Page 198 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

i(>4 1 he Origins of the United Arab Emirates

‘Abd al-Rahman adhered to the terms of the agreement, but
his son Humayd tried, and very nearly managed, to free himself
of them. When he was left in charge during the visit of his father
to Sharjah town in December 1921, he seized control of the fort
and village and declared his independence, refusing to grant his
father permission to return home. Trevor, the Political Resident,
happened to visit Sharjah in RIMS Lawrence the day after this,
so lie took Khalid and ‘Abd al-Rahman on board with him and
sailed to Hamriyyah in order to re-establish ‘Abd al-Rahman as
headman subject to Sharjah. Humayd resisted this show of force,
and refused to go on board. Unable to remain for long, Trevor
left Sharjah, leaving the Residency Agent to pursue the matter.
‘Isa found it difficult to accomplish much in the face of Humayd’s
determined stand, and finally the Senior Naval Officer diverted
to Hamriyyah at the request of the Resident. He arrived in HMS
Cyclamen on 31 January 1922, but Humayd refused to visit him,
despite promises of a safe conduct. Finally the Naval Officer gave
Humayd fourteen days in which to submit and give the town
back to his father; at the same time, he asked the Resident for
the reinforcement of a political officer to arrive in Hamriyyah
at the end of the fortnight. Trevor decided to go himself. He took
‘Isa bin ‘Abd al-Latif and Khalid bin Ahmad on board RIMS
Lawrence, arriving in Hamriyyah on 17 February. Preliminary attempts
to induce Humayd to meet with Trevor failed completely, and finally
Trevor issued an ultimatum: if Humayd did not appear within twenty-
four hours, a sloop would arrive at Hamriyyah. Apparently Khalid
and ‘Abd al-Rahman convinced Trevor that a few shots at the fort
would be enough to frighten the rebel, so, when Humayd did not
comply, the Cyclamen, which had been waiting at Sharjah, arrived and
started to bombard Hamriyyah. Khalid and ‘Abd al-Rahman
obviously had miscalculated the extent of Humayd’s determination,
for, although the left side of one tower, then the flag tower and a tower
at the other end of the village were knocked down, no capitulation was
forthcoming.
Trevor, who later admitted that the incident ‘caused me more
anxiety and worry than any I can remember’,3 allowed Khalid
to go to Sharjah in order to collect an armed force. By this
time Humayd must have realised what was happening, and after
much scurrying back and forth with deputations he surrendered,
leaving Hamriyyah on the night of 19 February. The next day,
Khalid reinstalled ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Sayf as headman of the
village. Before he sailed, Trevor warned Khalid that he should
supply ‘Abd al-Rahman with a strong enough force to maintain
his position, since the Residency would not come to his aid in
the event of a further challenge from Humayd.4