The Role of Silk of Guilan in the Foreign Affairs of Persia during the Qajar Era

The importance of silk in the economy of Guilan and Persia, and especially the exportation of this product to other countries, are the main reasons behind the attention Persia’s central governments and foreign powers paid to silk. This is despite the fact that Guilan used to have the economic power to produce other products in addition to silk. Safavid era marks the pinnacle of silk trade in Guilan and Persia; the product also forms a major portion of export items in the Qajar era. The major factor contributing to the importance Europeans attached to the silk produced in Guilan was the epidemy of silkworm diseases, and the consequent shortage of silk, in Europe. However, due to the dominance of Russia over silk-producing areas in the northern Persia, Russians had the monopoly over the product. The English too tried to have access to this precious commodity through intermediaries. Other European nations, therefore, were not able to trade in Persian silk then. The monopoly of silk held by Russians and the English caused the livelihood of silk producers and merchants during Qajar era to be dependent upon the firms and policies formulated by these two nations. Based on historical and document studies, the present research tries to analyse the role of silk industry of Guilan and the impact thereof on the Russo-English and Persia relations in the Qajar era. The findings indicate that some political conflicts between Russia and England in Persia were over controlling the economy and trade of this product. This exclusive trade caused other countries to fall out of competition with these powers. The policies implemented by Russia and England did finally pave the way for the reduction of the importance of silk.