Nathaniel Brassey Halhed (25 May 1751 – 18 February 1830) ( bn, হালেদ, "Haled") was an English
Orientalist and
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
.
Halhed was born at
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, and was educated at
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
, where he began a close friendship with
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...
. While at Oxford he undertook oriental studies under the influence of
William Jones. Accepting a writership in the service of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
, he went out to India, and there, at the suggestion of
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...
, translated the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
legal code from a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
version of the original
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
. This translation was published in 1776 as ''
A Code of Gentoo Laws
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
''. In 1778 he published ''
A Grammar of the Bengal Language
''A Grammar of the Bengal Languages'' is a 1778 modern Bengali grammar book written in English by Nathaniel Brassey Halhed. This is the first grammar book of the Bengali language. The book, published in 1778, was probably printed from the Endors ...
'', a
Bengali grammar
Bengali grammar ( bn, বাংলা ব্যাকরণ ''Bangla Bækôrôn'') is the study of the morphology and syntax of Bengali, an Indo-European language spoken in the Indian subcontinent. Given that Bengali has two forms, চলি ...
, to print which he set up the first Bengali press in India.
In 1785 Halhed returned to England, and from 1790–1795 was
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Lymington, Hants. For some time he was a disciple of
Richard Brothers
Richard Brothers (25 December 1757 – 25 January 1824) was an early believer and teacher of British Israelism, a theory concerning the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
Biography
Life
Brothers was born in Port Kirwan, Newfoundland (earlier known ...
, and a speech in parliament in defence of Brothers made it impossible for him to remain in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, from which he resigned in 1795. He subsequently obtained a home appointment under the East India Company. He died in London on 18 February 1830.
Early life
Nathaniel Brassey Halhed was born in a merchant family to William Halhed, a bank director, on 25 May 1751 and christened in
St Peter le Poer,
Old Broad Street
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
* Old, Baranya, Hungary
* Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...
; his mother was Frances Caswall, daughter of
John Caswall, Member of Parliament for . He went to
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
from the age of seven to seventeen.
Halhed entered
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
on 13 July 1768, at the age of 17. He remained there for three years but did not take a degree. William Jones had preceded him from Harrow to Oxford and they shared an intellectual relationship. At Oxford he learnt some
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
.
Halhed's father was disappointed in him and decided to send him to India under the employment of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
through his connections. His petition for a writership was granted by
Harry Verelst. Appointed on 4 December 1771, Halhed was forewarned and had learned accounting.
In India
Halhed was first placed in the accountant general's office under
Lionel Darrell. He was next used as a Persian translator, and was sent to
Kasimbazar
Cossimbazar is a sub-urban area of Berhampore City in the Berhampore CD block in the Berhampore subdivision in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal."Cossimbazar" in ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, ...
for practical experience, and also to learn about the silk trade, by William Aldersey. It was in Kasimbazar that Halhed acquired
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, for dealing with the ''aurungs'' (weaving districts). In Bengal he had several romantic interests: Elizabeth Pleydell, a certain Nancy, Diana Rochfort, and Henrietta Yorke.
Halhed became one of Warren Hastings's favorites, and a believer in his approach to Indian affairs. On 5 July 1774 the Governor asked for an assistant for Persian documents, in addition to the ''
munshi
Munshi is a Persian word, originally used for a contractor, writer, or secretary, and later used in the Mughal Empire and India for native language teachers, teachers of various subjects, especially administrative principles, religious texts, ...
s'', and Halhed was appointed.
Marriage
After wooing several accomplished women, Halhed married (Helena) Louisa Ribaut, stepdaughter of Johannes Matthias Ross, the head of the Dutch factory at Kasimbazar when Halhed was stationed there. The betrothal probably took place in 1775.
Association with Warren Hastings
When Hastings then nominated him for the post of Commissary General in October 1776, however, there was serious resistance, and Halhed found his position untenable.
Leaving Bengal, Halhed went to Holland, and on to London. Financial reasons forced him to consider a return to India, but he tried to do so without overt support from Hastings. On 18 November 1783 he asked the Company's directors to appoint him to the committee of Revenue in Calcutta. He was successful, but not in dissociating himself from Hastings. He returned to India as a reputed Englishman with a wife and black servant, but when he reached Calcutta, Hastings was in
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
.
Halhed presented his credentials to
Edward Wheler
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, the acting governor-general, but there was no vacancy in the committee and no other appointments could be made without Hastings. Then summoned by Hastings to Lucknow, he made a futile journey there, since Hastings had by then decided to leave for England and was bound for Calcutta.
Hastings was planning to bring supporters to England, and wanted to have Halhed there as an agent of the
Nawab Wazir of Oudh
The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishapu ...
. At this point Halhed threw in his lot with Hastings.
Support for Hastings and Brothers
Halhed therefore returned to England, on 18 June 1785, identified as a close supporter of Hastings. The political context was the rise in 1780–4 of the "Bengal Squad", so-called.
