|
|
|
Sort Order |
|
|
|
Items / Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
095488
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2010.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This article aims to offer a brief assessment of the Great Famine of 1870-72 in Iran. Using contemporary sources, it is argued that the Great Famine did not have a single cause. A combination of factors gave rise to the emergence of famine. There was insufficient rainfall, but that was nothing new in Iran. In addition, despite the significance of water provision little had been done to ensure a regular water supply. Further, there seems to have been a shift towards production of cash crop, namely opium, at the expense of food production.In view of this, there were two possible outcomes: first, land under food cultivation may have declined, or in relation to food crops there may have been a shift from irrigated to dry farming. Given the inadequacy of rainfall in most of Iran, dry farming could only increase the incidence of food shortages and in extreme cases, as was the case during the period under consideration here, famine. Had there been any national archives, the issue under consideration could have been examined in details but no such data exists. The article therefore relies on descriptions given by contemporary observers and foreign travellers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
ID:
089120
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2009.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This article explores the relationship between agricultural development and population growth in Iran in the nineteenth century. Had there been any national census data, the issue under consideration could have been examined in detail, but no such data is in existence. The article therefore offers historical evidence in support of the view that in Iran, population could not grow without sufficient investment in the provision of water, being essential for settled agriculture. Following from this, as this investment was not forthcoming, it is most likely that Iran experienced a downward demographic trend for most of the nineteenth century. The northern provinces, free from this constraint, seemed to have had a different experience. However, evidence is offered in the text indicating that even in these provinces the growth of population was unlikely to have been substantial.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|