The two most likely European powers to successfully colonise/conquer Persia is Britain and Russia. If one of them had comitted to a conquest of Persia, then it is feasible, but not guaranteed. More interesting would be if Persia was colonised by another power, be that France, Germany, Italy, etc.How could Persia realistically be colonized by a colonial power? Faster Russian expansion into Central Asia, including a Khiva expedition of 1830 could allow for an eventual invasion and annexation by Russia
It was Abbas the Great who (re)conquered the Portuguese colonies, so get rid of him and his less than brilliant successors may not effectively challenge the Portuguese. Then again, if Nader Shah eventually comes to power he'd likely conquer the Portuguese territories.Going a bit far back, Portugal exercised a high degree of influence over Persia, and if they were to be more decentralized or even not unified during that period I could see considerable influence by Portugal to the point where they’d be essentially colonies.
Pretty much happened in 1907. Below is the map of the spheres of influence by Anglo-Russian convention.How could Persia realistically be colonized by a colonial power?
In the early XIX Russia grabbed a big territory on the Caucasus owned by Persia (Azerbaijan, Eastern Armenia, part of Georgia). You may consider this a “colonization”. Russian-English agreement of the early XX reflected economic interests of two parties in Persia and did not require conquest and colonization. Why bother even if the military aspect would not be too much of a problem?Russia/Iran is the only power that could have colonized Iran given it's close proximity to the country. Even then, the mountainous desert terrain of the country makes invasion and colonization outright difficult if not impossible.
Well by colonization by actual colonization as in the conquest of Persia/Iran by Russia for instance.In the early XIX Russia grabbed a big territory on the Caucasus owned by Persia (Azerbaijan, Eastern Armenia, part of Georgia). You may consider this a “colonization”. Russian-English agreement of the early XX reflected economic interests of two parties in Persia and did not require conquest and colonization. Why bother even if the military aspect would not be too much of a problem?
I wouldnt say that Russia was the only country that could have colonised Iran given that British India was rigth next doorRussia/Iran is the only power that could have colonized Iran given it's close proximity to the country. Even then, the mountainous desert terrain of the country makes invasion and colonization outright difficult if not impossible
In 1828 Russia did conquer a big part of Persia and incorporated it into Russian Empire. It also guaranteed the Russian trade rights in Persia and provide Russia with the exclusive navigation rights on the Caspian Sea. The Armenians remaining in Persia got a right to emigrate into Russia.Well by colonization by actual colonization as in the conquest of Persia/Iran by Russia for instance.
Exactly. It was enough to define zones of interest, which did happen in 1907.Nineteenth and early twentieth century Iran was similar to Thailand in that it was a colony in all but name, so there's no need for Britain or Russia to conquer territory.