Page 15 - The Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia

t

&

“Sometimes I think that the record of the past is in danger of
'V.'
being forgotten, and there are persons who ask - Why should
Great Britain continue to exercise these powers? The history
of your Slates and of your families, and the present condition
%
of the Gulf, arc the answer. We were here before any other
Power, in modern times, had shown its face in these waters.
We found strife and we have created order. It was our
'■
commerce as well as your security that was threatened and
£ called for protection. At every port along these coasts the
*
& subjects of the King of England still reside and trade. The
great Empire of India, which it is our duty to defend, lies
>.S
-S' almost at your gates. We saved you from extinction at the
s
hands of your neighbours.
51
We opened these seas to ships of all nations, and enabled their
s-
flags to fly in peace. We have not seized or held your territory.
We have not destroyed your independence but have preserved
f
it. We are not now going to throw away this century of costly
and triumphant enterprise; we shall not wipe out the most
unselfish page in history. The peace of these waters must
still be maintained; your independence will continue to be
upheld; and the influence of the British Government must
remain supreme.”

Had it not been for Britain's acceptance of this duty, there
would have been no independent Arab Gulf States able to enjoy their
present-day affluence and able, from 1971, to stand unaided.
As for the reasons for Britain’s involvement, it is necessary
to go back 375 years to the incorporation, under Royal Charter by
Queen Elizabeth I, of the East India Company. The commercial
possibilities of the East had already been made known by the
Portuguese, and by Ambassadors to the Court of Shah Abbas the
Great; and it was initially in the interests of trade that the British
came to Persia. At the same time there is no doubt that Shah Abbas,
having got rid of the Turks from the North, was looking to the
future and the help he might anticipate from Britain in ousting the
Portuguese from the Southern part of his domains.

14
t;