Trucial History

The Trucial Oman was never
a single entity with a recognised ruler. It was a collection of Sheikhdoms with
different needs and aspirations and each of which dealt with the British in
their own way and to suit their own needs. Before the British arrived on the
scene, this stretch of coast had been under the influence of the Portugese, the Omanis and then
the Persians. The last of these were to be displaced by two tribal
confederations that were beginning to exert power in the area: The Qawasim and the Bani Yas. The Qawasim were a seafaring
clan based in Ras Al-Khaimah,
whereas the Bani Yas were a
Bedouin tribe from the interior. The initial contacts of both of these tribes
with the British was to be a confrontational one, but for different reasons.

The Qawasim were arch-rivals of
the Al-Busaids who were based in Oman and who also sought to assert their control
over this part of Arabia. In 1798, the British
signed an agreement with the Al-Busaids in an
elaborate attempt to keep the French out of the area and so strengthen Britain's
claims to paramountcy in the Indian sub-continent.
However, this deal with the Al-Busaids made Britain part of
the enemy as far as the Qawasim were concerned. This
meant that British East India Company ships were fair game and were attacked
and pillaged at every opportunity by the Qawasim.
This stretch of coast soon came to be known in Britain,
India and beyond as the Pirate Coast
and the Royal Navy reacted accordingly by launching campaigns and raids against
the Qawasim in 1805, 1809 and 1811. Unfortunately for
the British, the locals knew the area too well and could quickly escape only to
regroup elsewhere.

In 1819, the British decided to try and end the piracy in
this area once and for all. A large fleet was dispatched from Bombay
and by 1820 it had destroyed and captured every Qawasim
ship that it had come across and occupied all the major forts in the area, even
going so far as occupying Qawasim hideouts in Persia itself.
With the successful outcome of this operation the British imposed a General
Treaty of Peace on nine Arab sheikhdoms in the area and installed a garrison in
the region.

The treaty did not prevent these princes and sheikhs from
continuing to attack each other, which they did with gusto and much to the
consternation of the British. In an attempt to reign in the worst excesses of
dynastic and tribal rivalry the British imposed a new treaty in 1835. It was
named the Maritime Truce and its intended aim was to keep traffic moving in the
Gulf region. It was revised in 1839 to include the forceful banning of slavery.
In 1853, the truces were upgraded still further to become the Treaty of Peace
in Perpetuity. Under which, the British assumed all responsibility for
arbitrating in any disputes between the Sheikhs of the area. It was this final
truce that gave this part of the Gulf its name for the next 120 years.

Meanwhile, partly as a result of the above treaties, the Bani Yas tribal confederation had
also raised the ire of the British. These Bedouins quickly took over the maintenence of the slave trade routes as the Royal Navy
successfully removed the ocean-going trading. The British kept a watchful eye
on the activities of this tribe forcing the trade further and further inland
but unable to stamp out the trade itself.

Establishment of Formal Relations

In the 1890's the British sought to formalise many of their
agreements made with Sheikhs and rulers throughout the Gulf region. The reason
for this was a way of forestalling renewed interest in the region by the
Russians and the French. It is unclear how serious these intentions would have
been followed through but for the British their links to India were to
be maintained at all costs and the Trucial rulers were to be no exception to
this rule. The British would provide protection for the Sheikhs in return for
promises by these rulers that they would have no dealings with any foreign
rulers without the express permission of the British.

This promise of protection served the rulers in one crucial
aspect just after the end of The Great War. At this time in history Ibn Saud was busy uniting the
interior of Arabia and sweeping all before
him. The British promises of protection made Ibn Saud hesitate and ultimately bypass this region from his
series of conquests. In return, this part of the British
Empire was to be an extremely quiet and peaceful one. Exactly the
way the British wanted it to be.

Administration

Despite the formal protectorate status of this stretch of
coast the British didn't make much of an effort to control the domestic and
commercial activities of these sheikhdoms. As far as the British were
concerned, as long as the lines of communication with India were
secure, this area was of little strategic or commercial importance. They
therefore left the rulers to themselves without any British Political Agent
being appointed until the outbreak of the Second World War.

British stakes and interest in the area were to be increased
with the discovery of oil. It also had the effect of renewing competition and
rivalry between the various sheikhs of the area as they each tried to maximise
their territories in the hopes of receiving more wealth from oil.

One interesting anecdote is the way the British tried to
resolve these border difficulties by sending a British diplomat out on his
camel to ask local village heads, tribal rulers and Bedouins which sheikh they
owed allegiance to. However, even this attempt failed, so the British set up a
Trucial States Council in 1951 under the direct chairmanship of the British
Political Agent in Dubai.
This council was the direct ancestor of the present day UAE Supreme Council.

Role within the Empire

British links to the coast were to remain extremely limited
for most of their history with one another. The Indian based British Steamship
Line served British, Indian and local traders in the region firstly by serving Linagh but after 1903 transferring their port of call to
the up and coming hub of Dubai. The only official British facilities were not
to be built in the area until 1932 when Imperial Airways built a rest house in Sharjah for passengers and crew en route between London and India.

The discovery of oil was to change the strategic and
economic significance of this imperial outpost. The first oil concession was
from the poorest of the sheikdoms, Abu
Dhabi to the British owned Iraq Petroleum Company in
1939. However, the Saudis would lay claim to the area of this first concession
and relations between these states would sour considerably. It was only when
Trucial Omani troops, commanded by British officers, drove the Saudis out of
the disputed area that the matter was settled. This held up production for some
years in this sector, but the importance of these fields were to be eclipsed
when an enormous reservoir of oil was discovered off the shore of Abu Dhabi
by an Anglo-French consortium. Exports began in 1962 and Abu Dhabi quickly became the leading
sheikhdom in the region. Dubai
was also fortunate enough to discover some oil, however the other sheikhs were
not so lucky and they quickly beat a path to their oil rich neighbours.

The newly found wealth was beyond the financial understanding
of the sheikh of Abu Dhabi
as he spent his money foolishly and unwisely. In addition, he openly admitted
that he did not trust banks and, most worryingly of all for the British, that
he distrusted foreigners and foreign companies. The British conspired with his
brother and the other sheikhs to have this troublesome ruler removed in 1966.
This bloodless coup was to be the last major political undertaking by the
British in the area.

Withdrawal from Empire

In 1968, the British announced that they would completely
withdraw from the Gulf region by the year 1971. This sent the Trucial rulers
into a frenzied series of negotiations with each other and with the other
British protectorates; Qatar
and Bahrain.
The British tried to join these areas into a single autonomous country but the
respective rulers could not agree on boundaries or political representation in
the new grouping. Bahrain
and Qatar
were particularly aggrieved and left to become independent nations. The Trucial
sheikhdoms were prepared to enter a federation with Abu
Dhabi and Dubai
(in that order) as having the heaviest political weighting, representation and
most importantly of all for the smaller sheikhdoms, the heaviest financial
obligations. With this formula the United Arab Emirates was formed in
December 1971.