ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an analytic account of the main movements for social change in Iran in the period from 1800 to 1925 and focuses on the events of 1890 to 1925—the Tobacco rebellion, the Constitutional revolution, the radical local movements during and after World War I, and Reza Khan's coup. The title "Reform, Rebellion, Revolution, Coup" hints at the progression of steadily more dramatic events. The centerpiece of social change in the Qajar period was the massive upheaval fought between 1905 and 1911 known as the Constitutional revolution or movement. Qajars and government officials, many of whom were landowners, constituted 27 to 40 percent of the first majlis. The institutions they created—majlis, constitution, anjumans, trade unions—were new in the history of Iran. The means they found to struggle for them—general strikes, mass demonstrations, basts, and when necessary armed defense of one's rights—were Iranian adaptations of the methods of modern social movements and were conducted with determination, vigor, and imagination.
