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Anderson, David, 1750-1828 (Diplomat, East India Company)

 Person

Staff Only

Dates

  • Existence: 1750 - 1828

Biography

David Anderson (1750-1828) was an East India Company diplomat born in Edinburgh. Both David and his brother James Anderson (1757-1833) were close associate of Warren Hastings (1732-1818), the first British Governor-General of Bengal, Hasting’s inner circle being known for their interest in Indian and Muslim culture and heritage. David matriculated at the University of Edinburgh in 1762, studying Humanities under Professor George Stuart (no graduation recorded). By 1767 he was in India, employed as an EIC “Writer”. By 1769 he was an assistant to George Gustavas Ducarel in (Purnea district), by 1772 he held the position of Factor, assistant to the EIC Political Resident at Murshidabad where he appears to have risen through the ranks over the subsequent years. In 1782 he negotiated a peace treaty between the Marāthās and the EIC, with Madho Rao Pundit Purdhan, in Scindia. He then remained in Scindia as Political Resident until 1785 when he returned to Britain on the same ship as Hastings. He was later a witness for the defence at Hastings’ impeachment trial, and purchased St Germain House (East Lothian).

Upon his death David Anderson bequeathed 113 manuscripts to the University of Edinburgh Library in Persian (104 items), Arabic (6) and Hindustani (3). His collection indicates practical concerns such as the gathering of information on the history of India, and informing himself on letter writing and elegant composition, but also an interest in Persian literature (particularly poetry of a Sufi nature) and some interest in Hinduism. It includes a number of items translated from Sanskrit to Persian.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

فتاوی عالم گيری (کتاب جنايات) Fatāwī-i ʻālamgīrī (Kitāb-i janāyāt), undated (original text compiled 17th cent. C.E.)

 Item
Identifier: Or Ms 180
Scope and Contents This is a detached part of the Fatāwī-i ʻĀlamgīrī. It is incomplete both at the beginning and end, and contains numerous notes scribbled in English on the margins. The Fatāwī-i ʻĀlamgīrī, it is to be noted, is an extensive and highly esteemed work of legal decisions by doctors of the Ḥanafī school. It was originally compiled in Arabic by the order of the Mughal Emperor ʻĀlamgīr, and was begun, 1067 A.H. (1656 C.E.), by...
Dates: undated (original text compiled 17th cent. C.E.)
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Manuscripts of the Islamicate World and South Asia

هدايهٔ فارسی (جلد چهارم) Hidāya-'i Fārsī (vol. iv), undated

 Item
Identifier: Or Ms 183
Scope and Contents

A copy of the fourth and last volume of the Hidāya, a celebrated treatise on Islamic Jurisprudence according to the doctrine of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and his disciples Abū Yūsuf and Imām Muḥammad, the original work being in Arabic.


The current copy includes seven chapters and is bound in stamped leather.

Dates: undated
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Manuscripts of the Islamicate World and South Asia