"In this study the authors examine Safavid economic and diplomatic relations with the West and discuss the forces that created and shaped commercial relationship between the Safavid state and the Netherlands. The analyses are based upon a series of unpublished and very important documents concerning the first Dutch-Persian commercial conflict leading to the attack on the island of Qeshm in 1645 and the beginning of Dutch trade with Basra. Despite extensive communication between the Safavid officials and the Dutch, as we can see from the many Dutch translations of Persian letters and decrees, only thirty five Persian documents have survived, of which only five are originals. The authors challenge the conventional wisdom that the Safavid economy was subservient to the exploitative practices of European Companies, and demonstrate that the relationship between Dutch traders and the Safavid court was at best one of privileged guests where the Shah and his court tolerated the Dutch to make a profit."--BOOK JACKET.