Anglo-Persian Treaty (1801)

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The Anglo-Persian Treaty of 1801 was a military assistance pact between Britain and Persia . This treaty represented the first alliance between Persia and a European state.

Content of the contract

After intensive negotiations between the British envoy Captain John Malcolm and the Persian Prime Minister Haji Ibrahim , the treaty was concluded as a military assistance pact between England and Persia. The initiative for this contract came from Great Britain. To ensure the negotiation was successful, Malcolm gave luxurious gifts and paid bribes to the Persian side. The treaty was ratified by the Persian side through a decree by Fath Ali Shah .

For Great Britain it was about securing the western border of India against a possible French and Afghan threat. Zaman Mirza Shah Durrani made an attempt to gain control over India, which he failed and led to a conflict with the British. Napoleon planned an invasion of India after his campaign into Egypt began in 1798 . Russian Cossacks were to march into the Indus Valley via Bukhara , while French troops were to march along the Danube , across the Black and then the Caspian Sea to Persia and on to India to unite with the Cossacks.

The treaty secured Persia British support against France and an improvement in trade relations between Persia and Great Britain. In return, Persia promised an attack on Afghanistan if the Afghans were to invade India. Furthermore, Persia and Great Britain agreed to ban any French military bases in Persia. Article 5 of the contract read as follows:

"Should it happen that an army of the French nation tries to establish a base on islands or coastal strips of Persia, a joint contingent of troops from the two contracting parties is to destroy this base. ... If any significant French citizen expresses the desire to acquire or build a residence or other residential building on one of the islands or coastal strips of Persia ... this request should be rejected by the Persian government. 1801 "

Political Consequences

As early as 1802, the British lost interest in the agreement, as the threat to India from Afghanistan had lessened after the overthrow of Zaman Mirza Shah Durrani and France's plans to invade India became less concrete due to the Peace of Amiens . For the Persian side, however, the treaty suddenly gained in importance because a Russian attack in 1804 triggered the third Russo-Persian war . Fath Ali Shah sought the British support he had promised. However, this did not materialize because, according to the British point of view, the assistance obligation was only directed against a French attack and not a Russian attack.

As a result of the lack of British military aid there was a political rapprochement between Persia and France, which was sealed in the Treaty of Finckenstein in 1807 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rouholla K. Ramazani: The Foreign Policy of Iran. University of Virginia, 1966, p. 38.
  2. ^ Rouholla K. Ramazani: The Foreign Policy of Iran. University of Virginia, 1966, p. 39.
  3. ^ Percy Sykes : A History of Afghanistan. London 1949, p. 370ff.
  4. ^ Rouholla K. Ramazani: The Foreign Policy of Iran. University of Virginia, 1966, pp. 38f.
  5. ^ Amini, Iradj (2000): Napoleon and Persia: Franco-Persian relations under the First Empire . Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0934211582 . P. 43
  6. ^ Rouholla K. Ramazani: The Foreign Policy of Iran. University of Virginia, 1966, p. 40.

literature

  • Wording of the contract in: Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison: A collection of treaties, engagements, and sanads relating to India and neighboring countries. India. Foreign and Political Dept, Volume 10, Issue 3, 1892, pp. 37 ff, ( online )

See also