[C. H. Philips, ''The East India Company "Interest" and the English Government, 1783–4: (The Alexander Prize Essay), Transactions of the Royal Historical Society Vol. 20 (1937), pp. 83–101, at p. 90; Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal Historical Society. DOI: 10.2307/3678594 ]
The "Bengal Squad" was, in the first place, a group of Members of Parliament. They looked out for the interests of East India Company officials who had returned to Great Britain. From that position, they became defenders of the Company itself. The group that followed Hastings to England consisted of: Halhed, David Anderson, Major William Sands, Colonel Sweeney Toone, Dr. Clement Francis, Captain
Jonathan Scott,
John Shore, Lieutenant Col.
William Popham, and
Sir John D'Oyly. This group is called by
Rosane Rocher Rosane Rocher (née Debels, born 10 August 1937) is a leading historian of Indology and a Professor Emerita of South Asia Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Born in Mouscron, Belgium, she earned MAs in Classics in 1959 and in Indo-Iranian s ...
the "Hastings squad" or "Bengal squad". That follows the contemporary practice of identifying the "Squad" or "the East Indians" with the backers of Hastings.
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
brought 22 charges against Hastings in April 1786, and Halhed was in the middle of the defence. For the Benares charge, Halhed had drafted a reply for Scott, but it was not in accord with Hastings's chosen line. He also cast doubt on some of Hastings's account when he was called on to testify. As a result, Halhed became unpopular with the defence team.
Halhed began to look for a parliamentary career: his choice of enemies made him a
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
. His first candidature, at in 1790, failed and cost him a great deal. He succeeded in acquiring a seat in May 1791 at the
borough of Lymington, in Hampshire. His life was changed in 1795 by
Richard Brothers
Richard Brothers (25 December 1757 – 25 January 1824) was an early believer and teacher of British Israelism, a theory concerning the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
Biography
Life
Brothers was born in Port Kirwan, Newfoundland (earlier known ...
and his prophecies. ''A revealed knowledge of the Prophecies and Times'' appealed to Halhed and resonated with the style of antique Hindu texts. He petitioned for Brothers in parliament when he was arrested for criminal lunacy. Unsuccessful, he damaged his own reputation.
Life of seclusion and after
The turn of the century saw Halhed a recluse, as he was for 12 years in all. He wrote on orientalist topics, but published nothing. From 1804 he was a follower of
Joanna Southcott
Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a self-described religious prophetess from Devon, England. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death; its eighth prophet, Mabel Barltrop, died i ...
. In poverty, he applied for one of the newly opened civil secretary posts at the East India company, and was appointed in 1809.
With access to the Company Library, Halhed spent time in 1810 translating a collection of
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...
's dreams written in the prince's own hand. He also made translations of the ''Mahabharata'' as a personal study, fragmentary in nature, and made to "understand the grand scheme of the universe".
The old "Hastings squad" had become marginal after the trial, but Hastings was called to testify as an expert on Indian affairs in 1813. He died on 22 August 1818. Halhed wrote two poems, and was also given the responsibility of composing the epitaph.
In spring 1819, Halhed declared his intention of resigning from the Company's services after ten years of service. He was allowed a £500 salary, and recovered some of his early investments.
Death
![St Peter's Church, Petersham, Halhead Tomb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/St_Peter%27s_Church%2C_Petersham%2C_Halhead_Tomb.jpg)
Halhed lived on for another decade, without publishing anything further. His quiet life came to an end on 18 February 1830. He was buried in the family tomb of
Petersham Parish Church
St Peter's Church is the parish church of the village of Petersham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is part of the Diocese of Southwark in the Church of England. The main body of the church building dates from the 16th centur ...
.
At his death his assets were estimated to be around £18,000. Louisa Halhed lived for a year longer and died on 24 July 1831.
Legacy
Halhed's collection of Oriental manuscripts was purchased by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, and his unfinished translation of the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
'' went to the library of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal
The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...
.
Works
Halhed's major works are those he produced in Bengal, in the period 1772 to 1778.
''A Code of Gentoo Laws''
Just before Halhed was appointed as writer, the East India Company's court of directors notified the President and council at
Fort William College
Fort William College (also known as the College of Fort William) was an academy of oriental studies and a centre of learning, founded on 18 August 1800 by Lord Wellesley, then Governor-General of British India, located within the Fort William co ...
of their decision to take over the local administration of civil justice: the implementation was left with the newly appointed Governor, Warren Hastings. Hastings assumed the governorship in April 1772 and by August submitted what was to become the Judicial Plan. It provided among other things that "all suits regarding the inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious usages, or institutions, the laws of the
Koran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
with respect to Mohametans and those of the Shaster with respect to Gentoos shall be invariably adhered to." No British personnel could read
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, however.
Translation was undertaken and 11
pundit
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
s were hired. Hastings envisaged making a text in English that contained the local laws. He intended to show the prudence of applying the Indian laws.
The pundits worked to compile a text from multiple sources, the ''Vivadarnavasetu'' (sea of litigations). It was translated to Persian, via a Bengali oral version by Zaid ud-Din 'Ali Rasa'i. Halhed then translated the Persian text into English, working with Hastings himself. The completed translation was available on 27 March 1775. The East India Company had it printed in London in 1776 as ''A Code of Gentoo Laws, or, Ordinations of the Pundits''. This was an internal edition, distributed by the East India Company. A pirate
edition was printed by Donaldson the following year, followed by a second edition in 1781; translations in French and German appeared by 1778.
