Merchants, Mediators and Mannerly Conduct: The East India Company and Local Intermediaries in the Western Indian Ocean 1700–1750.

When combined with the potential benefits to individuals and families which Company service represented, it is clear that the impetus for retaining positions in the Company's hierarchy were predicated on personal advancement which was largely unattainable for members of religious and ethnic outgroups within Persian and Yemeni society. In any case, both positions were essential to the smooth running of the Company's business and those who held each role enjoyed numerous privileges and perquisites associated with it, making Company employment both relatively secure and also highly lucrative. When one adds to this the legal protection the Company was able to extend over its non-European employees and their families through its Farman, Company employment in Safavid Persia appears yet more attractive. The co-opting of Armenian and Banian financial expertise in both Persia and Mocha was not linked to familial or personal connections to Company merchants, nor to agreements made on behalf of particular families. [Extracted from the article]