Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 374 Visit to Baghdad

If Shiites and Sunnis are arguing like this, then what is the great Nasser al-Din Shah doing?

A: During the visit.

According to the schedule, Nasser al-Din will visit Erzurum, Mosul, Baghdad, Najaf, and Basra. He will inspect local facilities such as factories, schools, mosques, and ports, and will be warmly welcomed wherever he goes.

“Shah, this is Baghdad’s largest textile factory, with an investment of over 100 million riyals and employing 4000 workers. If all goes well, it will produce 60 riyals worth of cotton cloth in its first year.”

This was Tehran Textile Company's largest investment in Baghdad, at which time the state-owned enterprise was renamed Persian Textile Company. Its total assets exceeded 850 million riyals, and its products sold very well both domestically and internationally.

"We still need to accelerate development here. The textile industry is a key industry in our country, and the government should provide preferential policies to encourage it."

Nasser al-Din looked at the brand-new textile machines and the workers at work, and offered his advice to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, the Mayor of Baghdad, the factory manager, and others standing nearby. Of course, they were to comply.

"Rest assured, Shah, we will work hard to make this the most prosperous place in our country."

The textile factories were just one example of the many other factories that sprang up in Baghdad. The newly built industrial buildings attracted countless workers, whose arrival, in turn, boosted trade and commerce, and Baghdad began to regain its former prosperity.

After visiting the factory, Nasser al-Din wanted to see the dam and nearby villages. They traveled by horse-drawn carriage to the nearest village. Shah's procession was grand, and many people along the way welcomed him, whether sincerely or at his request, which at least demonstrated his popularity.

Habab village, the closest village to Baghdad, has 180 households and a population of nearly 1,000. The Shah's arrival delighted them, and they all went to the village entrance to welcome Nasser al-Din.

The Shah's approachable nature has been widely publicized; he was able to shake hands with citizens and farmers and show concern for their lives—something impossible for any monarch. Yet he did it.

Looking at the endless farmland, Naserdin inquired about their lives, like any ordinary parent asking about their children's recent situation. The farmers replied that their lives had improved significantly; without the land policy, their lives would likely still be the same.

The land policy represented a change made by the government to address the land issues facing the new territories. After the signing of the Treaty of Baghdad, Iran passed a land rent regulation requiring tenant farmers to pay no more than 30% of their harvest in cash. To ensure the policy's thorough implementation, local officials were selected through a multi-tiered government approval process, chosen for their competence, high sense of responsibility, and loyalty to the Shah. The amount of arable land in Mesopotamia still needed to be tallied by the Iranian government, and most of the land was controlled by tribes. By 1860, the total amount of arable land in the new territories was finally tallied, totaling 350 million hectares, 95% of which was controlled by tribes.

By this time, the land rent decree had begun to show results. Although some tribes resisted by taking advantage of the terrain, they were ultimately forced to surrender in the face of the power of the Industrial Revolution. Their land was confiscated and distributed to tenant farmers. For other tribes, a more lenient approach was taken: the land redemption policy.

In August 1860, the Iranian Council of Experts passed the Land Decree, stipulating that landowners could retain a maximum of two hectares of land, with any excess land to be requisitioned at market price or 10% above market price. Compensation was provided in part in cash, and also in the form of company stock or government bonds.

Then the massive land expropriation campaign began. The process went most smoothly in the area north of Baghdad, because it was Sunni territory, and the local elders readily handed over their land, thinking of the future.

In the southern Shia regions, resistance intensified. They couldn't understand why their compatriots were confiscating their land, and they refused to relinquish it even with compensation. Unfortunately, the Shah was determined to push things through. If they weren't willing, then sorry, perhaps they should go to East Africa or Araucania for a look?
Due to fierce resistance, Iran sentenced 2560 people to exile in East Africa or South America. They were only required to work there for two years to gain their freedom and a piece of land. After the exile, the land requisition process proceeded smoothly, with even the cooperating tribes surrendering considerable land. By the end of 1862, over one million hectares of land had been requisitioned, with an estimated two million hectares to be requisitioned and distributed to tenant farmers or landless peasants.

However, such a large amount of land came at a considerable financial cost. The monetary cost alone was hundreds of millions of rials, not to mention stocks and bonds. Since the cotton speculation, Nasser al-Din had also used his own funds to buy back the land. Tenant farmers also had to pay for it themselves, but at a price 15% below market value, repayable in 24 installments.

To prevent a financial crisis, Amir and Musharraf jointly formulated land bonds. The bonds held an annual interest rate of 5%, initially issued at 20% of the total land value, with subsequent annual payments consisting solely of interest until all funds were paid. These bonds could also be used for direct investment in industry and commerce. They were freely tradable and theoretically convertible into cash or other investments.

Landowners who lost their land received bonds that could be invested in industry and commerce. To avoid losing their profits, they had no choice but to invest in industries outside of land. As a result, last year saw an explosive growth in domestic investment in industries such as textiles, food, daily necessities processing, and shipping, although a considerable portion of it was in bonds.

Now, farmers get land, landowners get bonds, stocks, and money; and the government solves the agricultural problem—a win-win-win situation. Iran's industry is also poised for explosive growth.

But correspondingly, the supporting infrastructure for agriculture also needed to be addressed. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was swamped with work on water conservancy, markets, agricultural tools, and legal matters. Such fertile land shouldn't be left uncultivated. Dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were also being rebuilt to use the water from these rivers to irrigate more land.

Habab village is a beneficiary of the land policy; the local farmers' enthusiasm has greatly increased, and last year's harvest filled the local warehouses. A significant portion was sold to Baghdad, and now the farmers have some savings and are no longer afraid of the days when they didn't know where their next meal would come from. This is all thanks to the Shah for bringing them such good times; they should be truly grateful.

Naserdin also knew that he and his teacher had met with local tribal elders many times to persuade them to agree to the land policy. Sure enough, it was the interests that moved people's hearts.

(End of this chapter)