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Chapter Six

by the British Resident in the Gulf, who even accepted the position of
arbiter.20
In 1897 all the Trucial shaikhs signed an agreement which
provided for the surrender of fraudulent absconders, especially pearl
divers and sailors, from the sovereignty of one shaikh to that of
anot her. Each shaikh became responsible for the debts of a runaway
if he failed to hand him back to the Ruler of the shaikhdom he came
from, and he was fined 50 M.T. Dollars for harbouring a fugitive. If
there was a dispute over the facts pertaining to such a case, a council
of Rulers was to convene, whose decision was final if the British
Political Resident also agreed.21
Position of British subjects in disputes over debts
While the pearling industry continued to expand, its annual returns
attracted an increasing number of Indian merchants, both Hindu and
Khojah, who lived permanently in the towns of the Trucial Coast, but
they were still British and entitled to the protection of the British
Government of India. Inevitably these Indian merchants were in an
even better position than local merchants to lend money, because of
their financial backing in India, but they were less well-placed than
their Arab colleagues to retrieve it, as they were unable to exert much
pressure on the local Ruler. The effect which disputes over debts
could have on regional politics, and many aspects of the political role
played by Indian merchants, are illustrated in the case of a family
called Bin Lutah, which figures prominently in the correspondence
between the Residency Agent in Sharjah and the Political Resident in
Bushire for about two decades.22 Ahmad bin ’Abdullah and his
cousin Nasir bin 'Ubaid23 were called the "Bin Lota", a term which is
believed to be a variation of “Luti", the Arabic word for Khojah.
During the first decade of the 20th century the Bin Lutahs resided in
Dubai and must have been well placed to participate in the growing
business carried on in that town, but they became progressively more
antagonistic towards the Ruler of that shaikhdom, and at the same
time appeared to act as go-between in local disputes such as that
between the Rulers of 'Ajman and Umm al Qaiwain in 1911, thus
interfering with the role which the Residency Agent in Sharjah
intended to reserve for himself.24
The Political Resident, at that time Sir Percy Cox, deemed it very
undesirable that British subjects should take sides in any conflict of
interests between local Rulers or between any Ruler and the British
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