The book made Halhed's reputation, but was controversial, given that the English translation was remote from its original. It failed to become the authoritative text of the Anglo-Indian judicial system. Its impact had more to do with Halhed's preface and the introduction to Sanskrit than the laws themselves. ''
The Critical Review
''The Critical Review'' was a British publication appearing from 1756 to 1817. It was first edited by Tobias Smollett, from 1756 to 1763. Contributors included Samuel Johnson, David Hume, John Hunter, and Oliver Goldsmith.
Early years
The ...
'' wrote in London, September 1777, that:
Halhed in the preface stated that he had been "''astonished to find the similitude of Shanscrit words with those of Persian and Arabic, and even of Latin and Greek: and these not in technical and metaphorical terms, which the mutation of refined arts and improved manner might have occasionally introduced; but in the main ground-work of language, in monosyllables, in the names of numbers, and the appellations of such things as would be first discriminated as the immediate dawn of civilisation.''" This observation was shortly to be heralded as a major step towards the discovery of the
Indo-European language
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
family.
''A Grammar of the Bengal Language''
![A Grammar of the Bengal Language](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/A_Grammar_of_the_Bengal_Language.png)
The East India Company lacked employees with good Bengali. Halhed proposed a Bengali translatorship to the Board of Trade, and set out a grammar of Bengali, the salaries of the ''pundits'' and the scribe who assisted him being paid by Hastings. Difficulty arose with a Bengali font.
Charles Wilkins
Sir Charles Wilkins (1749 – 13 May 1836) was an English typographer and Orientalist, and founding member of The Asiatic Society. He is notable as the first translator of ''Bhagavad Gita'' into English, He supervised Panchanan Karmakar to c ...
undertook it, the first Bengali press was set up at
Hugli, and the work of creating the typeface was done by
Panchanan Karmakar
Panchanan Karmakar (Mallick) (died c. 1804) was an Indian Bengali inventor, born at Tribeni, Hooghly, Bengal Presidency, British India, hailed from Serampore. He assisted Charles Wilkins in creating the first the Bangla type. His wooden Bengal ...
, under the supervision of Wilkins.
The grammar was the property of the Company, Wilkins informed the council on 13 November 1778 that the printing was completed, by which time Halhed had left Bengal. Halhed's ''Grammar'' was widely believed at the time to be the first grammar of Bengali, because the Portuguese work of
Manuel da Assumpção
Manuel da Assumpção (then spelled ''Manoel da Assumpçam'') was a Portuguese missionary who wrote the first grammar of the Bengali language, in 1743, titled "Vocabulario em idioma Bengalla, e Portuguez" (''Vocabulary of Bengali language and Portu ...
, published in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
in 1743, was largely forgotten.
Other works
Halhed's early collaboration with Richard Brinsley Sheridan was not an overall success, though they laboured on works including ''Crazy Tales'' and the
farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...
''Ixiom'', later referred to as ''Jupiter'', which was not performed. Halhed left for India. One work, ''The Love Epistles of Aristaenetus. Translated from the Greek into English Metre'', written by Halhed, revised by Sheridan and published anonymously, did make a brief stir. The friendship came to an end,
Elizabeth Linley chose Sheridan over Halhed, and later they were political enemies.
The opening of the Calcutta Theatre in November 1773 gave Halhed occasion to write prologues. A production of ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' also spurred him to write more pieces. He produced humorous verse: ''A Lady's Farewell to Calcutta'', was a lament for those who regretted staying in the ''
mofussil''.
Halhed wrote an anonymous tract in 1779 in defense of Hastings's policies with respect to the Maratha War. He began to write poetry, also, expressing his admiration for the governor, such as a Horatian ode of 1782. Under the pseudonym of "Detector" he wrote a series of open letters that appeared in newspapers, as separate pamphlets and in collections. These letters span over a year, from October 1782 to November 1783.
In the decade of Hastings's impeachment, Halhed remained involved in the war of pamphlets. The ''Upanisad'' (1787) was based on
Dara Shikoh
Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank" ...
's Persian translation. He wrote and distributed a ''Testimony of the Authenticity of the Prophecies of Richard Brothers, and of his Mission to recall the Jews''. Scandalously, he identified London with Babylon and Sodom: and was judged eccentric or mad.
See also
*
Gentoo
Citations
References
*.
External links
Books by Nathaniel Brassey Halhed—
archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
Orientalism, poetry, and the millennium : the checkered life of Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, 1751-1830 by Rosane Rocher*
* Excerpts of his notes on some Persian translations of Sanskrit texts were published by Hindley under the title
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halhed, Nathaniel Brassey
1751 births
1830 deaths
18th-century apocalypticists
19th-century apocalypticists
British MPs 1790–1796
Burials at St Peter's, Petersham
English orientalists
English philologists
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
People educated at Harrow School
People from Westminster