Persia Since the Constitution

Abstract

The history of Persia in the nineteenth century is in the main the history of British and Russian political and economic rivalry in the area. During this period the Russian objective, unchanged since the time of Peter the Great, was access to the warm water ports of the Persian Gulf and the securing of an invasion route to India. The underlying theme of British policy in Persia, and indeed in the whole of the Middle East, was the defence of India. Militarily, the nineteenth century is notable for the annexation by Russia of Persia's rich Caucasian provinces and for the completion of Russia's programme of expansion into Central Asia. The boundaries between Russia and Persia were established on the Aras river in the northwest, and on the Atrek river in the northeast. Persia, encircled territorially as the result of these Russian conquests, was subjected to the strongest political and economic pressure by the Russians. Economically, the nineteenth century is notable for the imposition of "capitulations" by the Russians (the Russian example was followed by Britain and other countries), that is to say, extra-territorial rights for foreign officials in Persia, and for the way in which the weak Qajar monarchs, in return for relatively small sums of money which satisfied their immediate needs, made wholesale grants of economic concessions to foreign concessionaires. By the end of the nineteenth century most of Persia's resources were exploited or directed by foreign interests.