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On the subject on British attitudes towards the third world, an illuminating example is that of Iran. English prospectors found oil in Iran in the early years o
by oxymoron 11y ago
On the subject on British attitudes towards the third world, an illuminating example is that of Iran. English prospectors found oil in Iran in the early years of the 20th century, a find that in the words on Winston Churchill was "a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams". Britain established what was then the largest refinery in the world in Abadan, Iran, operated with was effectively slave labour, and spent the decades leading up to fifties with extracting vast fortunes. The Shah goverment was mostly a puppet regime and due to the British refusal to allow independent audit of the books of the Anglo-Persian oil company, only a few percent of the actual profit ended came back to the Iranian people.
The Iranian people finally rose against the imperial influence of the British and ejected all British citizens in the early years of the fifties. Mossadegh, the prime minister, rose to prominence on an anti-english platform, initially demanding a 50% share of profits and reasonable treatment of Iranian labour. The British, under Attlee as well as with Churchill back in control, selfishly rejected all attempts at comproimise, and produced several internal reports that spoke of how inferior the Iranians were as a race.
Finally, having lost their influence, the English turned to the US for assistance in overthrowing the democratically elected government. Truman resisted, but Eisenhower relented, with John Foster Dulles enthusiastically moving forward with a coup. The Shahs absolute power was reestablished, and his oppressive rule paved way for the Islamic revolution two decades later.
One of many illustrative examples of how the English could never be considered benevolent rulers.
(As described in All the Shah's men, by Stephen Kinzer)
- eternalban 11y agoAbove is (somewhat) right. Meet the original BP [1] The Shah was not a puppet. Puppets dance to the tune of puppet master & master would not replace said puppet with Ayatollahs. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was an Iranian Nationalist and the story of 20th century in Iran is far far more nuanced than the caricature painted by (very interested) partisans such as Kinzer. Do the research. This [2] is the Iran that the "puppet's" father, Reza Pahlavi ("the Great") inherited. Exceptional moves by the "puppet's" father began with establishment of an independent National Bank (which did not please "master" in City of London). And continued until Iran was actually considered a geopolitical threat to the gang that started the Trilateral Commission [3]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Persian_Oil_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Persian_Oil_Company [2]: http://www.chaonix.com/DL/National_Geography_April_1921.pdf http://www.chaonix.com/DL/National_Geography_April_1921.pdf [3]:https://youtu.be/DqrHQpRHwws https://youtu.be/DqrHQpRHwws (Don't be confused. Jimmy here is saying Iran is /too/ stable and my friend Zibig & our friends like to see massive instability in this region until "the great game" is won.} [minor typo edits; link fix; final edit note corrected NG pdf link.]
- oxymoron 11y agoThanks for the elaboration! Having read only a single book on the subject, I figured that my account would be somewhat biased, even though I tried (through googling) to verify what I wrote. I'll refer to your links and try to widen my perspective! Having said that, I think Kinzer do your view more justice than I did in my summary. I do apologize for over simplifying things.
- eternalban 11y agoGlad it was helpful. Now read the below if you want to understand a bit better what's up with "Middle East" [sic] and what has been going in that area -- "instability" --since the Shah of Iran was forced out. http://masoudbehnoud.com/weblog/s2.pdf http://masoudbehnoud.com/weblog/s2.pdf
- eternalban 11y agop.s. Hadn't seen this interview before myself and it is on point and directly addresses the '54 oil deal[1]. [1]: https://youtu.be/n-grR1e6dw8 https://youtu.be/n-grR1e6dw8
- knight17 11y agoShashi Tharoor, MP explains Indian situation at Oxford Union: Britain Does Owe Reparations https://youtu.be/f7CW7S0zxv4 https://youtu.be/f7CW7S0zxv4