At the Backdoor of the Levant: Anglo-Dutch Competition in the Persian Gulf, 1623–1766

This paper discusses and assesses Dutch and English trade practices in the Persian Gulf while comparing these to their operations in the Levant trade. The author offers many interesting observations about differences and similarities. One important (and understudied) difference is the need for the Europeans to work through intermediaries, Indians, Jews and Armenians. What emerges most clearly is that the Safavid government was far more interventionist than the Ottomans. While the latter did n...