Scope and content
The collection comprises 10 letters to Henry Dundas (1792-1799) and 132 to and from
Robert Saunders Dundas (1807-1812), the majority of which are concerned with the appointment
and behaviour of officers serving in India alongside the East India Company.
Record creators history
Henry Dundas was born 28 April 1742. He was educated at Edinburgh High School and
Edinburgh University and was admitted as a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1763.
His family connections and skills as a public orator ensured him a thriving business
as a barrister and at the age of twenty-four he was appointed Solicitor General for
Scotland. From October 1774-1790 Henry Dundas served as a member of the House of Commons
and in 1775 he was appointed Lord Advocate, a post he held until 1783.
Henry Dundas' links with India began in April 1781 when he was appointed chairman
of a secret committee on the war in the Carnatic and British possessions in India.
The following year Dundas was appointed Minister Treasurer of the Navy, entered the
Privy Council and took the office of the Keeper of the Scotch Signet. Although Dundas
lost his job as Minister Treasurer of the Navy in 1783 he was made a member of the
Board of Control for India in 1784 and became its President from 1793-1802. During
this period he held a number of other political appointments most notably from 1791-1794
as Home Secretary, during which he defended the East India Company as Secretary of
War in 1794 and as Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland in 1800. He was created Viscount
Melville in 1802 and was First Lord of the Admiralty from May 1804- 1805. It was following
this appointment that he was accused of using monies for purposes other than the Navy.
In June 1805 he was called upon to defend himself in the House of Commons and there
was some debate over whether he should stand trial or face impeachment. The impeachment
before the House of Lords took place in April 1806 and eventually Dundas was acquitted
of all charges. He never again held public office and died on 28 May 1811.
Robert Saunders Dundas (1771-1851) was the only son of Henry Dundas. He too was educated
at Edinburgh High School and entered Parliament in 1797 as MP for Hastings. He then
acted as private secretary to his father until 1801. In 1807 he was appointed to the
Privy Council and in April of that year, following in his father's footsteps, he became
the President of the Board of Control. From 1812-1827 he was first Lord of the Admiralty,
and again from 1828-1830. Like his father Robert Dundas also held a number of important
appointments in Scotland, including Governor of the Bank of Scotland. From 1814 he
was Chancellor of the University of St. Andrews and in 1821 became a Knight of the
Thistle. He died on 10 June 1851.
Source of acquisition
The private papers of Henry Dundas were broken up and sold at Sotheby's in 1924. The
School purchased this collection of papers in 1926.
System of arrangement
The material is arranged in chronological order.
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Rights to access and re-use digital objects:
Unknown
For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library
in the first instance
Other finding aids
Related material
Material relating to the Dundas family are now available in a wide number of
repositories as follows: Material relating to Robert Dundas: BLPES 1782-1841 correspondence
and papers relating to Highland roads and bridges Bodleian Library 1807-8 correspondence
with Charles Grant and Edward Parry British Library correspondence and papers correspondence
1807-30 correspondence with Sir Harford Jones 1808-26 correspondence with Lord Liverpool
1811-20 correspondence with C. P. Yorke 1811-49 letters to J. W. Croker 1812-14 letters
to Sir Samuel Hood 1812-26 correspondence with Lord Bathurst 1812-27 letters to Lord
Spencer 1812-49 correspondence with Sir Robert Peel Brotherton Library, Leeds University
1807-12 correspondence with Lord and Lady Minto Brynmor Jones Library, Hull University
1831-33 letters from Sir Henry Hotham and John Irving Durham University Library 1813-33
correspondence with the 2nd Earl Grey Huntingdon Library, San Marino, California
1812-14 correspondence and papers John Rylands Library, University of Manchester
correspondence and papers relating to India Library of Congress correspondence and
papers National Library of Ireland correspondence and papers relating to Ireland
National Library of Scotland correspondence and papers 1798-1823 letters from the
Duke of York 1806-29 correspondence with Sir Walter Scott 1807-12 correspondence with
Lord Minto 1811-46 correpsondence with John Lee 1812-15 correspondence with Lord Keith
1812-25 correspondence with Sir Alexander Cochrane 1818-20 correspondence with
Sir David Richie and the Earl of Seafield National Maritime Museum 1807-26 naval
correspondence and papers 1812-14 correspondence with Sir John Warren 1812-30 letters
to Sir Thomas Foley North Yorkshire County Record Office 1782-1804 correspondence
with Lord Bolton Northumberland Record Office letters to Lord Wallace Orkney Archives
1820-37 correspondence with the Balfour family Private Collections: 1808-10 correspondence
with Spencer Perceval 1811-12 correspondence with L. Harrowby (Harrowby Manuscripts
Trust) 1844-46 letters to J. J. Hope-Johnstone (Enq to NRA (Scotland)) Public
Record Office (Northern Ireland) 1809-15 correspondence with John Foster 1814-18 correspondence
with Lord Castlereagh Rhodes House Library correspondence relating to West Indies
St. Andrew's University Library correspondence and papers relating to Scotland Scottish
Record Office correspondence and papers 1783-1849 family and personal correspondence
1810-25 letters to Sir Alexander Hope 1821-28 correspondence with J. A. Stewart-Mackenzie
1831-48 correspondence with Sir George Clerk 1835-47 letters to Lord Dalhousie correspondence
with the Duke of Wellington Southampton University Library 1833-49 letters to the
Duke of Wellington Surrey Record Office 1833 letters to Henry Goulburn Wellcome
Institute for the History of Medicine 1804-14 correspondence mainly relating to Edinburgh
William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan correspondence and papers William
R. Parkins Library, Duke University 1811-49 correspondence relating to naval matters
1814-29 correspondence with George Canning
Extent
1 box
Keywords
Subjects:
Armed forces
Colonialism
Colonial administration
Geographic names:
Southern Asia
India, Asia
Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe
Family names:Dundas; family; Viscounts Melville
Language of the material
English
Record creator
Content provider
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Archives, University of London
