A deliberation over the Structure and Content of Petition DocumentsA Case Study: Petitions of Trades during the 6th- 8th Terms of the National Consultative Assembly

Documents are among the most important and reliable resources in historical studies and, among the mass of documents, petitions, as voices of people, could be explored as a rich source for historical studies, particularly in the field of social and economic history. Through a study of the structure of the petitions sent to the National Consultative Assembly between 1926 and 1932 by various trades and craftsmen, the author examines the demands and expectations of the petition writers. The findings of this study demonstrate that the examined petitions are similar to other documents with respect to their structural elements. Moreover, the study of their content reveals that tax-related problems and challenges with municipality offices were the most important themes of craftsmen’s and trader’s complaints.