Safavid Trade During the 17th Century: Iran's Transit Economy

Authors

Connor J. Hamel, James Madison UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Publication Date

Summer 6-27-2017

Abstract

The seventeenth century ushered in a plethora of changes in global trade patterns. These fluctuating trade patterns began to generate nascent economic, political, and social trends the likes of which had never been seen before. Ultimately, the product of these trends points towards the emergence of a truly global economy. Evidence of this phenomenon is fairly well documented, as it served as the catalyst which transformed civilizations in nearly every corner of the world. It is in this critical time period where the foundation for modern terms such as “globalization” and “interconnected global economy” were first laid. Essentially, a select group of industrializing Western powers experienced an increase in demand and consumption, thereby triggering an increase in the production and transport of goods and resources from the East. Obviously, there were major consequences, intended and unintended, which stemmed from this inherently unbalanced system—e.g., colonialism, capitalism, modern imperialism, and nationalism. Despite the global scope of these developments, there are very few publications which properly document the role that Safavid Iran’s economy played within this complex system. As a result, conventional wisdom has incorrectly bred the notion that Safavid Iran’s economic impact was minimal. The purpose of this paper is to disprove this theory in three stages. Firstly, it will analyze the role that the Safavid economy played within the rapidly developing economic system itself. Secondly, this paper will consult sources which focus on the economic relationship between the Mughal Empire, Europe, and the Safavid Empire during this time period. Finally, the paper will examine the trade routes used to transport goods and services in and out of Iran.

Recommended Citation

Hamel, Connor J., "Safavid Trade During the 17th Century: Iran's Transit Economy" (2017). Middle Eastern Communities and Migrations Student Research Paper Series. 6.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/mecmsrps/6