Page 216 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

18 a 77/r Origins of the United Arab Emirates

peace was brought about by the visit of both parties to Muscat
in the spring of 1939, when the sultan negotiated a truce.7 His
influence on both tribes, although tenuous, was to be significant
in 1955, when Buraimi and Hamasah were officially incorporated
into Muscat by the British Government.
In addition to consolidating his position in the inland areas
of his shaykhdom, Shakhbul wished to strengthen his power on
the coast. During his struggles with the Na'im the most lie had
to face was strong tribal opposition. The task was not so simple
in Abu Dhabi town, where he had to contend with the forces
of British policy, against which he was all but defenceless. However,
unlike some of his fellow rulers on the Coast, who were loo often
intimidated by threats, he did not bow easily to British power;
instead, he steadfastly defied British representatives whenever he
was convinced of his own rights. His relationship with Fowlc was
particularly stormy, for the Resident was nothing short of outraged
at Shakhbul’s hostility to British plans for the air-route and oil
concessions. He regarded the ruler’s behaviour as a personal insult,
and became determined to impose British authority and power
on Abu Dhabi at all costs. But he had underestimated Shakhbut,
who, though by no means the victor in his struggles with Fowlc,
managed to remain firmly in control of his shaykhdom.
Considering his dcfcncclessncss in face of the power that Fowle
could bring to bear upon him, it is remarkable that he was able
to achieve what he did. Shakhbut was a very proud man and
refused to be treated in the same way as his fellow rulers on
the Trucial Coast, but he had the perception to realise that his
uncle Khalifah, who had been instrumental in bringing him to
power, had a special position in Abu Dhabi. Khalifah was extremely
influential, but content to remain in the background and exert
his power unobtrusively; his grandsons, known as the Muhammad
Khalifah branch of the Al-Nuhayyan, are important members of the
governments of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates today,
and so bear witness to the success of Khalifah’s tactics. Shakhbut
wisely refrained from attempting to cross his uncle, and instead
concentrated on restoring the internal stability of Abu Dhabi. It
is perhaps ironic that his resoluteness of purpose and his determination
in the face of opposition, both qualities that contributed to the
stability and unusual length of his rule, did not stand him in
good stead when, in 1958, oil was struck off Abu Dhabi.
His beliefs that development must be taken slowly, that his people
should not become a minority in their own country as had
happened in Kuwait and his attitude to money were not, however,
so entirely ridiculous as the many stories current about his attitude