This dissertation questions a number of social and political aspects pertaining to the English factory, and I have traced the evolution of Anglo-Safavīd relations to uncover alternative explanations for the factory’s failure in Persia. As a contrast, I have also explored the English factory and English lifestyle in Safavīd Persia to develop a sense of how these men lived. By looking critically at the English factory life, the problems of English commercial expansion become abundantly clear, and that there is significantly more to the story than grasping the nuances of trade in the region.