Page 151 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf - Vol II) 1907-1953

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CHAPTER 5
THE TRUCIAL STATES

I.—General
1. The internal history of the Trucial States is not dealt with in the Historical
Summary for 1907-1928 and it is not proposed to enter into it in detail in this
review before the year 1946. It is largely a story of raids and assassinations and
of wars between the various States.
2. The number of the States has varied from time to time. When the General
Treaty of 1820 was signed there were only five, but after the death of the Qasimi(')
Chief Sultan bin Saqr in 1866 his domains were divided amongst his descendants
who from time to time declared themselves independent of the senior branch of the
family ruling at Sharjah. There are now seven States, three, viz., Sharjah, Ras al
Khaimah and Fujairah, being sub-divisions of the original Qasimi Shaikhdom, and
the other four Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, and Umm al Qaiwain remaining as they
were at the time of the 1820 Treaty.
3. Until 1934 the Political Resident at Bushire dealt directly with the Trucial
States being represented at Sharjah by an Arab Residency Agent. This office
descended in one case from father to son and the latter held it for 17 years.
These Arab Agents were men of ability, influence and courage and served the
purpose of the Government of India which was the maintenance of relations with
the Trucial States with the minimum of expenditure and trouble, though some of
them undoubtedly acquired too much power and wealth in the process. In 1934
the Political Resident found himself unable adequately to deal with the Trucial
States, the work in respect of which had greatly increased owing to the
establishment of air communications through them and the negotiation of oil
concessions with their Rulers, and transferred the responsibility for supervising
them to the Political Agent at Bahrain. It was not however until 1939 that the
Government of India agreed to the appointment of a British Political Officer to
Sharjah and they only did so then with the greatest reluctance as they thought his
life would be in danger. Even after that the post was usually left vacant during
the hot weather when the Arab Residency Agent was placed in charge. Since 1948
a British Political Officer has resided permanently on the Trucial Coast and in 1949
the post of Residency Agent was abolished. In 1952 the Political Officer came
under the direct control of the Political Resident and in 1953 the status of the post
was raised to that of a Political Agency.
4. At the time of the Pirate Wars and for many years after Sharjah was the
largest and most important town on the Trucial Coast and it was the headquarters
of the officer in charge of British interests on the Coast up to the end of the period
under review. The first Residency Agent was established there about 1823. During
the present century its importance has greatly declined owing to the silting up of
its creek and the weakness of its rulers, and Dubai is now the largest and
commercially, if not politically, the most important town on the Coast. A decision
was accordingly taken in 1948 to transfer the headquarters of the Agency to the
latter place. Buildings for it are under construction and the transfer is likely to take
place in 1954.0
5. Although Her Majesty’s Government’s relations with the Trucial States
were established and consolidated long before those with the other Shaikhdoms
and the Perpetual Truce of 1853 may be regarded as the foundation stone of the
British position in the Persian Gulf, these States have until recently been left almost
entirely to their own devices. The policy of the Government of India at any rate
until the conclusion of a Civil Air Agreement with Sharjah in 1932, was to avoid
any kind of commitment by land. In many cases Rulers who had acquired power
by assassination were recognised as soon as they had established their position and
the States were allowed to fight each other at will, provided there was no breach ol
the peace at sea, though action was from time to time taken on such occasions solely
(‘) Pronounced Jasimi. Plural Jawasira.
(’) The transfer took place in March 1954.