The relationships were defined by the ahdname granted by the Sultan which would stipulate the religious freedom and exemption from the taxes that non-Muslim subjects had to pay.
[2] Another cause of the consular phenomena was the military hardening of borders which meant that Europeans could not infiltrate another area by force so they relied on economic and commercial ties to gain entry.
Reporting home with political news was one of the consul's primary responsibilities which also helped in re-shaping the opinions of the Ottoman's held by Europeans.
[5] The Venetians appointed principal consuls to important commercial centers like Aleppo and Alexandria because this was where there was a large nation of their merchants.
[6] Through the sixteenth and seventeenth-centuries the Venetians practiced a policy of neutrality which was only possible through their strong diplomatic corps—chiefly the bailo (who acted as consul and ambassador).
The bailo needed personal skills that would allow him to befriend high ranking Ottoman officials in order to ensure Venetian interests.
[7] One of the main tasks of the bailo was to collect information on the Ottomans’ politics and social life and report back to the Venetian senate regularly.
The merchants requested changing to the Venetian fixed salary payment, but the States-General went against their wishes and tried to find other means of income.
[18] Despite internal struggle within the Dutch nation, it had a good relationship with the Ottomans and in 1804 Sultan Selin III (1789–1807) appointed the first resident representative to Amsterdam.