Salisbury vs Curzon: The Struggle for Persia

Between 1899 and 1902, the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, and the Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, battled over how best to address Russian expansion into Persia, a buffer state with immense strategic importance to the Indian Empire.
This video aims to be a short documentary looking at the debate between Simla and Whitehall over how best to confront St Petersburg and Tehran
#History, #BritishEmpire, #RussianEmpire

[@OldBritannia]

I hope you enjoy this short video on an interesting squabble between British policy makers, over the fate of Persia at the turn of the twentieth century. Sorry for the short delay, it turned out to be a lot harder to translate this script to video than expected, thus I wont claim this a magnum opus, but hopefully the short length means it wont be terribly dull. Other than that, any feedback is welcomed, thank you for watching.

[@robbsclock2675]

Fantastic video as always. Britain in the 19th century was just something we will probably never see again

[@Centristlol]

You should do a series on the Great Game! Like with the Anglo-American Conflict. The Great Game has always been a fixation of mine and it is a truly fascinating bit of colonial history

[@nice5396]

Cool video! A few things for people who want to know about Persia. Persia and England used to be allied since the time of the Safavids. This grew during Abbas the Great in which British advisors co-ordinates with Persia on an invasion of Ottoman Turkey with the other great powers. The alliance also included support for manufacturing of weopen and support by the British navy against the Portuguese empire which had land in the Persian gulf.

[@garrettallen7427]

This is fascinating work! Seeing how the British Raj was treated almost as an independent country, one’s who’s aims could go against Britain, do you know if this played into the Partition of India or its foreign policy once it achieved independence?

[@nightdragonx123]

I think youre one of my favorite history channels out there. You've inspired me to go back to school to study more about history and I hope my classmates appreciate the knowledge you have taught me 👍

[@jackhenderson9798]

Hands down the best history channel on KZbin

[@VociferousMallard]

More videos on the expansion and foreign policy of the Raj would be terrific. Great stuff

[@alessiocolella4239]

Just an appreciation comment, one I usually never write to KZbinrs: I have been watching and enjoying your content for months, and I must say that your channel is by far the one I admire the most. Your graphic skills, the authoritative sources you use and the fact that you sometimes focus on smaller events that are usually forgotten truly make this channel a little jewel I will keep following. I am grateful for the effort you keep putting in your videos, as the results are never disappointing. Keep working like this!

[@LukaMLS]

Love what you are doing men, keep up the good work.

[@6thItem]

Another awesome video. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite history/geopolitical channels on KZbin. I do have to ask though, what happened to the videos on the history of the British Empire? I loved those videos and none of the other videos on KZbin on this subject have the excellent attention to detail and geopolitics that those videos had. I hope you'll put those videos up once more. Cheers from across the pond!

[@alansmithee8831]

Fascinating. Two powerful British officials with such a Gulf between them.

[@commiespy5874]

The rapid pace and quality of your videos astounds, keep up the great work,

[@gustavvanderwesthuizen6173]

I can't believe how underrated this channel is, keep going you are worth a million subs!

[@unusualhistorian1336]

An excellent documentary on an overlooked subject!

[@sleepygrumpy]

Outstanding -- your research and fluency with the material is amazing -- instant sub

[@bcvetkov8534]

The fascinating tidbit that isn't mentioned is how Witte and the Tsar each thought about expansion into Persia. Witte had a logistical way of thinking unseen in Russia since Tsar Alexander's I's time. He absolutely abhorred the thought of Russia expanding into Persia when it could de facto get what it wanted from Persia diplomatically so long as it did not step on London's shoes. The Tsar at the time (I believe also named Alexander. Correct me if I'm mistaken comments section) agreed with his sentiments since conquering most of Central Asia (seriously it's bigger than we think) and keeping it governed somehow was the first priority. Building roads and railways throughout the new provinces had to be thought of first before any expedition into Persia could take place.

[@danielross5493]

Absolutely love the subjects and era of history you do videos on. I haven’t seen visual or audible media done to anywhere near this standard. The research you put into each video is much appreciated, as it your focus on facts and details, not sensationalism or generalisation of topics for ‘entertainment’ or popularism for ‘clicks & views’

[@XIXCentury]

Well done, always a treat to find your videos in my inbox.

[@jackjones3919]

Another great video! Hopefully lots more to come!