English and French as well as papers on a variety of topics, including the parliamentary debates in the 1740s and 1750s, personal correspondence with his children, correspondence with Sir Sidney Godolphin and the Duke of Marlborough, social and cultural life in Vienna in the 1740s, diplomatic travels to Poland, library catalogues and unpublished poetry.
