Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 34 Progressive Association
Amir acted swiftly, knowing to strike while the iron was hot. Although the religious community had not yet responded, he had already gained the support of secular intellectuals and the business community, and his strength was sufficient.

After preparations, the Progressive Association was established in Tabriz. The association's mission was to protect Iran from invasion by any country, proposing the need to learn from the West, strengthen national power, and ultimately restore Iran's status as a major power.

The association has one president, three vice presidents, one resident officer, one secretary, one accountant, and several editors, investigators, and speakers. Amir serves as president, while Larijani and Musavi serve as vice presidents. The association also publishes two periodicals, *Rabbi Al-Ahram* and *National Magazine*, to promote itself to a wider audience.

Joining the association wasn't easy; applicants needed to be at least 20 years old and have two referrals from existing members. Despite this, the association gained 165 new members in its first three days, 60% of whom were industry association members, 35% were newspaper editors and journalists, and some affected officials.

In order to recruit religious personnel, Amir promoted the association's main purpose as uniting all Iranians to make the country prosperous, protect Najaf and Qom from harm, and make it a respected nation.

Amir knew that winning over the clergy would reduce resistance, so he didn't mention secular education or seizing power. He simply said that successful reforms would not only preserve the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, but also allow them to reclaim another holy city, Najaf.

Such temptation is irresistible to clerics, especially since the Ottomans have held Najaf for a long time. No Shia cleric would tolerate their holy city under Sunni rule, and to reclaim it, they must strengthen themselves. Joining the association should provide them with a lot of useful information.

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Muhammad received many petitions from officials, landowners, merchants, and ulima (people of the state). They offered numerous suggestions for the development of the country, many of which were similar, but some were still unique.

In Ulimah, Khorasan, people petitioned the Shah to regain control of Herat, Kandahar, and Kabul, all of which were originally Iranian territories but were separated due to the special circumstances of recent years. Now is the time for them to return.

People in southern regions like Bushehr and Shiraz have petitioned the Iranian government to develop overseas trade. They argue that Iran needs to allow merchant ships to venture into the oceans to compete for profits, particularly in the Persian Gulf region, where maritime trade should be developed to increase trade with both the East and West.

After careful consideration, Muhammad decided to make changes to the easier aspects first. He ordered the encouragement of the development of agriculture, industry, and commerce, and, in conjunction with Amir's memorial, began discussions on establishing a commercial and industrial department.

In order to reform, Muhammad also changed his pro-French stance. He began to learn from the British, and everyone needed to unite to deal with the situation together.

"From the beginning of the dynasty, the country's revenue declined year by year. Commerce and industry were sluggish, agriculture was in decline, and Russian merchants were rampant, plundering Iranian property. In order to increase revenue, it was necessary to improve industry and commerce, so a department was to be established to be specifically responsible for the development of industry and commerce."

Muhammad made this proposal after much deliberation. Money is needed everywhere; without it, nothing can be done. Therefore, boosting revenue across all sectors has become a priority.

“Shah, our trade with Russia isn’t growing much right now. Their cotton cloth isn’t selling well. This is precisely the time we need to encourage industry and boost trade. Otherwise, all the profits will go to foreign countries,” Pezeshkian said first. This staunch reformist supported all measures to change the status quo.

But others disagreed, and a minister quickly said, "Shah, the people are not familiar with those machines. Pushing them forward rashly will cause big trouble. It would be better to restore agriculture first, and then discuss other matters."

"But if we don't catch up immediately, we will continue to fall behind. You can see how much we import from Russia every year. If tariffs are not feasible, we must vigorously develop industry."

"Judging from the current situation, industrial development is consuming too much money and time. Even if we spend all our money on it, we probably won't get any results. What if we are invaded by foreign countries at this time?"

Seeing that another argument was about to break out, Hassan stepped forward and said, "The current discussion is about whether or not to establish a department, not about focusing all our efforts on developing industry. Currently, countries like Britain and France have such departments, and we can establish one to help our subjects set up factories."

In fact, Amir's memorial caused a great stir among the ministers. In addition, the machines that the Shah ordered from Britain began to arrive one after another, and they began to start production without hesitation. They found that the cloth produced by machine was better than that woven by hand, and it was also of sufficient weight and did not fade.

"The situation is now clearer; Tabriz has given us a good start. We should add a department to develop agriculture, industry, and commerce, so that revenue can increase accordingly."

The Grand Vizier supported the Shah's proposal, and the Ayatollah did not object, so it was approved. Who wouldn't want more money? However, Amir's memorial mentioned the establishment of new commercial, trade, and factory laws—the idea that industry and commerce needed legislation was something they weren't quite familiar with. They would probably have to ask the British for help.

However, the matter of unifying the currency and establishing a bank, as Amir mentioned, will likely have to be handled by him and the Crown Prince. According to reports, Tabriz currently only has one type of banknote and coin called the riyal, and the response has been very positive; this should be left to experienced individuals.

The meeting approved the establishment of a business and industry department to help develop Iranian industry and commerce, and passed the first economic law on industry and commerce, encouraging people to use machinery to set up new factories and providing a two-year tax exemption.

With the resolution passed, the reforms spearheaded by Mohammed Shah officially took their first step. This was actually determined by the current economic situation; the royal treasury had deteriorated to an unimaginable degree, and many officials were embezzling funds. In addition to eliminating them, it was also necessary to find ways to increase revenue, so developing industry was a logical step.

Muhammad also put the abolition of the national checkpoints on the agenda, as many people had petitioned for their removal due to the dangers they posed. However, those who controlled these checkpoints were influential local nobles and tribes, making their abolition far from easy. But bringing them into the open was at least a positive step; the next step would depend on their reaction.

(End of this chapter)