What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wonders of Vilayet: Being the Memoir, Originally in Persian, of a Visit to France and Britain in 1765
In 1765, Mirza Sheikh I’tesamuddin, a Bengali secretary employed by the East India Company, traveled on a mission to Britain to seek protection for the Mogul emperor Shah Alam II. The mission was aborted by the greed and duplicity of Robert Clive, but it resulted in this remarkable account of the Mirza’s travels in Britain and Europe. This is an entertaining, unique, and culturally valuable document of those journeys.
- GenresHistory
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 16, 2021
I like reading contemporary accounts from the past and was pleased to come across this account from a Bengali man, an employee of the East India Company, who visited Britain in the 1760s. This was, it seems, the first account by an educated man from India visiting Britain. Lascars had been travelling to Europe for at least two centuries before, but those men were illiterate and left no record of their impressions.
Mirza Sheikh I’Tesamuddin’s account was written in classical Persian. In his Introduction, the translator for this edition, Kaiser Haq, explained that his text is a translation of a Bengali language version, so this is actually a translation of a translation. I’m not criticising that – if it hadn’t been for the translator I wouldn’t have been able to read the book, but it’s probably worth the reader being aware of the circumstances.
On the whole the Mirza’s account makes for a worthwhile read. His main weakness was that he tended to repeat the sort of anecdotes that we would nowadays class as “urban myths”. At times the text also gets bogged down in theological arguments between the Mirza and his Christian hosts. However, he was also capable of sharp observation. He notes for example that most Englishmen were relaxed about religion. “Some…do not believe in apocalypse, resurrection, the last judgment, hell or heaven, accounting them to be fictions…Some go even further and deny that God created the world and the heavens” before adding anxiously “Allah save us from such misguided ideas”. He acknowledges though, that this relaxed attitude leads to toleration. “Even if one were to build a mosque and pray and fast as Allah enjoins, no objection would be raised, for the English say, ‘What is it to us what the religion of another may be?’
The Mirza is an open-minded observer and comments favourably on Britain’s parliamentary system of governance, noting that it leaves the country less vulnerable to what political theorists today refer to as “the bad emperor problem.” He is also critical of what he sees as the decadence of Indian princes compared to the 18th century English. He admires the way the English aristocracy study science, technology, medicine, history, philosophy etc, whereas the Indian gentry “are engrossed in writing poems in Persian or Hindi in praise of a mistress’ face, or of the wine, the goblet, or a bawd.” Similarly, he notes that English aristocrats admire physical prowess and endurance, whereas in his view Indian princes “gorge themselves on pilau, drink ice-cooled water, recline effeminately on soft velvet cushions and let luxury and self-indulgence rule their lives.” It says something about the past that having an iced drink and some comfy cushions was seen as the height of degenerate behaviour.
The Mirza wasn’t totally starry-eyed about Britain. He criticises the way wealthy Englishmen viewed poor people with contempt, saying that within Islam it was no disgrace to be poor. He also comments on the harshness of British justice at the time, observing that whilst under Islam a thief would have their hand cut off, in Britain someone convicted of theft could be hanged. Despite this “England abounds with pickpockets, burglars and robbers.”
This book captures a unique perspective on 18th century Britain, and quite an entertaining one too.
Mirza Sheikh I’Tesamuddin’s account was written in classical Persian. In his Introduction, the translator for this edition, Kaiser Haq, explained that his text is a translation of a Bengali language version, so this is actually a translation of a translation. I’m not criticising that – if it hadn’t been for the translator I wouldn’t have been able to read the book, but it’s probably worth the reader being aware of the circumstances.
On the whole the Mirza’s account makes for a worthwhile read. His main weakness was that he tended to repeat the sort of anecdotes that we would nowadays class as “urban myths”. At times the text also gets bogged down in theological arguments between the Mirza and his Christian hosts. However, he was also capable of sharp observation. He notes for example that most Englishmen were relaxed about religion. “Some…do not believe in apocalypse, resurrection, the last judgment, hell or heaven, accounting them to be fictions…Some go even further and deny that God created the world and the heavens” before adding anxiously “Allah save us from such misguided ideas”. He acknowledges though, that this relaxed attitude leads to toleration. “Even if one were to build a mosque and pray and fast as Allah enjoins, no objection would be raised, for the English say, ‘What is it to us what the religion of another may be?’
The Mirza is an open-minded observer and comments favourably on Britain’s parliamentary system of governance, noting that it leaves the country less vulnerable to what political theorists today refer to as “the bad emperor problem.” He is also critical of what he sees as the decadence of Indian princes compared to the 18th century English. He admires the way the English aristocracy study science, technology, medicine, history, philosophy etc, whereas the Indian gentry “are engrossed in writing poems in Persian or Hindi in praise of a mistress’ face, or of the wine, the goblet, or a bawd.” Similarly, he notes that English aristocrats admire physical prowess and endurance, whereas in his view Indian princes “gorge themselves on pilau, drink ice-cooled water, recline effeminately on soft velvet cushions and let luxury and self-indulgence rule their lives.” It says something about the past that having an iced drink and some comfy cushions was seen as the height of degenerate behaviour.
