PROGRAM | History

By: Mehdi Mousavi Chair: Rudolph Matthee

ABSTRACT

Between the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries, encompassing the reigns of Louis XIV and Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as the post-Napoleonic monarchies (the Bourbon and July monarchies), France maintained a persistent and coherent trade policy with Iran. During these two centuries, France was the third major European power involved in Iranian affairs, always competing with two other powers (Holland and England in the seventeenth century, and Britain and Russia in the nineteenth century). However, France’s policy towards Iran shifted in the middle of the nineteenth century, with the accession of Nāser al-Dīn Shah Qajar in Iran and Louis Napoleon (the future Napoleon III) in France in 1848, and with the involvement of Russia, Britain and France in the Crimean War (1853-56). This policy shift occurred as a result of both political circumstances and France’s successful diplomacy in Iran during the 1850s, which elevated the country to the status of the first European power in the country. Following Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War, Britain severed its diplomatic relations with Iran over a sovereignty dispute involving Herat in Afghanistan, which Britain perceived as a threat to British India. Iran reacted to these developments by turning to France both as a peace broker and a significant ally. France’s prestige in west Asia further rose with the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War. The country took advantage of this enhanced role by seeking to expand its sphere of influence in the region through trade. A lasting presence in Iran seemed secured with the conclusion, in 1855, of a commercial treaty with the Qajar regime that gave France the same rights and privileges as Britain and Russia. Yet, the informal empire France managed to establish in Iran was based on the aura of its language and culture. The Third Republic indeed engaged in a “civilizing mission” through the establishment of French schools in Iran; it also participated in archaeological explorations there. Archaeology and education thus became an integral part of France’s Iran diplomacy during the latter part of the nineteenth century. It maintained this status until the end of the century, after which its standing in Iran began to decline amidst shifting political dynamics in the region.

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