David Price (East India Company officer) facts for kids
David Price (born 1762, died 1835) was a Welsh expert on Eastern cultures. He was also an officer in the East India Company. This company was a powerful British trading group. It played a big role in India.
Life Story
David Price was born in 1762 at Merthyr Cynog, near Brecon, Wales. After his father, a church leader, passed away, David went to Christ College, Brecon. He later started studying at Jesus College, Cambridge in 1779. However, he soon ran out of money and had to leave the university in 1780.
Price then decided to join the East India Company's army. Friends of his father helped him become a cadet. He sailed to India in 1781 and arrived in Madras that August. He volunteered to serve in southern India.
He took part in the siege of Negapatam. He also helped capture Trincomali in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He arrived in Bombay in April 1782. By November, he was put in charge of a group of Indian soldiers called sepoys.
Price served in wars against Tippu Sultan in 1782-84, 1790–92, and 1799. During the siege of Dharwar in 1791, he lost a leg. Because of this, he was given a new job. He became a guard for Sir Charles Malet, a political leader in Poona. In 1792, he moved to a staff job in Surat.
While in Surat, David Price had more free time. He became very interested in Persian culture. He collected old writings and studied Persian history. He also rose through the ranks in the Bombay Army. From 1795 to 1805, he was the chief legal officer, known as a judge-advocate-general.
He became a captain in 1795 and a full captain two years later. He also worked as a military secretary in Malabar from 1797 to 1798. Later, he was a Persian translator for General James Stuart in 1799. He was present when Seringapatam was captured. He also managed the army's captured goods, which helped him become wealthy.
After this, he returned to Bombay to continue his studies of Persia. He was promoted to major in March 1804. Finally, he returned to Britain in February 1805. He officially retired from the East India Company in October 1807, when he got married.
In his retirement, David Price lived in Brecon. He wrote books about Eastern history. He also served as a local judge (magistrate) and a deputy lieutenant for Brecknockshire. He was a member of the Oriental Translation Fund. He won their gold medal in 1830. He was also a member of the Royal Asiatic Society. He left over 70 Eastern manuscripts to this society when he died. He passed away at his home, Watton House, in Brecon.
His Writings
David Price wrote several important books about Eastern history and culture:
- Chronological retrospect, or, Memoirs of the principal events of Mahommedan history … from original Persian authorities (3 volumes, 1811, 1812, 1821). This book became a key reference. It covered history from the death of Muhamed to the time of Akbar. The first parts were based on writings by Mirkhond and Khwandamir. The last part used the work of Abu'l-Fazl.
- Essay towards the History of Arabia antecedent to the Birth of Mahommed (1824). This was based on a Persian text by Et-Tabari.
- A translation of the Memoirs of the Emperor Jahangueir (1829; a new edition came out in 1972).
- Account of the Siege and Reduction of Chaitur … from the Akbar-namah (1831).
- The Last Days of Krishna (1831).
- Memoirs of the early life and service of a field officer (1839). This book was published after he died and did not have his name on it.
