Economic development of Azerbaijan in the second half of the 18th century: social-historical aspect

The article examines the state of the Azerbaijani economy in the second half of the 18th century. During the period under review, the process of economic specialization of certain regions of the country continued. The most developed agricultural areas with crops of cereal crops were the Karabakh lowland, Ganja, Kazakh, Shamakhi, Cuba and Sheki. Azerbaijan in the 18th century remained at the feudal stage of development, while preserving the features of the nomadic patriarchal way of life of a significant part of the population. The natural economy occupied the dominant position in the economy of the country. The economic progress in the agriculture of Azerbaijan at that time was, however, not only in the quantitative increase of the acreage for grain and fruit crops, but also in the availability of marketability in these sectors of the economy. Much attention was paid to the cultivation of industrial crops such as indigo, saffron, tobacco, yellowstone which the textile industry of Russia needed. In Azerbaijan, trade was conducted both within the khanates and between the khanates and neighboring countries. The subjects of trade were agricultural products, artisans' products. An important place in the economy of the country was played by the development of handicraft production.