Description of Port of Bushehr and the Persian Gulf in Mozaffari Newspaper (1322 – 1319 AH)

The increasing importance of the Persian Gulf during the Qajar period affected the Port of Bushehr in different respects. One of the reasons for this was the relationship between the cultural elite of Bushehr and the various social classes through the publication of progressive press, spread of patriotic thoughts, and matching them with the existing conditions of Iran and Bushehr. The Mozaffari newspaper was published by Labib al-Mulk Shirazi in Mozaffari Printing House in Bushehr. It was one of the newspapers which, due to the progressive and patriotic thoughts of its editor-in-chief, played an important role in awakening the thoughts of the public in this city and in other regions of Iran. Apart from some of the editorials and articles which were published in this newspaper in relation to the despotism and advancements of different governments, several parts of it exclusively dealt with the news and reports of Bushehr and the coasts and islands of the Persian Gulf. Such reports covered various topics such as the political and economic activities of the delegates of European governments in Bushehr and the Persian Gulf and their cultural activities, including the establishment of new civilizational centers and the opening of Sa’adat Mozaffari School there, as well as the news regarding natural disasters such as earthquakes and contagious diseases on the coasts of the Persian Gulf. Such news were reported alongside those dealing with the activities and functions of the rulers of the ports in the Mozaffari. Following a library method and document analysis approach, the present paper is intended to investigate this newspaper and also examine and evaluate the most important reports and news of Bushehr and the Persian Gulf published there.