The East India House
The East India House is an artifact that acted as the East India Company London headquarter, and it is from this headquarter where most of the governing of British India governing was taking place, but in 1858, the British government decided to take control of the company. However, the company was later located in the City of London at the Lead hall Street. During this time, the first East India House that was established on the site belonged to Elizabeth, and the mansion was previously known as the Craven House which was occupied by the East India Company in the 1640s. In 1726-29, the house was remodeled, and some of its parts extended, but it was later demolished in 1861 1 . The house was built using the neoclassical architectural style which was common during the time mostly for government offices and senior leader’s residences. According to the building was finished when the clients who were the East India Company was in major need of a huge space where since its formation in 1600 , the company operated without an office, and in 1621, it was forced to occupy some of the rooms in Governor Sir Thomas Smythe, which was located in Philpot Lane, Fenchurch Street, where they were facing major challenges due to the company growth. To increase their space, East India Company was housed at Crosby House, which was located at the Bishops-gate , before the completion of the East India House.
East India Company is one of the companies associated with the trade and exploration of various commodities in the world before the formation of many companies where the company was ambition and insight helped them in search for tea, silk, cricket, timber, spices, gunpowder , cities, and ports among others. The occupation of the East India House played a significant role in the growth of the company, but it was until 1667 when the London weavers attacked the East India House, during a protest by England people accusing the company and other weavers and dyers of threatening their products due to the import of India cloths.
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The relationship between East India House and William Carey, D.D (1761-1834) was based on Carey need to expand his mission to other countries. After completing the translation of the New Testament into Bengali language, Carey started establishing the plans to start his mission 2 . The planning entailed establishing routes which will be used by his missionary community together with the principle to guide them spread the gospel. From British, the missionary society has started sending more missionaries to India, after some of the members of the first lot died over related complications, but during this time, Carey and his other members of the missionary society were facing hostility from the East India Company which was operating from the London East India house. During that time, The East India Company was importing soldiers and ammunition to India, while Carey order his people to load books and seeds to the same ships, hence creating major conflicts with the East India Company, thus forcing the missionaries to settle in Danish colony at Serampore instead of India has planned.
The Polite Preacher: Contrasted Specimen of a Polite Sermon, Addressed To a Polite Congregation 1796
The Polite Preacher is among the documents found in William Carey collections. The document was a hand-colored print, by Woodward and Cruickshank and later published on 12 th October 1796 by Allen and West in their offices which were located at 15 Paternoster Row 3 . The document had a unique style compared to other documents which were produced during this time, where the document was a hand-colored etching with satirical broadside with the letter being pressed on a watermarked paper, which was not a common format of documentation in the 1700s. The document was on a 350x200mm sheet, 13 3/4 x8 inches, and it was made of good original color. However, unlike the modern document of other similar documents in the collections, the document lacked a margin in three sides 4 .
The image depicts a preacher standing in a pulpit with his head turned to the left in profile, while h is right hand is extended. On his left hand, he is holding a handkerchief elegantly and displaying a ring on the same hand. The preacher seems comfortable in his cushions, and ready to present a sermon. The cushions are made of different colors and style, with cushions looking long and tasseled. According to document, the preacher referred to the congregation as “Noble and Polite Hearers .” The preacher looks well dressed, sleek, and well fed.
The image is narrating a story about some of the events that were taking place during William Carey missionary period. During this time, Carey was facing major challenges as a missionary, where in most cases; he was facing major resistance together with his missionary society in his efforts to spread the gospel. Choosing to store the document was a symbol of what he would have expected the preachers to look like. However, things were different where they were facing major challenging including diseases which caused the death of his own son who died of dysentery in his mission to India. Therefore, Carey was impressed by the polite preacher who had polite hearers who would prepare a nice place for him to share the sermon and good food which made him look well fed.
