International

Maison des Sciences de l'Homme

Monday October 24 2005 at 5 pm
54 Boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - Room N#07

Mrs Bhaswati Bhattacharya
Indian Researcher from Calcutta
at the International Institute of Asian Studies,
Leiden, the Netherlands

A power point presentation

An Armenian Merchant in India
Khoja Petrus Woscan, 1680-1751: His "Book of Will"


  • Dr Bhattacharya is a historian of Indian Maritime Trade in the 18th century and has published many articles on the subject. Presently she is carrying on a research for a book on the history of the Armenian community in India from the seventeenth to the middle of the twentieth centuries.

  • This paper is part of her research and is based on the 100 folios long English translation of the last will of Khoja Petrus which she found lately in the State Archives in Madras. The will throws light on the life of an eighteenth century Julfan Armenian in India. Born in New Julfa, Khoja Petrus went to Madras in India at the age of 26. Who was this Petrus? Why did he leave New Julfa for Madras? What can we say about his family? What were his contacts with New Julfa? This paper will answer these and other questions which are important for understanding the life of the Armenian community in India.

  • Dr. Bhattacharya is also interested in the cultural relations between India and the Netherlands, and India and Indonesia.

  • Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (JESHO) - Leiden :
    JESHO - a. 48, 2005, 2 , p 277-322
    The Armenian-European Relationship in India, 1500-1800: No Armenian Foundation for European Empire ?