The Mirza wasn’t totally starry-eyed about Britain. He criticises the way wealthy Englishmen viewed poor people with contempt, saying that within Islam it was no disgrace to be poor. He also comments on the harshness of British justice at the time, observing that whilst under Islam a thief would have their hand cut off, in Britain someone convicted of theft could be hanged. Despite this “England abounds with pickpockets, burglars and robbers.”
This book captures a unique perspective on 18th century Britain, and quite an entertaining one too.
October 25, 2016
I read this book for one of my graduate classes. It's an interesting read if you want a non-European perspective of Europe during the 18th century.
February 24, 2021
The Wonders of Vilayet is really 'The Travels' of India and Mirza Sheikh I'tesamuddin could be compared with Marco Polo. It's a uniquely insightful work, a reverse travelogue, meaning an account of the West written by a man from the East. Unfortunately, this account is completely unknown in India.
January 12, 2022
I loved it. The author is a Bengali gentry element who made an official two-year trip to the UK just as EIC made its first steps towards domination in India in mid 18-th century. This brief book is his (unofficial) report.
The guy comes across as a clear-minded observer who went to many interesting places and talked to many interesting people, including the British king. He has a remarkably generous view of British society, industry, and culture of the time, and dishes out plenty of criticism to the Bengali ruling classes in comparison. If you wanted to make the point that the British deserved their colonial empire, you could let I'tesamuddin do the talking for you. I wonder if his circumstances at the time of writing had something to do with his tone, but to me the book comes across as authentic and consistent, and certainly not subservient. He does not hide a good amount of national and religious pride in his roots.
For me, the book is also a contribution to the debate as to when the British economy overwhelmed its eastern rivals. At the time of his visit, Bengal probably still produced most of world's cotton fabrics, but the author is greatly impressed by the technology of British manufacturers and the British educational system and considers them clearly superior to their Bengali counterparts.
The guy comes across as a clear-minded observer who went to many interesting places and talked to many interesting people, including the British king. He has a remarkably generous view of British society, industry, and culture of the time, and dishes out plenty of criticism to the Bengali ruling classes in comparison. If you wanted to make the point that the British deserved their colonial empire, you could let I'tesamuddin do the talking for you. I wonder if his circumstances at the time of writing had something to do with his tone, but to me the book comes across as authentic and consistent, and certainly not subservient. He does not hide a good amount of national and religious pride in his roots.
For me, the book is also a contribution to the debate as to when the British economy overwhelmed its eastern rivals. At the time of his visit, Bengal probably still produced most of world's cotton fabrics, but the author is greatly impressed by the technology of British manufacturers and the British educational system and considers them clearly superior to their Bengali counterparts.
July 16, 2018
This is a fascinating and utterly unique piece of history- the first account of a Bengali visitor to Europe in 1765. It is littered with colourful descriptions and some confusions over what he saw. For example, he claimed that the north of England was 3 months travel from London and the whole area was frozen solid and in darkness for most of the year. He also has an explanation for the origin of the term 'son of a gun.' The only objection I have to it is that a lot of the book covers his life in india and then his sea voyage. I'd expected and would have preferred more detail on Britain. Though it is fascinating to see how well he was treated here. Definitely worth a read.
June 10, 2023
3.5/5
Mirza himself is a strange character to be honest. Before the last chapter, he was singing praises of the English, comparing them to the French, Portugese, Scottish, Ethiopians and even Indians, who were all inferior when it came to the English. He excused the bigotry and racist remarks of Swinton countless times until the last two chapters when Swinton's bigotry nearly cost him his life. And the growing power of the EIC was making him realize that under British rule, the people of Bengal would have to face deceit, disrespect and sheer violence in the future which his naive self didn't see coming.
Mirza himself is a strange character to be honest. Before the last chapter, he was singing praises of the English, comparing them to the French, Portugese, Scottish, Ethiopians and even Indians, who were all inferior when it came to the English. He excused the bigotry and racist remarks of Swinton countless times until the last two chapters when Swinton's bigotry nearly cost him his life. And the growing power of the EIC was making him realize that under British rule, the people of Bengal would have to face deceit, disrespect and sheer violence in the future which his naive self didn't see coming.
February 14, 2023
*Read for a course on the Global 18th Century
There’s nothing wrong with this memoir and it’s interesting at points. I just don’t personally enjoy much 18th century literature, especially not non-fiction/travelogues.
There’s nothing wrong with this memoir and it’s interesting at points. I just don’t personally enjoy much 18th century literature, especially not non-fiction/travelogues.
November 28, 2020
Amusing role reversal until it descends into adoring encyclopedia mode.
December 16, 2023
An insightful rare perspective.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews