Labor & Industry in Iran, 1850-1941

Labor & Industry in Iran, 1850-1941 PDF Author: Willem M. Floor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
In the nineteenth century, Iranian reformers wanted to create an independent, modern state that could stand on its own feet. However, constrained by foreign influence, ignorance, and inexperience, their efforts at industrialization were an expensive failure. When a modernizing regime took over the country in 1925, it began the most interesting example of a state-directed effort at economic organization in the Middle East. Iran was able to lift itself up by its bootstraps by financing its own very capital intensive industrialization program without borrowing from abroad. But the people of Iran paid for their nation's modernization through heavy taxation, bad living conditions and dictatorial rule. And although unionization of labor failed, and bad working conditions, low wages and lack of labor laws remained, the much reviled Reza Shah had ironically been able to realize the dreams of the nineteenth and early-twentieth-century reformers. Willem Floor uses primary sources and documents, as well as statistics, to analyze the costs and benefits of Iran's efforts toward industrial modernization from the 1850s to 1941. This study is essential reading for anyone interested in the details of the economic history of modern Iran.

Labor & Industry in Iran, 1850-1941

Labor & Industry in Iran, 1850-1941 PDF Author: Willem M. Floor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the nineteenth century, Iranian reformers wanted to create an independent, modern state that could stand on its own feet. However, constrained by foreign influence, ignorance, and inexperience, their efforts at industrialization were an expensive failure. When a modernizing regime took over the country in 1925, it began the most interesting example of a state-directed effort at economic organization in the Middle East. Iran was able to lift itself up by its bootstraps by financing its own very capital intensive industrialization program without borrowing from abroad. But the people of Iran paid for their nation's modernization through heavy taxation, bad living conditions and dictatorial rule. And although unionization of labor failed, and bad working conditions, low wages and lack of labor laws remained, the much reviled Reza Shah had ironically been able to realize the dreams of the nineteenth and early-twentieth-century reformers. Willem Floor uses primary sources and documents, as well as statistics, to analyze the costs and benefits of Iran's efforts toward industrial modernization from the 1850s to 1941. This study is essential reading for anyone interested in the details of the economic history of modern Iran.

Transportation & Technology in Iran, 1800-1940: : Chapar, Carts, Carriages, Automobiles, Bicycles, Motor Cycles, Lodgings, Sewing Machines, Typewriters & Pianos

Transportation & Technology in Iran, 1800-1940: : Chapar, Carts, Carriages, Automobiles, Bicycles, Motor Cycles, Lodgings, Sewing Machines, Typewriters & Pianos PDF Author: Willem Floor
Publisher: Mage Publishers
ISBN: 1949445690
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Only 100 years ago the main means of transportation in Iran was by quadruped. Transportation & Technology in Iran, 1800-1940, by renowned Iranian studies scholar Willem Floor is an in-depth, illustrated, four-part study of the subject. Until the 1920s Iran had no more than 700 kilometers of roads suitable for motor vehicles, which situation greatly impeded Iran's economic development. Caravans traveled 40 km/day, though travelers in a hurry could cover 150 km/day when using the courier system (chapar), which is the subject of part 1. Wheeled transportation, (in part 2 of the books) was rare and limited to only a few parts of country due to the lack of roads. This situation underwent change when carriages became popular in urban areas and on the few modern roads after 1890. Motorized transportation grew in importance after 1921 and really took off in the 1930s, with the construction of a new road network. As a result, newer, more powerful trucks reduced the cost of transportation significantly, thus lowering the cost of retail goods. The increase of motorized transport also meant that car dealers, import rules, mechanics, garages, supply of spare parts, and gasoline distribution as well as traffic regulations had to be created ex nihilo; All these processes are detailed in the book. Like cars, bicycles and motorcycles also were increasingly used as of the 1920s, thus increasing choice in people's mobility. More road traffic also implied that travelers needed places to spend the night and eat. The change from caravanserais to guest-houses and hotels is discussed in part 3. These changes in transportation methods did not come alone, for other modern tools of change such as the sewing machine and the typewriter also made their appearance and had a major impact on people's availability and use of time. Finally, the piano made its entry onto the Iranian musical scene, and although not perfectly in tune with the traditional Iranian musical system, it is now as much part of music making in Iran as the tar and santur (part 4 of the book). All these changes and new technologies did not happen overnight or without problems, and slow adoption initially was limited to the upper-class. However, with falling prices and changing needs and policies these new technologies eventually reached a larger public and the idea that they once were 'exotic' and 'out of reach' is now inconceivable to Iranians. The studies in this book provide a new vantage point and understanding of the transfer of modern technology for scholars of the social-economic and cultural history of the Middle East.

The Social History of Labor in the Iranian Oil Industry

The Social History of Labor in the Iranian Oil Industry PDF Author: Kaveh Ehsani
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789090283913
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 439

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Book Description


Handbook Global History of Work

Handbook Global History of Work PDF Author: Karin Hofmeester
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110424703
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 719

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Book Description
Coffee from East Africa, wine from California, chocolate from the Ivory Coast - all those every day products are based on labour, often produced under appalling conditions, but always involving the combination of various work processes we are often not aware of. What is the day-to-day reality for workers in various parts of the world, and how was it in the past? How do they work today, and how did they work in the past? These and many other questions comprise the field of the global history of work – a young discipline that is introduced with this handbook. In 8 thematic chapters, this book discusses these aspects of work in a global and long term perspective, paying attention to several kinds of work. Convict labour, slave and wage labour, labour migration, and workers of the textile industry, but also workers' organisation, strikes, and motivations for work are part of this first handbook of global labour history, written by the most renowned scholars of the profession.

A Social History of Modern Tehran

A Social History of Modern Tehran PDF Author: Ashkan Rezvani Naraghi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009188895
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 489

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Book Description
Outlines how Tehran's social spaces were transformed by shifting discourses and practices from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century.

The Monetary History of Iran

The Monetary History of Iran PDF Author: Rudi Matthee
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857733532
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
The monetary history of a country provides important insights into its economic development, as well as its political and social history. This book is the first detailed study of Iran's monetary history from the advent of the Safavid dynasty in 1501 to the end of Qajar rule in 1925. Using an array of previously unpublished sources in ten languages, the authors consider the specific monetary conditions in Iran's modern history, covering the use of ready money and its circulation, the changing conditions of the country's mints and the role of the state in managing money. Throughout the book, the authors also consider the larger regional and global economic context within which the Iranian economy operated. As the first study of Iran's monetary history, this book will be essential reading for researchers of Iranian and economic history.

History of Paper in Iran, 1501–1925

History of Paper in Iran, 1501–1925 PDF Author: Willem Floor
Publisher: Mage Publishers
ISBN: 1949445666
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
The Chinese invented papermaking, which by the 8th century had reached the Muslim world in Samarkand and Baghdad, and Spain by the 11th century. Much later at the end of the 18th century onwards, modern, industrial papermaking was developed by the Europeans. The History of Paper in Iran, 1501 to 1925 sets out for the reader the types of paper made in Iran during the Safavid and Qajar periods and the crucial role imported paper played in the country. The Iranian government attempted to introduce modern European paper production technology, first by sending students abroad to learn about this technology and then by purchasing equipment to set up a paper industry. However, during the 19th century, domestic Iranian paper production came under increasing pressure from paper imports, and the government abandoned its efforts to modernize the domestic paper industry. The authors, renowned scholar Willem Floor in collaboration with Amélie Couvrat Desvergnes a museum conservator of artworks on paper and books, identify and illustrate the watermarks and/or countermarks of the various paper producers and provide examples of the diversity of quality, composition, and nature of the different types of paper used by various strata of the Iranian society. Also provided are detailed import data, showing which country exported paper to Iran, via which routes, as well as their changing market position over time. Finally, the various end uses of paper, from books and farmans to paintings, and diverse packing and utilitarian paper are examined and, where possible, quantified data are presented. This book will reward scholars and general readers alike.

