tacked by any third party. In addition, Samuel Manesty (the compa-
ny resident at Basra, near the mouth of the Tigris) became alarmed
over a threat to India that he believed would result from a Russian
victory in the Caucasus. The territorial dispute provided what he be-
lieved to be a golden opportunity to increase British influence in
Iran. Chance gave him the means to establish contact with the shah.
The company resident at Bushehr fell ill and could not deliver the
governor-general's official condolences on the death of the Iranian
ambassador to India, so the job fell to Manesty. In 1804, he jour-
neyed to Iran, where he led the government to believe that his coun-
try would provide aid, and received a letter from Fath 'Ali to King
George III. For the next two years, Iran sent repeated pleas for as-
sistance to the company, all without avail. Officials of the company
and the British government viewed the problem very differently
than did the shah or Manesty, who was rebuked. First, British authori-
ties considered the 1801 treaty nonbinding on themselves since it was
never formally ratified. France was no longer a danger in Egypt or
the Levant, while the Afghans were absorbed in internecine conflict.
Second, the British did consider the treaty binding to the extent
that Iran was prohibited from obtaining French assistance. Third,
Britain and Russia were partners in the Third Coalition against Na-
poleon (1805-1807); therefore, neither London nor the company
would condone hostilities against a valuable ally. In fact, British
officials looked with favor on Russian expansion in the Caucasus,
an important point to keep in mind in light of later russophobia.^2
John Warren, the ambassador to Constantinople, viewed the Rus-
sian takeover of Ganjeh as a suitable measure for the protection of
Georgia and approved further expansion to a natural river border,
while he deplored "a most insolent Letter" from the shah, demand-
ing that the Russians leave the disputed territories.^3 Lord Leveson
Gower, the ambassador to St. Petersburg, lamented the "perfidious"
murder of the highly esteemed Tsitsianov.^4 British officials rarely
showed an interest in Russo-Iranian relations, but, when they did,
they sided with Russia.
For two years, from 1805 to 1807, the Iranians negotiated with
the French while voicing a preference for aid from the British, if
only the latter would provide it. Finally, the Iranian government
concluded a treaty of alliance with France. The French had been
trying to make an alliance with the Oajars since 1795, when two
French agents had been sent to propose a joint attack on the Otto-
man Empire and the use of several thousand Iranian soldiers to aid
Tipu Sultan of Mysore in his war against the British. However,
124 France and Britain in Iran