Persian Petroleum: Oil, Empire and Revolution in Late Qajar Iran

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Using newly-uncovered private papers, as well as public and private archives in three countries, this book tells the definitive history of the first discovery of oil in Iran - the first discovery of oil in the Middle East. Exploring the formal and informal dealings of politicians, investors, civil servants and intermediaries Leonardo Davoudi charts the development of Persian petroleum from uncertain beginnings to becoming one of Britains largest oil companies with the British government as its principal shareholder. Assessing the relationship between economic and political forces within the British empire and the relationship of foreign economic forces and domestic political forces in Persia, the book also explores the role of intermediation, informal empire, the Anglo-Russian rivalry over Persia, British naval developments and Persian political developments.

Reviews

One would normally have thought that after all that has been written and said about the history and politics of Persian or Iranian oil, it would be a small miracle to write and publish something original in that field. Yet, Leonardo Davoudi has managed to prove us wrong by producing a largely original book on this subject. In every chapter there is something novel, but especially the treatment of the Kitabgi part in the origins of the Anglo-Persian oil agreement. This volume, thus, will be welcomed by all the scholars of twentieth-century British and Iranian history as well as Middle Eastern oil. * Homa Katouzian, St Antonys College, and Member, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, UK *
The riveting story if the discovery of oil in Persia that helped shape the course of the last hundred years. Leonardo Davoudi is a wonderful guide to the adventures of William Knox DArcy to strike oil at the start of the 20th century and why a speculative investment had dramatic repercussions for Persia, Britain and beyond. -- Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History, Oxford University, UK
'An original and engaging study that captures the birth of Middle Eastern oil, its place in the British Empire, and its impact on modern Iran. Davoudi retells the early history of Iranian oil through new archival sources and the private papers of the Kitabgi family that provide the Persian perspective on the DArcy Concession an outstanding contribution.' -- Eugene Rogan, Professor of the Modern History of the Middle East, Oxford University, UK

Author Bio

Leonardo Davoudi is a researcher at the Oxford Centre for Global History, University of Oxford, UK. He holds a DPhil from St. Antonys College. His research interests lie at the intersection of imperialism and capitalism.