Page 87 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

eliminated the authority of both Hasan b. Rahmah and Husayn b. ‘All, and
therefore the Qawasim were left without a supreme leader. Moreover, the
commanders of the British expedition were instructed to help the inhabitants
of the coast in selecting the new shaykh.656 Such an arrangement was of great
importance to the British government. The paramount shaykh would have to
confine and supervise the activities of his people, observe the laws and
regulations of the new treaty, and hold himself responsible to the British with
regard to the action and conduct of his followers. The actual choice of a new
shaykh was a decision that rested with the tribe. Nonetheless, Bombay had
provided certain guidelines in its recommendations concerning the
forthcoming shaykh; these restrictions ultimately gave the commanders the
final say in the matter, and invested them with the right to approve or
disapprove of the tribe’s decision.657 The recommendations also stipulated
that the paramount shaykh was neither to have been part of the former regime,
nor was he to have had any connections with the late Su‘udl amir; furthermore,
any candidate who might possibly become an advocate of piracy was
automatically excluded from consideration.658 The government of Bombay
also advised that if the inhabitants failed to find a satisfactory candidate, Ra’s
al-Khaymah should be turned over to Sultan b. Saqr, who was apparently
regarded by the British authorities as the most influential and likely candidate
for the position of paramountcy.659 These intentions, however, were not made
known in the months immediately after the expedition. The Qawasim, after
all, were in an awkward situation. The capitulation had inflicted a painful sense
of humiliation upon their leaders, and the destrucuon of their military and
naval power, as well as the loss of a considerable number of their men in such a
brief war, impoverished their settlements and complicated their difficulties.
Moreover, the Qawasim had begun to develop suspicions concerning the
nature of British intentions with regard to their country. The British
authorities had blocked Qawasim contacts with their kinsmen on the Persian
side of the Gulf.660 They evidently feared that such contacts might renew the
harassment of European shipping.661 Captain Thompson and his contingent
continued to garrison the remaining towers in Ra’s al-Khaymah, hoping to
deliver the town over as soon as a suitable leader emerged.662
Thompson did not place much trust in Sultan b. Saqr. Instead, he suspected
Sultan of using others to serve his private ends and was therefore unwilling to
turn the town over to him.663 During his five-month stay at Ra’s al-Khaymah,
Thompson did not confine his activities to political and military affairs only but
instead made himself a missionary as well. He decided to morally regenerate
the inhabitants of the coast by converting them to Christianity and therefore
obtained for them a small supply of Bibles translated into Arabic. This gesture,
expectedly, elicited unfavourable reactions. Several shaykhs wrote to
Thompson expressing contempt for his attempts at proselytizing and
threatened to take further action.664 But the British government was not
interested in keeping her forces in the area any longer, and eventually
instructed Thompson to evacuate Ra’s al-Khaymah. Thompson was told to
hand over the area to Sultan b. Saqr; he did so on July 18, 1820, after having
demolished the fence and fortifications around the city. 665
Sultan thus emerged as the principal shaykh of the Qawasim, and Hasan b.
Rahmah, the former leader, took a subservient position. Other chiefs
gradually came to acknowledge Sultan’s authority to a greater or lesser extent.

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