Page 52 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

28 I he Origins of the United Arab Emirates

the strongest reason for the deterioration in the standing of the
Resident was undoubtedly the shortness of tenure of many incumbents
of the office. From 1920 to 1932 there were no fewer than seven
Residents, whose respective roles were hampered by the fact that
the retiring age in the Political Department was fifty-five; given
the seniority of the post,44 many Residents were not far from retire­
ment when they arrived in Bushirc. They had little or no time
to familiarise themselves with the political situation, especially oil
the Trucial Coast; even less to formulate a feasible policy of their
own.
The situation changed in July 1932» when Lieutenant-Colonel
T. C. VV. Fowlc was appointed to Bushirc. He was already familiar
with the Gulf, having served as Secretary to the Resident in 1929,
and as Political Agent at Muscat from 1930 to 1932, during which
time he had officiated as Political Resident. Since he remained
in office until September 1939, his tenure, in marked contrast to
that of many of his predecessors, was long enough for him to
gain great personal knowledge of the area. This and his experience
made him eminently well suited to the office, and he soon came
to be seen as a dominating figure of British authority.

The Residency Agent in Sharjah

The Residency Agent was an Arab based in Sharjah who moved
up and down the Coast as required. He was directly responsible
to the Resident in Bushire, and, as Britain’s only representative
on the Trucial Coast, wielded considerable power and authority.
The role played by ‘Isa bin ‘Abd al-Latif, Residency Agent from
1919 to 1935, is an outstanding example of this, and was central
to the political structure of the area. No British officer replaced
him, despite occasional inquiries into the advantage of extending
British representation.
Many arguments were put forward in favour of a new appointment,
but the outcome was a decision to maintain the status quo. Changes
were acceded to slowly and with reluctance, and it took a long
time before Dubai was accepted as a better headquarters than Sharjah.
The suggestion of appointing a British officer as agent was first
made in 1908. With the transfer to Dubai of the trade formerly
conducted at Lingah, the Board of Trade suggested to the Foreign
Office that a British representative be stationed at Dubai to protect
and advance British interests.45 Cox, who was Political Resident
time, did not feel that the time was npc to establish a
at the
British officer on the Trucial Coast.