Export of Iranian opium to Japan in second half of nineteenth century: Investigate the causes, contexts and its route

In the nineteenth century, the process of globalization with international trade which created by the colonial powers reached a point that directly affected the economic relations of different states. For this reason, due to the imbalance of trade, the economy could have witnessed a collapse. As a result, because the Iranian climate is suitable for poppy cultivation and the demand for this product was significant outside Iran, especially in China, large-scale opium trade began. On the other hand, Japan expanded its territory in the main body of Asia, as a result of which Japan also entered the path of Iranian trade. With that being said, several questions arise: what internal factors led to the widespread cultivation of poppies in Iran, through which centers did Iran export opium to Japan, how did Japan enter the opium trade, and why did the trade survive? The nineteenth century approach and historical method have been chosen to find the answer because international trade is one of its common topics. It is concluded that Iran's agricultural economy, the pressure of social structure and the negative balance of Iran's trade due to the decline in silk production, encouraged the people and government of Iran to massively produce opium. The trade began in Isfahan and after passing through Yazd and Shiraz reached the southern ports, from where it went to the ports of India and then China to finally enter Taiwan under Japanese rule. Of course, this trade did not change because there was no change in