Item Details

James Burnes (1801–1862): Scottish Freemason and Empire Builder

Issue: Vol 6 No. 1 (2015)

Journal: Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism

Subject Areas: Religious Studies

DOI: 10.1558/jrff.31864

Abstract:

James Burnes (1801–1862) was one of the most charismatic and polarizing figures of nineteenth century Scottish freemasonry. He is best remembered for his work on the history of the Knight Templars and as the primary mover of the first Indian lodge specifically designed to welcome native candidates. In the Indian presidency of Bombay, he became an enthusiastic promoter of freemasonry and a zealous political agent defending British colonial interests wherever his travels took him. Although much has been written about his masonic career in India, there is no extensive biography of James Burnes, or at least no satisfactory attempt at a biographical approach that would seek to situate his masonic career within the more general frame of his career as a soldier and empire-builder. This study is therefore meant both as biographical approach that seeks to attempt to offer a more accurate insight into the life and works of this fascinating character, and as an insight into the intricate relationship between freemasonry and imperialism.

Author: Simon Deschamps

View Full Text

References :

Magazines and Correspondance
Letter from John Grant to the Grand Lodge of England, 30th November 1840 (United Grand Lodge of England: Indian Correspondence, HC 17/D/24).
The Freemason, 18 [online] (February 2001). Available at http://lodge342.dgli-sc.com/fmfeb01.htm
The Freemasons Magazine and Masonic Mirror [online] (July 1857), 592. Available at http: //www.masonicperiodicals.org/
The Freemason Quarterly Review [online] (March 1837). Available at http: //www.masonicperiodicals.org/
The Freemasons' Quarterly Review [online] (June 1838). Available at http: //www.masonicperiodicals.org/
The Freemasons' Quarterly Review. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper, 1845.
The Masonic Illustrated [online] (June 1904). Available at http: //www.masonicperiodicals.org/

Other Sources
André, Nadine. "Alexander Burnes, un héritier des Lumières écossaises dans le sous-continent indien à l’âge des réformes", Etudes Ecossaises [online] 14 (2001).
Birch, F. W. ed. Addresses of R. W. James Burnes. K. H. to the Calcutta lodges with R. W. John Grant's Memoir of Brother Burnes. Calcutta: Samuel Smith and Co., 1840.
Burnes, James. A Narrative of a Visit to the Court of Sinde: A Sketch of the History of Cutch, from Its First Connexion with the British Government in India till the Conclusion of the Treaty of 1819; and Some Remarks on the Medical Topography of Bhooj. Edinburgh: J. Stark, 1831.
--------. Notes on His Name and Family. Edinburgh: Printed for private circulation, 1851.
Colley, Linda. ‘Britishness in the 21st Century’, Speech at the Centre for Citizenship, London School of Economics, 8 December 1999.
Cooper, Robert. Cracking the Freemason’s Code: The Truth About Solomon’s Key and the Brotherhood. New York: Atria Books, 2006.
Gould, Robert Freke. ‘Dr. James Burnes, 1801-1862)’, Quatuor Coronatorum 13 (1900): 44-53
--------. Military Lodges: The Apron and the Sword of Freemasonry under Arms. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing, 2003.
Hogg, Bruce, and Diane Clements. ‘Freemasons and the Royal Society: Alphabetical List of Fellows of the Royal Society who were Freemasons’, The Library and Museum of Freemasonry. Available at: http://www.freemasonry.london. museum/resources/

Lane-Poole, Stanley. ‘Burnes, James (1801–1862).” Rev. James Mills. In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed., edited by David Cannadine, October 2005. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4057 (accessed September 3, 2016).
Laurie, William F. B. Sketches of Some Distinguished Anglo-Indians. London: Savoy Steal Press, 1875.
Mill, James. The History of British India, Vol. I. London: Bladwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1820.
Prior, Katherine. ‘Burnes, Sir Alexander (1805–1841).’ Katherine Prior In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed., edited by David Cannadine, January 2008. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4056 (accessed September 3, 2016)
Wadia, D. F. History of Lodge Rising Star of Western India No. 342 S. C. Bombay: British India Press, 1912.