Global Muslims in the Age of Steam and Print

Global Muslims in the Age of Steam and Print PDF Author: James L. Gelvin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520275020
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The second half of the nineteenth century marks a watershed in human history. Railroads linked remote hinterlands with cities; overland and undersea cables connected distant continents. New and accessible print technologies made the wide dissemination of ideas possible; oceangoing steamers carried goods to faraway markets and enabled the greatest long-distance migrations in recorded history. In this volume, leading scholars of the Islamic world recount the enduring consequences these technological, economic, social, and cultural revolutions had on Muslim communities from North Africa to South Asia, the Indian Ocean, and China. Drawing on a multiplicity of approaches and genres, from commodity history to biography to social network theory, the essays in Global Muslims in the Age of Steam and Print offer new and diverse perspectives on a transnational community in an era of global transformation.

Wall Paintings and Other Figurative Mural Art in Qajar Iran

Wall Paintings and Other Figurative Mural Art in Qajar Iran PDF Author: Willem M. Floor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Although in the last few years the study of painting in 19th century Iran has made considerable progress it still remains somewhat tradition bound. It would seem that art historians find it difficult to go beyond oil paintings, lacquer, and enamel. In 1998, Robinson, the doyen of Qajar art history, wrote: "Qajar painting found its most prestigious outlets in oil painting, lacquer, and enamel." In this study it is shown that paintings were probably the most important form of expression for painters for many centuries and as prestigious as the other forms of painting. Mural paintings were very popular and were to be found on various types of buildings ranging from the royal palaces, private homes, bath-houses to a religious shrine. Painting was a craft and a business that was actively pursued by artisans in most major towns in response to a general demand for-figurative art. As to the themes depicted these remained basically limited to (i) dynastic and epic (Qajar 'family portraits'; battles, hunts; Shahnameh scenes), (ii) sensual (flora, fauna, erotic), and (iii) religious (prophets, lmams, 'olama) subjects. These subjects occurred in any type of building irrespective of its function. The wide use of figurative representation in religious buildings and practice is of great interest. People almost invariably assume that Moslems until recent times did not tolerate paintings and the like of humans and animals adorning public and private buildings and publications. This study shows otherwise. There is even evidence of the use of paintings as religious icons, which is a totally neglected subject. Rock reliefs and other forms of sculptured works in and on buildings and its accessories such as doors show a similar development as mural paintings. Although information is even less copious than for wall paintings, it is clear that the depiction of living beings in the forms of sculptures was very widespread and pre-dates the Qajar period. The nature and form of murals were influenced by the increased contacts between Persia/Iran and the outside world, in particular Europe and India. This holds in particular for the use of prints and the occurrence of European scenes in frescos and other forms of paintings. Willem Floor has written extensively on many aspects of social, economic, and art history of Iran.

Guilds, Merchants, & Ulama in Nineteenth-century Iran

Guilds, Merchants, & Ulama in Nineteenth-century Iran PDF Author: Willem M. Floor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
Merchants and bankers managed much of nineteenth-century Iran's economy and finances. The ulama-clerical leaders-who considered themselves responsible for the spiritual welfare of their flock also played an important economic role, in particular, through management of religious endowments. Numerically, however, the most important group was that of the traders and craftsmen, who were organized into guilds and who formed thirty to fifty percent of the urban population. Finally, there were the unskilled, mostly seasonal, laborers. Guilds, Merchants and Ulama analyzes the major functions and characteristics of these groups, and discusses how they each coped with the pressures of the world market to which Iran was increasingly exposed and which resulted in the disappearance of jobs reducing Iran's economic and political independence. After 1870, Iran's economic situation was aggravated by an influx of peasants into the main cities significantly increasing the size of permanent unskilled labor in these cities. Guilds only provided some measure of social and economic benefits and protection to its members but could not prevent major downsizing, which is detailed in a contemporary report included here in translation. Meanwhile, both the merchants and the ulama demanded government action to better protect the country's economy and its independence. To make a bigger fist, the ulama, merchants and reformists mobilized the guilds to support their political ends. As such, the guilds provided the force that powered the political events, which resulted in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1906. The ulama's interference in economic life only made matters worse. They had no grasp of economics, beyond stating that people should not be greedy. And the guilds, despite their visible role during the 1905-06 events, found themselves used, and discarded when they were no longer needed. This created the parameters for major structural change to finally take place after 1925. In Guilds, Merchants, and Ulama Willem Floor provides a detailed analysis of primary source references essential for a better understanding of the socio-economic conditions that led to Iran's push toward modernization in the first quarter of the twentieth century.