Marcus Samuel Junior's Bold Business Plan – from Batumi to the Far East Via Suez

Abstract

Industrial exploitation of the rich oil fields located in the Absh­eron Peninsula began in the middle of the 19th century. However due to problems with oil transportation, the scale of its extraction was not large. As a result of the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-1878, Batumi with its deep-water harbor became part of the Russian Empire, which was also thanks to the Parisian Rothschilds; since 1883, with the com­missioning of the Batumi-Baku railway line, the Baku-Batumi oil-transport corridor was put into operation. The connection between Baku and Batumi led to their rapid industrial development and an increase in the export importance of Absheron oil. "Russian" (Baku) oil (Rothschilds, Nobels, etc.) seriously competed with American oil (Roc­k­efellers) on the world oil market.

One of the interesting episodes of "Oil Wars" was a daring busi­ness operation conducted by an English Jew, Marcus Samuel Jr. He ordered the Murex tanker equipped with the latest technology at that time and sent more than 4,000 tons of kerosene belonging to the Rothschilds to the countries of the Far East from the Batumi harbor through the Suez Canal. It was the first and unprecedented event in the history of sailing, which took place in August-September1892. The new route (fig.1) significantly increased the competitiveness of Baku oil and ensured its establishment in the Asian market.