Obstacles to Development of Marine Commercial Economy in Qajar Iran: The Case of Pīrbâzâr

This article aims at providing an explanation for some aspects of the problem of development in Qajar Iran. It's Focus in on Pīrbâzâr, a famous village in Northern Province of Guilân, which hosted a growing volume of Russian-Iranian trade in late Qajar period and changed to be an important harbor up to the Russian Revolution. As a matter of fact, Russian development of Transcaucasian railway along with the launching a modernized shipment in the Caspian sea in the second half of 19th century were the main causes behind an unprecedented growth of Iran-Russian trade. Meanwhile, lack of any modern infrastructure which linked Anzalī to Rasht, provided the opportunity for Pīrbâzâr to appear as the main harbor in this situation. Based on first hand sources as well as archival material and applying a descriptive-explanative approach, it seeks to explain how Russian-Iranian marine trade affected the traditional pattern of transportation in Guilân and what causes prevented Pīrbâzâr to become a modernized harbor. This study may help us to attain a better understanding of the multidimensional problem of "development" in late Qajar Iran.