Page 83 - Truncal States to UAE_Neat

Chapter Two

living in Ihe ports of the Trucial Coast: but also the tribes of the
hinterland relied on the coastal towns for many needs in their
precariously-balanced economy. Some beduin came to the coast to
work on the pearling boats, others needed supplies from there such
as dried fish; the carrying trade which formed the livelihood of some
camel-breeders depended on a healthy trade between the ports and
the villages in the interior. Buraimi or Daid could play their role as
centres for trade and barter for the tribes only if supplies could come
through unhindered.
Since none of the Trucial Rulers had more than at the most a few
dozen armed men permanently employed, among other duties, to look
after their security, the only further source of fighting-men available
to any of the Rulers in a dispute were Ihe beduin groups. The Al Bu
Falrih usually were in a position to rally large numbers of beduin
armed men to help them to fight their wars without formal
arrangements regarding remuneration. The Rulers in the other
shaikluloms could sometimes rely on voluntary tribal fighters, but on
most occasions they had to find the money to pay beduin to fight for
them. This necessity to hire fighting-men, rather than to persuade
them by more subtle means of tribal politics to adopt the cause,
seems to have come to the fore during the first decades of the 20th
century.
The Sultan in Muscat was equally interested in the politics of the
tribes in the hinterland of the Trucial Coast. Almost all these tribes
declared at one lime or another their loyalty to him and paid taxes to
the authorities in Muscat. Some remained for decades steadfast
subjects of the Sultan; others exploited the fact that communications
between Muscat and the western slopes of the Hajar mountains were
difficult, and they called themselves subjects of Muscat mostly in
order to discourage other Rulers from trying to exert authority over
them.
During the time under consideration, life in this area was very
deeply affected by the inter-tribal politics of three distinguishable
“circuits". One was the shaikhdom of Abu Dhabi, where tribal
politics were largely concerned with the two settled inland centres,
the LTwa and the Buraimi villages. Abu Dhabi was also concerned
with the politics of tribes living in the Dhahirah or roaming as far as
Hadhramaut, the Rub' al Khali, and Qatar. The second “circuit"
consisted of the settlements of the north-eastern Trucial Coast and
the mountainous areas close by. which were within relatively easy

58