Richard Wilbraham about Kakheti

Abstract

Due to its strategic geopolitical location, Georgia has always been in the center of attention of the rulers of many countries around the world. One of the clear expressions of this interest should be the fact that specially sent persons from Europe and Asia often came to Georgia on various missions. Many of them, through their writings on their travels in Georgia, have preserved important information about the situation in our country. One such figure was Richard Wilbraham, Captain of the British Army in the 19th century. Who interestingly told us about his impressions of his stay in Georgia in the book - „Travels in the Trans-Caucasian Provinces of Russia, and along the southern shore of the lakes of Van and Urumiah, in the autumn and winter of 1837.“ The work named after Richard Wilbraham has not been translated into Georgian and the information, he provided about our country has not yet been the subject of special study.

The interest in the material reflecting the presence of Richard Wilbraham in Georgia is essentially determined by the fact that it provides us with important information on issues such as: social and cultural situation in Tbilisi in the 1930s and in different regions of Georgia.

An important factor in the confidence in the authorial narrative is the fact that Richard Wilbraham was an eyewitness, or even a direct participant, in almost every important event that took place in the Tbilisi province during his stay in our country. The present article focuses only on the part of the book mentioned above, which contains impressions of his presence in Kakheti.