Document Type : .

Author

• Fereshte Jahani

PhD of history and Lecture of history at Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

Abstract

Following the industrial revolution and developments in America, Iranians began to look for the reason for the growth and progress of this country. One of the topics they followed was the emerging technologies in this country, including the electricity industry. The present article, with a descriptive-analytical approach and interpretation of press texts and unpublished documents, aims to analyze how Qajar period Iranians encountered electricity technology in America and to make it clear that Iranians during the Qajar period entered America for the knowledge and electrical industry. What challenges did the country face? The results of the research show that the intellectuals reflected the progress of the electricity industry in America in their writings within the framework of critical discourse. They realized that in order to compensate for Iran's backwardness in this field, electricity technology should be imported from America to the country. On the other hand, the tourists who had traveled to America, by observing the scientific and technical progress and understanding its fundamental effects on the transformation of this country, on the necessity of modernizing Iran with They emphasized the use of American science and technology, this goal was pursued more seriously by the political elites in order to directly and indirectly provide the way for the introduction of this technology that would lead to the progress of the Iranian society, but in this way there were obstacles that caused the electric technology and New principles did not enter Iran under the teachings of American experts and engineers, and their efforts were only limited to familiarizing Iranians with the importance of the electrical industry and its role in the evolution of America, which of course was considered a very important thing in those times.

Keywords

• America
• Qajar
• Electrical technology
• Modernization and modernity
• Political elites

Extended Abstract

The beginning of familiarization of Iranians with electrical technology in America and its impact on the modernization of this industry in the Qajar era

One of the signs of the new civilization was the emergence of new technologies in the western countries, which from the beginning of the 19th century was more and more noticed by the intellectuals and political and court elites. During the Qajar period, these two groups, by observing the new scientific and technical developments, were able to become an element of the consciousness of innovation and transformation. transfer to Iran and show the progress of Western countries in various industries and technologies in their reports, in other words, many of them were aware of the emergence of a new era and its requirements and conditions, and they considered following the example of the West as the antidote to Iran's backwardness.

America was one of the countries whose civilizational manifestations and causes of its progress and development were noticed by the two mentioned groups. The new phenomenon of electricity was one of the manifestations of civilization that attracted the attention of Iranians.

The present article, with a descriptive-analytical approach and interpretation of press texts and unpublished documents, aims to analyze how Qajar period Iranians encountered electricity technology in America and to make it clear that Iranians during the Qajar period entered America for the knowledge and electrical industry. What challenges did the country face?

According to the research done, so far no book or research has been written about the subject, so it can be said that the current research has dealt with the problem from an original and innovative perspective. However, regarding the history of the electricity industry in Iran, there are scattered reports and news among some researches that in some way raised the economic and social situation of the Qajar era. He pointed out that he has provided brief information in this regard, also "Willem Flore" has dedicated a section of his book entitled "Ancient Industries in the Qajar Period" to the history of lighting in Iran, among other books that deal with the history of the electricity industry. In Iran, we can refer to "History of Electricity Industry in Iran" written by "Mohammed Sadiq Hamed" and "One Hundred Years History of Electricity History" written by "Mohammed Ismail Bankian". It should be acknowledged that all these writings only refer to how electricity entered Iran, and there is no reference to the discussion of how Iranians encountered American electricity technology and their tendency towards this country, although it is not brief. According to the documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was the reason for these shortcomings.

In this way, with historical investigations, we looked for the issue of how far the reports and writings of intellectuals and thinkers of the Qajar era could make Iranians aware of electricity technology in America, and in fact, what strategies were presented for the policy making of Qajar statesmen in facing the American electricity industry.

It was found that the intellectual leaders and thinkers of the Qajar era, on the one hand, and the tourists, who closely witnessed the transformations of America in the field of electricity technology, on the other hand, reacted with astonishment and rethinking when faced with the American electricity industry, but gradually they were able to explain The causes of these developments play an important role in the awareness of the people and government officials. In other words, intellectuals and tourists in this period did not stay only in the stage of seeing and hearing and the stage of knowledge, but they were looking for the question, what should be done? Especially in the late 19th century, with a rational approach, they tried to prepare the ground for the entry of American knowledge and technology into the country to compensate for the backwardness while reflecting the transformation and astonishing growth of America in the electricity industry.

It became clear that simply being aware of America's progress in the electricity industry could not lead to the introduction of this technology to Iran, so in order to set an example and take practical steps in this direction, the political elites struggled and took measures, including the concession of the construction of the factory. Electricity in Tehran once in 1306 AH and again in 1329 AH, equipping various buildings with American electric lights, building electric trams, bringing electrical accessories into the country, but almost all of these efforts were not successful due to the high cost and capital-intensive nature of this technology. Decisive support from the government, the ignorance of the majority of the society about the importance of this industry remained fruitless, and the transfer of the new foundations and principles of the electrical industry under the teachings of American experts and engineers was not implemented in Iran. Interestingly, the request of the Americans, who were willing to provide conditions for Tehran to benefit from electricity and lighting, was also opposed due to the cost. Therefore, although the growth of this industry in Iran had become one of the main goals of the reformers, starting to modernize without considering its context and requirements would lead to failure sooner or later, as a result of the efforts of political elites and intellectuals only lead to the opening of the window. Iranians became familiar with the evolution of electrical technology in America and the importance of this industry, and the use of the services of American consultants and experts in the electrical industry stopped.

Keywords: America, Qajar, electrical technology, modernization and modernity, political elites.