The Colonial Trade Strategy of the Netherlands with Iran during the Safavid Period in the Persian Gulf

The aim of this research is to analyze the colonial trade strategy of the Netherlands with Iran during the Safavid period in the Persian Gulf. This paper attempts to evaluate and study the strategy and manner of trade of Dutch merchants, particularly the Dutch East India Company, with the traders of the Persian Gulf region and the Safavid government. It seeks to answer the question: What was the strategy of the Dutch in trading with the Safavid government and the traders of the Persian Gulf region, and what consequences did this strategy have for the Dutch East India Company and the Safavid government? The research method in this article is descriptive-analytical, and the information gathering method is library research. If we consider Spain and Portugal as pioneers of classical colonialism in the 16th and 17th centuries, undoubtedly the Netherlands, with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company, was a forerunner in commercial colonization of the Eastern lands. The Dutch East India Company, utilizing its naval fleet and traversing the seas, sought highly profitable goods, particularly Indian spices and Iranian silk, along with other commodities of the East. In this context, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, which had strategic connections with the Indian Ocean, held geostrategic importance for Dutch merchants; therefore, Dutch traders and sailors focused their trade predominantly on these areas. By adopting a strategy of trade monopoly and eliminating competitors, they employed a diverse set of tactics for trading with the merchants and the Safavid government, as well as the local governments of these regions. In line with this, the Dutch East India Company, with a flexible and thoroughly profit-driven approach towards the Iranian government and Iranian traders, utilized a range of tactics such as unfair contracts, collusion, barter trade, transport of goods and passengers, and smuggling of coins and goods. With this strategy, it was able to secure a larger share of Persian Gulf trade compared to other colonial competitors like England.