THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON THE PERSIAN GULF April 30 – May 2, 2008 Tehran, Iran THE COMMERCIAL AND MARITIME PEOPLES OF 18TH CENTURY PERSIAN GULF: AN HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL CASE STUDY IN TRANSNATIONAL HISTORIES AND BORDERLESS SEAS By Thomas M. Ricks, Ph.D. Independent Scholar of Middle East Social and Cultural History Philadelphia, PA – USA tomricks28@yahoo.com February 29, 2008 1