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118 The Origins of the United Arab Emirates

only one company, Petroleum Concessions Ltd, on the Trucial
Coast. ‘In these circumstances His Majesty’s Government arc pre­
pared to approve agreements with Petroleum Concessions Limited
but they arc not prepared to consider permitting negotiations with
any other company.’48
It was this statement, issued by Fowlc in the form of an ultimatum
in July 1937, that finally brought the company further concessions;
but first reactions to the statement were angry. Shaykh Sultan
of Ras al-Khaimah defiantly claimed that lie would turn to any
company he pleased,49 and Shaykh Shakhbul shrugged it off as
hawa.b0 Fowlc was unperturbed. The rulers were now bound to
Petroleum Concessions and had to accept the terms it offered.
Reports reached the Resident that Shaykh Shakhbul refused to
consider anything less than die same terms as Kuwait had secured,
and that the ruler of Ras al-Khaimah had made demands that
could only be those of a ‘demented creature’.51 Fowlc was uninter­
l!1 ested in the details; he urged all concerned to leave the rulers
alone for a while, to give them time to comprehend the implications
of his ultimatum.
The next person to sign a concession with Petroleum Concessions
was Sultan bin Saqr of Sharjah. Holmes led the negotiations on
the understanding that the Dubai concession was to be the standard.
The date set for signature was 6 July 1937,52 but at the eleventh
hour Sultan refused to sign, declaring his unwillingness to exchange
the letters that took cognisance of the political agreement. The
text of the ultimatum, that the rulers had to accept Petroleum
Concessions or nothing, was delivered to Sultan, who was then
left alone to decide for himself.53 In September he declared his
willingness to accept the exchange of letters; on 17 September
he signed the concession, but refused to write the required letters.
Fowle informed him that he had consequently ‘lost the good offices
of His Majesty’s Government’, and his travel papers, together with
all those of Sharjah people, were withdrawn. Fowle knew that
this measure would ‘produce the correct letter within a reasonable
time’;54 and by the end of March 1938 Sultan had capitulated,
after which the travel papers were restored.55
In March 1938, Shaykh Sultan of Ras al-Khaimah was reported
ready to sign an agreement granting a concession. At the last
minute he refused and asked for the same terms as Qatar. He
also wanted to discuss the political agreement with the Political
Resident before signing the concession. Sultan, who at the time
was deprived of his travel papers, because of discourtesy to the
Senior Naval Officer, was anxious to have his passport returned
so that he could travel to Kuwait, presumably to visit Holmes,
who was there, and then maybe to see Williamson, who was at