1950 Diazotype Map of Iranian Oil Distribution System

Oil and Geopolitics.

This is a very curious c. 1950 diazotype map of Iran detailing the facilities and distribution system of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. It displays the country's oil distribution infrastructure around the time of the fateful 1953 coup, which had long-lasting implications for Iran's economic and political trajectory.

A Closer Look

The map covers the entirety of Iran, noting cities, roads of various qualities, railways (existing and projected), and administrative boundaries. However, the main focus is on oil distribution facilities, including company offices, agents, dealerships, and sites for potential future expansion. These facilities are distributed throughout the country, but are somewhat disproportionately concentrated in the country's southwest, where oil reserves are also concentrated. Twelve tables of distances between major cities are provided at the bottom left.

Historical Context

As the map is undated, the immediate context is difficult to know, but there is no doubt that oil and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (AIOC) were central to Iran's economic and political destiny in this era. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was founded in 1909 and, despite early difficulties, discovered and began exploiting significant reserves in Khuzestan Province, which quickly attracted interest from both investors and the Iranian public. The British government took a controlling stake in the company (51 percent of the shares), which then expanded beyond Iran to other parts of the Middle East. Meanwhile, the generous terms of the original concession granted to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co., in which a small fraction of the profits were passed on to the Iranian government, increasingly attracted the scorn of Iranian nationalists. The terms were renegotiated slightly and the company renamed (Iran being preferred to Persia by Reza Shah Pahlavi) in the mid-1930s after much wrangling, but the basic arrangement and tensions persisted throughout and after World War II, when Iran was jointly invaded and occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union.

By 1950, the AIOC was the British Empire's most lucrative overseas asset, controlling Iran's vast oil reserves while paying the Iranian government significantly less in royalties than it paid the British government in taxes. This perceived exploitation fueled a surge of Iranian nationalism, led by the charismatic and secular Mohammad Mosaddegh. When Mosaddegh became Prime Minister in 1951, he immediately moved to nationalize the Iranian oil industry, transforming the AIOC's holdings into the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Britain's response was swift and punitive: they withdrew their technicians, initiated a global boycott of Iranian oil, and froze Iranian assets. This 'Abadan Crisis' crippled the Iranian economy, but also solidified Mosaddegh's domestic support, forcing the British to realize they could not regain control through economic pressure alone.

Thus, the AIOC was the primary catalyst for the 1953 coup (Operation Ajax). Originally, the United States was hesitant to intervene, but the British successfully reframed the oil dispute as a Cold War security threat, arguing that Mosaddegh's 'instability' would allow the communist Tudeh Party to seize power, potentially handing the Soviet Union a strategic foothold in the Middle East. The coup, orchestrated by the CIA and MI6, successfully toppled Mosaddegh and consolidated the power of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Afterwards, the AIOC was reorganized into a holding company owned by a consortium of oil companies, including British Petroleum and American firms, that effectively managed Iranian oil for decades. Fifty percent of profits were now shared with Iran, but the company's leadership was purely foreign and free from oversight by the Iranian government.

This map is even more curious due to the seal at top-right, suggesting that it was acquired by a Japanese individual or company in Iran. Japanese interest in Iranian oil dates to the early Postwar period, as Japan sought to rebuild and reindustrialize despite lacking petroleum resources. In fact, in 1953, in one of its first incidents after regaining sovereignty with the end of the U.S. occupation the previous year, Japan rather brazenly ignored the oil blockade Britain had imposed on Iran. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company filed suit in Tokyo courts but found no success, particularly given U.S. opposition to the British oil monopoly in Iran. The Nissho Maru Incident, named for the tanker which carried Iranian oil to Japan, marked an important step in Japan's reemergence as a sovereign nation, boosting national pride, while also highlighting Japan's reliance on the U.S. In the following years, Japanese companies aggressively expanded into Iran, seeking to secure oil supplies and participate in Iran's rapid, state-led industrialization. Major investments focused on petrochemicals and energy infrastructure, climaxing in the founding of the Iran-Japan Petrochemical Company (IJPC), now the Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by an unknown surveyor, whose name (perhaps Sullivan or Suleiman) appears at bottom-right but is very faint. It is undated but likely dates to the early 1950s. The OCLC contains three listings for maps with this title, which also match its description and dimensions, but which are variously dated to 1950, 1955, and c. 1960, being held by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Library of Congress, and Bibliotheek Universiteit van Amsterdam, respectively.

Condition

Average. Stains. Faded.

References

OCLC 966696146, 1428456399, 71590658.