Baku

Baku, an important seaport of Russian Transcaucasia, on the Apsheron Peninsula, on a crescent-shaped bay in the Caspian Sea. The bay, which is about 7 miles from point to point, and 15 in circumference, is protected across the mouth by an island, which provides shelter and anchorage for shipping. Since 1883 it has been connected by rail with Tiflis, and so with Poti and Batoum on the Black Sea, 561 miles distant; and since 1887, by the North Caucasus Railway, with Novorossiak on the Black Sea. The whole soil around Baku is impregnated with petroleum, which, monopolised till 1872, now forms the staple branch of its industry. Some of the fountains ignite spontaneously, and this natural phenomenon has caused Baku to be esteemed as a holy city by the Parsees or fire-worshippers, many of whom resort to it from very long distances (see ATESHGA), although commerce has now invaded the sacred shrine. There is evidence that petroleum has been flowing from the Apsheron Peninsula for 2500 years. Of the 500 petroleum wells at Baku, most are situated on the Balakhani Peninsula, 8 or 9 miles to the north of the town. Lines of pipe carry the oil into the 'black town' of Baku, which is full of oil refineries emitting vast volumes of smoke, black and greasy buildings, and pools of oil refuse. One prolific well, tapped in September 1886, began to spout oil with extraordinary force, deluging the whole district. Nothing could be done to stop the outflow, which, on the eighth day, had reached a daily rate of 11,000 tons, or more than the entire produce of the world at the time. Another gigantic naphtha fountain burst out in March 1887, rising to a height of 350 feet, and after forming an extensive petroleum lake, forced its way into the sea. The production of crude petroleum in 1885 exceeded 420,000,000 gallons, and 120 firms have now oil refineries there. Great and destructive fires have occasionally occurred, as in 1887, when over 14,000 tons of stored naphtha was consumed in a conflagration that raged for five days. The system of carrying oil in bulk, introduced in 1879, has had a tendency to revolutionise the trade, and now there are more than a hundred such specially constructed steamers on the Caspian. The waste or residue is used as fuel in South-east Russia. A concession was even granted by the Russian government for laying down a petroleum pipe 600 miles long, to convey the oil from Baku to a port on the Black Sea. How rapidly the industry grew when communication was established with the outside world may be judged from the fact that the number of drilled wells increased from 1 in 1871 to 400 in 1883. Cotton, silk, opium, saffron, and salt are also exported. The Arabian Masudi is the first who mentions Baku, about 943, and he gives an account of a great volcanic mountain in its vicinity, which is now extinct. Baku was taken by Russia from the Persians in 1806. The marvellous development of the petroleum trade has revolutionised the place. There is a fine railway terminus near the town. The harbour, which is strongly fortified, is one of the chief stations of the Russian navy in the Caspian, and is also of great importance as a centre of trade. Shipbuilding is carried on. Pop. in 1870, about 15,000, mainly Persians and Armenians; in 1892, it had grown to 102,000. In 1894, owing to American competition and low prices, there was a crisis in the Caucasian petroleum trade; export from Batoum had nearly ceased, and there was a stoppage in the works at Baku. Baku is capital of a government of Russian Transcaucasia, with an area of 15,516 sq. m., and a pop. of 735,000. See works by Marvin (1884 and 1886); also the article PETROLEUM.