Page 110 - Truncal States to UAE_Neat

Administering a Tribal Society

uncle Khalid. When Sultan bin Saqr died in 1951 his brother
Muhammad failed to become the Ruler, and Saqr bin Sultan was
rec ognised by the British Government in 1951. He was deposed in
1965 and lived in exile in Cairo. He returned in early 1972 and in an
unsuccessful attempt to wrest the leadership from his nephew
Shaikh Khalid bin Muhammad in a coup d’etat he killed the
incumbent Ruler of Sharjah. Since February 1972 Sharjah has been
ruled by Shaikh Sultan bin Muhammad A1 Qasimi.
Ra’s al Khaimah as a wali’s seat and as an independent Trucial
State.
The importance of Ra’s al Khaimah stems from its natural harbour,
which has, however, been silting up within living memory; from the
long narrow peninsula parallel to the mainland on which the town is
built and which is easy to defend; and from an extensive well-
watered fertile plain opposite the town on the mainland. Most of the
population of the town of Ra’s al Khaimah, 1,000 households at the
turn of the century, used to engage in both agriculture and pearling.10
The latter industry was, however, with 33 boats, on a much smaller
scale than in Sharjah or in Abu Dhabi; a certain amount of trade in
rice, sugar and other goods was carried on by some 15 sailing baghlahs
and sanbuks, hence the necessity for a customs house. The suq
served also as a centre for the population of the mountainous
hinterland, but trade was less lively than in Sharjah or in Dubai;
there were no resident Hindu traders, and apart from seven
Khojahs11 all the merchants were Arab.
The revenues of Ra’s al Khaimah during the first decade of this
century amounted to some 6,300 Rupees from pearling and 800
Rupees from customs duties, as compared to 23,400 Rupees from the
former and 8,000 from the latter in Sharjah. There was also the tax in
kind on dates, which was of considerable value since there were an
estimated 15,600 trees belonging to the inhabitants of the town of
Ra’s al Khaimah alone.
According to one local source there was, at least during the rule of
Salim bin Sultan in Ra’s al Khaimah, a wali appointed to supervise
day-to-day administration within the town, including the collection
of taxes and customs duties by the mutarzlyah, and to organise the
defence of the town against attacks by plundering beduin or during
disputes with other shaikhs.12 The main task of the Ruler of Ra’s al
Khaimah himself was to be available to the inhabitants to deal with
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