Page 148 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

retired to their ships. The Khalifah Shaikh, Khalifah bin Mo­
hammed, described as ‘artful and politic’, is said by an Arab
historian to have ‘poured rains on the people from the clouds of
his bounty’. But it seems that lie missed out Rahmah and the
Jalahamah tribe, who already had a dispute with the Khalifah
about pearling rights. Rahmah and his people returned dis­
gruntled to Kuwait. Finding, however, that the Subah tribe did
not welcome them with open arms, they again shook off the dust
of Kuwait from their feet, and came back to the Qatar coast,
settling first at Ruwais, and later at Khor Hassan, where they
engaged in indiscriminate piracy.
In August 1783 the Khalifah, supported by the Subah of
Kuwait, made an attack on Bahrain, and drove out the Persians,
who never again occupied the islands. Rahmah, perhaps attracted
by the prospect of loot, abandoned his quarrel with the Khalifah,
and brought his pirates to assist them in the conquest of Bahrain.
After establishing themselves in Bahrain, the Khalifah Shaikh,
Ahmed, known as ‘the Conqueror’, divided up the rich date
gardens among those who had fought for him, keeping the best
for himself and his family. Once again, Rahmah considered that
he and his tribe were ill-requited. They finally broke with the
Khalifah, and became for two generations their most bitter ene­
mies. From his lair in an inlet on the Qatar coast, Rahmah’s
strong fleet, manned by bloodthirsty pirates, preyed on the ship­
ping of Persia, Bahrain and Kuwait. He avoided conflict with
the Wahabis, whose sect he had joined, and carefully abstained
from any aggression against ships sailing under the British flag,
claiming that the British were his friends. Whenever Bahrain
was attacked, he joined her enemies, and he spent much of his time
visiting the various rulers of the Gulf, trying to persuade them
to attack Bahrain.
The Khalifah now ruled in Bahrain and Zabara, and controlled
most of Qatar, Bahrain became the centre of the pearl trade, and
her merchants in their big sailing boats, traded extensively with
India, paying for the goods which they bought, with the money
which they got from selling pearls. Shaikh Ahmed died in 1795.
and was succeeded by his son Sulman, who reigned for over
twenty stormy years. In the early part of his reign, his brother,
Abdulla, shared with him the responsibility of government. But
Bahrain did not remain for long at peace. In 1799. the Sultan
124