British policy in Persia, 1885-1892

Abstract

Persia's importance in the latter part of the nineteenth century stemmed from her position between the rapidly expanding Russian empire on one side and Great Britain's Indian empire on the other. Three departments in London the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the War Office were concerned with the affairs of that country. This study is, in part, an analysis of their interests. British statesmen approached the Persian problem from two points of view. Some favoured building the country into a strong and truly independent buffer state. Then Persia, like Afghanistan, would constitute a substantial outwork in Indian defence and a barrier to the Russian movement south. Others, however, believed that the obstacles in the way of reform and regeneration were too great to be surmounted. Their alternative was agreement with Russia and the eventual division of the country into spheres of influence. In the years of this study, from 1885 to 1892, Lord Salisbury was the dominating personality in foreign affairs. As a result of his previous service as Secretary of State for India he was keenly aware of the problems of Central Asia. Persia figured more prominently in his plans than in those of many of his colleagues. He upheld the principle of the buffer state, and he sent Sir Henry Drummond Wolff to Tehran for the purpose of giving life to that policy. Wolff's years in Persia, 1888 to 1891, were successful ones. He sponsored measures, such as the opening of the Karun river to navigation and the establishment of the Imperial Bank, which would promote the welfare of Persia as well as strengthen the position of England there. Simultaneously, however, he carried on the negotiations for an understanding with Russia.