Page 29 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

Qawasim in the literature dealing with the modem history of the Gulf
principalities.122
For the greater part of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Qawasim
dominated the political scene of the coast of‘Uman, playing an important role
not only in maritime commerce, but also in their frequent warfare against
indigenous and foreign forces. Although loosely applied to denote the tribes
subjected to the authority of the shaykhs of Ra’s al-Khaymah and al-Shariqah,
the term ‘Qawasim’ actually refers to the family that had ruled these
settlements since the eighteenth century, as well as to the members of the tribe
who had scattered into various small settlements, such as Kalba and Khawr
Fakkan on the Gulf of ‘Uman.123 More generally, the Qawasim are a branch of
the Huwalah, Arabs long-established on the Persian side of the Gulf.124 Some
of the latter returned to their homeland on the Arabian side and became
powerful in that region in the following years.125 The name of the Qawasim
may have come from al-Qasim b. Sha‘wah al-Muzanl, who was sent on an
expedition to ‘Uman by al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf,126 or else from Shaykh Qasim, the
grandfather of the notorious Shaykh Rashid b. Matar, the first family member
sufficiently eminent to be documented by the British records dealing with the
history of the area.127
Although they had connections with the imamate of‘Uman, the chiefs of the
coast maintained a degree of autonomy throughout their history. With the
emergence of the Qawasim, this coastal part of‘Uman, became independent of
the imamate but continued to be affected by the political affairs of the
mainland. During the civil war that split the people of ‘Uman apart, the
Qawasim sided with the Ghafiri faction. They provided Muhammad b. Nasir
al-Ghafiri, the Ghafiri contender to the imamate, with military assistance and
contributed to his success in securing it.128 The Qawasim engaged in seafaring
and trade on the Gulf, and seem to have reaped considerable profit from it.
When the traveller Niebuhr passed through the Gulf in 1765, he discovered
that Rashid b. Matar al-Qasiml of Ra’s al-Khaymah not only had a
considerable fleet but also that his trading vessels were active beyond the
Gulf.129
The Qawasim concentration on commercial activity, however, was short­
lived. Their trade revenues, which were decreasing because of stiffening
competition, were neither stable nor sufficient for the population to subsist
on.130 Furthermore, the entire Gulf was in a state of turmoil due to the absence
of any controlling power. Due most probably to a combination of economic
need and political aspiration, the Qawasim now began to involve themselves in
more or less perpetual warfare between local competing powers in the area.
They began to attack both Arab and non-Arab vessels passing through the Gulf
waters.131
With the consolidation of British control over India, the Persian Gulf had
become a major avenue for British communication with the home country, and
the transit of British vessels over its waters grew more frequent.132 Therefore
the British ships as well began to feel the threat of the Qawasim. The first
QasimI action against British vessels took place toward the end of 1778, when
members of the Qawasim seized a British ship and held it for ransom, thus
initiating a long military conflict between the Qawasim and the British in the
Gulf. The ensuing confrontations will be discussed later, in the section dealing
with the Su‘udl relations with the coast of‘Uman.

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