The piece of The Polite Preachers was from a book by Isaac Cruikshank who took over after George Moutard Woodward (c.1760 - 1809) who made plate 57 for Woodwards, a popular artist with his common style being eccentric excursions, also known as pictorial and literacy sketches, representing countenance, country, and characters of different part of South Wales and England. The plate used a traditional style of documentation where it was embedded with an upwards of one hundred illustrative and characters prints, with numbers and plates being located at the top of the document 5 . The format was scarce, where the caricature was issued as a handbill to the publisher for publicity purposes. One of the marks which have remained unique in the document is the extended quotations of the sermon which are at the bottom of the document. Today, the document is registered in England number 1305630, and the registration took place at the Castle Business Village, Station Road, Hampton. TW12 2BX is making it part of the England most valued historical documents.
The Field Preacher: Specimen of a Unpolite Declamation, Addressed To a Unpolite Congregation 1796
The document was found in William Carey collections. The document is opposite of The Polite Preacher and looking at its features, they have major similarities, but different meanings or they represented different messages. The document was hand colored by Woodward del. I. Cruikshank f. and published by Allen & West, 15 Paternoster Row on October 12, 1796 6 . The document was a Satirical broadside meaning it was a strong attack on a certain group of people. The document was hand colored with a unique style of watermark where letters about the sermon were pressed. The document is written in a 345 x 200mm. 13½ x 8-inch sheet but the material of the sheet is not defined in any of the histories of the documents. The sheet was trimmed to the plate, and the author used good original colors.
The document shows a preacher who is standing in profile to the right while making an angry and impassioned speech to the congregation. The preacher is pointing at an open book which is placed over a lantern while pointing the congregation with the other hand. The preacher is standing in tiptoes, while shouting, “You will all go to the devil.” The preacher looks uncomfortable and unkempt, and this is depicted by his old-fashioned dress and shoes which have a clerical band on it. when looking at the message in the document, it has major differences when compared to The Polite Preacher document which was in William Carey collection where he is cursing his congregation and for that reason, his congregation seems have abandoned him. The document was written when Carey was facing major challenges in his mission in India hence, one of the reasons he would have preferred to have the document in his possession was to demonstrate the different types of preachers, although there is little depicting the kind of preacher he was.
The document was part of Isaac Cruikshank book which he wrote after taking over from George Moutard Woodward in c.1760 – 1809. The document was from plate 58 of the Woodward book Eccentric Excursions in England and South Wales. The document was part of a humor book which was telling the different stories about different regions in England using pictorial illustrations. The book was embellished with one hundred characteristics that provided literacy and pictorial sketches of countenance, country, and characters, using different plates. The document narrated various stories relating to the people of England and South Wales, but Carey decided to keep the plates in his collection because he could relate his life with each of the preachers in the illustrations 7 . Currently, the book is scarce because of the caricature which was issued by the publisher to be a handbill for the publicity purposes. One of the factors that make the document unique is the fact that it has extended quotation of the sermon at the bottom. Today, the document is registered in England number 1305630, and the registration took place at the Castle Business Village, Station Road, Hampton. TW12 2BX is making it part of the England most valued historical documents.
Bibliography
Lawson, Philip. The East India Company: A History . (Abingdon: Routledge, 2014), 112-114.
George Moutard Woodward, Eccentric Excursions in England and South Wales (London: Allen & West, 1796 ) Plate 58.
Smith, George. The Life of William Carey . (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011).
1 . Lawson, Philip. The East India Company: A History . (Abingdon: Routledge, 2014), 112-114.
2 . Lawson, Philip. The East India Company: A History . (Abingdon: Routledge, 2014), 112-114.
3 . George Moutard Woodward, Eccentric Excursions in England and South Wales (London: Allen & West, 1796 ) Plate 57.
4 . Lawson, Philip. The East India Company: A History .
5 . Smith, George. The Life of William Carey. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011).
6 . George Moutard Woodward, Eccentric Excursions in England and South Wales .
7 . Smith, George. The Life of William Carey .
