Page 62 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

38 The 0riS<»s of the Unite,I Arab Emirates

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5,' ,"r™, *;rin Sh“rinh,. s„l,,„ „„
wh„p“ sitSs vir^y,'r:h '*■**? «■»>.
Ah.i nhah; -ri y V 5’ h,ouS,u a senes of upheavals in
lhc ca?c ol Umm al-Qaiwain is also comparable.
!™P f2.0 to '9°4. 'I was ruled by only three people, ‘Abdallah
.. p<as l.ld anc hlssons Ah bin ‘Abdallah and Ahmad bin ‘Abdallah,
all ol whom succeeded by peaceful means. The unusual stability
ol the position of the ruler during the nineteenth century enabled
lum to amass a large fortune for himself, a fortune that made
the position even more attractive to his successors.
The struggles for power in the shaykhdoms will be described
here in some detail, in order to emphasise the social, economic
and political implications of the absence of the law of primogeniture.
Although the succession is restricted to members of the ruling family,
others in the shaykhdom, from slaves to tribal leaders, may become
involved in the struggle for power, which in the conditions of
a small society is not unlike civil war, with new and intense hostilities
being created. Because of this, it is essential for the new ruler
to normalise conditions as quickly as possible.
The worst power struggles lasted for several years (in Umm
al-Qaiwain for seven and in Abu Dhabi for sixteen) and had
severe economic consequences. Pearling, fishing, trade and grazing
were interrupted for various lengths of time. The disruption of
economic activity added to the hardships of the people and conse­
quently to the difficulties facing a new ruler. It was probably
at such times that substantial migration occurred, leading to a
redistribution of population (see above, Ch. i).
Power struggles sometimes produced alliances between neighbour­
ing shaykhs and contenders, leading to serious political complications.
This invariably led to British intervention, through the Political
Resident and the Residency Agent.
The last wave of violence within the ruling families occurred
after which the growing importance of the Coast
in the 1920s,
the British kept it under closer scrutiny and tried
meant that
to ensure greater political stability in the area. The violence in
question occurred in Abu Dhabi and Umm al-Qaiwam. In both

to a
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ruler of ^ X. *