Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 494 Trade and Colonialism

The unrest in Kerman province has been largely quelled, and land reform has been reinstated and forcefully implemented by the army. Local farmers are singing praises of the Shah.

Musharraf finally breathed a sigh of relief, and following this situation, land tax reforms began nationwide. With Farzadi's resignation, there was no one left in the cabinet to obstruct him, significantly reducing the resistance to continuing his plans.

Next up are the Sumatra Island Ring Railway and the Eastern Railway. The geography has been surveyed, and they're just waiting for the materials to be ready before starting large-scale construction.

"Grand Vizier, this is a report from Baghdad. Construction is in its final stages."

After eight years of construction, Baghdad is finally nearing completion. It covers an area of ​​75 square kilometers and has a permanent population of 31, which continues to grow.

With the completion of the railway to Tehran, Basra, and Mosul, Baghdad is also leveraging its geographical advantages to develop various industries. Agriculture and trade have recovered the fastest, followed by various light industries.

Most importantly, a series of large buildings were constructed in Baghdad, including the royal palace where the Shah lived and the Great Mosque of Baghdad, which was the same size as the Al-Ayah Sophia in Constantinople.

In addition, the Takkisla Palace in Ctesiphon was also restored. The project took four years and cost 1152 million riyals. It was opened to the public, and the Shah quickly realized that such wonders greatly enhanced national identity among the people. Therefore, he decided to build more buildings, also in an effort to revive Persian culture.

"This matter must be reported to the Shah immediately, as the capital will be moved soon."

Tehran is good, but Baghdad is still the best choice in order to control the Arabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia.

"Okay, and there's also the Grand Vizier. This is our country's trade situation report from last year."

Iran's total imports and exports last year amounted to 4.5 million rials. Exports totaled 2.4 million rials, imports totaled 2.1 million rials, resulting in a trade surplus of 3000 million rials.

There's no need to look at the trade figures for the past few years; kerosene and other petroleum products are undoubtedly number one. And indeed, kerosene, lubricants, and other petroleum products account for 65% of exports. Textiles follow at 13%, and dyes at 8%. Agricultural products and other industrial goods account for 14%.

On the import side, grains and numerous industrial raw materials account for the majority. A portion of these are also from entrepot trade, which makes the total amount particularly large.

"Why are so many of these rubbers being imported?"

Musharraf noticed a 320% increase in rubber imports from Brazil and sensed something was amiss.

"This was ordered by the Tabriz Power Institute. They said they had improved the bicycle because it required a lot of rubber, so they imported it."

Since that's the case, the Grand Vizier has nothing more to say. Everything must be done with the Shah at the forefront. Besides these matters, Musharraf is also pursuing another policy: integrating the colonial economies and maintaining order within them.

East Africa became Grand Vizier's first target. Various local companies competed fiercely, disrupting local order, while the region also needed substantial investment for development. With the Shah's consent, the government facilitated the merger of four major local enterprises into the United East Africa Company. In this company, the royal family owned one-third of the shares, the government owned 50%, and the remainder were owned by merchants and nobles.

The company controls 99% of the ivory, 68% of the grain, and 43% of the cotton trade, with annual revenue around 1300 million. Recently, the company has been planning to expand into the industrial sector, such as building food factories.

Meanwhile, East Africa continues to expand northward. Last July, the Magirtin Sultanate, which rules northern Somalia, officially pledged allegiance to the Shah of Iran and converted to Shia Islam.

Their arrival extended Iran's influence to the Cape Hafun area. Local livestock became a major export, another significant territorial victory for Iran; in that era, not having colonies was considered a laughingstock. Sweden's relinquishment of its Caribbean colonies was considered a disgrace; after all, how could one earn the trust of others if they couldn't even manage their own colonies?
“The United East Africa Company’s monopoly needs to be strengthened,” he muttered to himself as he added a supplementary clause to Article 7 of the draft: “Anyone exporting ivory or rubber must obtain a license from the company.” This provision might completely sever the smuggling network of British merchants off the coast of Somalia. But the real challenge lay in what followed—how to deal with the Somali tribes that refused to convert?
Sultan Magirdin's Shia seminary in Cape Hafun was attacked, and three missionaries were impaled in the chest with spears; their bodies were displayed on a date palm tree. Musharraf's knuckles tapped a dull rhythm on the table; this was the third such incident this month.

He telegraphed the commander of the Zanzibar garrison, who, without looking up, ordered, "Send two armed steamships to patrol Cape Hafun, but do not fire." He then took out a document stamped with a lion's head wax seal from a drawer. "According to this list, 'invite' the sons of the tribal chiefs to study in Tehran." Attached to the document was a Persian note: special attention should be paid to the second son of the Hawiya tribe chief—this young man had maintained close ties with Wahhabi scholars during his Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Colonial governance is never a charitable endeavor. Musharraf flipped through the budget sheet recently delivered by the Governor-General of East Africa: last year's expenditure on building mosques and hospitals reached 47 riyals, while military spending in the same period was only 23. This "culture-first" strategy had yielded significant results in Zanzibar—40% of the local Swahili merchants could now recite simple Shia chapters of the Quran—but in the arid desert regions of Somalia, indoctrination clearly couldn't compete with ancestral tribal laws.

"Grand Vizier, perhaps we should show them the power of guns and cannons," the secretary suggested from the side. Since persuasion didn't work, they should try force. A barrage of gunfire would scare them into submission.

"If only it were that simple, every tribe would be a nation of soldiers. They are also familiar with the local situation in Somalia, and once they hide, our army will become their live targets."

This is also a problem Iran faces; Somali tribes are not like Black tribes. Their political and military development is several levels higher than that of Black tribes, making them more adaptable to war. If a protracted war breaks out, Iran will be overwhelmed.

"Tell the Governor-General of East Africa that it's best not to provoke the local population too much recently. Just keep them engaged with incentives and make sure they don't fall behind."

East Africa's current expansion is directed westward and southward, with its expansion to the north currently limited. Colonialism is not about indiscriminate expansion; there are limits.

“Show these to the Shah, and send these to East Africa immediately.”

"Yes"

Musharraf breathed a sigh of relief; now, finally, it was quiet.

(End of this chapter)