Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 7-1987 Gun Running in Arabia: The Introduction of Modern Arms to the Peninsula, 1880-1914 James W. Fiscus Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Other History Commons, and the Political History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Fiscus, James W., "Gun Running in Arabia: The Introduction of Modern Arms to the Peninsula, 1880-1914" (1987). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1624. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.1623 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF James W. Fiscus for the Master of Arts in History presented July 13, 1987. Title: Gun Running in Arabia: The Introduction of Modern Arms to the Peninsula, 1880-1914 APPROVED BY MEMBERS OF THE THESIS COMMITTEE: Victor C. Dahl Forbes W. Williams Modern breech-loading rifles flooded into Arabia and the region around the Persian Gulf between 1880 and World War I. This work examines in detail, and analyzes, the introduction of modern arms to Arabia, the origin of those arms, the trade patterns by which they were moved, and the international and local political factors that affected the 2 trade. The international arms trade was driven by three major factors. First, the rapid technological development of small arms in the nineteenth century fed the market, resulting in the availability of hundreds of thousands of obsolete military rifles for resale. Each time new rifles were adopted by the armies of Europe, old stocks were dumped on the private arms market. Second, international politics and European colonial rivalry contributed to the growth and maintenance of the arms trade. The French Consul at Muscat protected the trade in the Persian Gulf, while French arms dealers commanded a substantial portion of the trade. British efforts to slow the flow of arms through Muscat was hampered by European politics. Third, the internal politics of the region created a demand for the modern arms. Inside Arabia, the resurgent Saudis fought Rashidis and Hashimites in a series of wars, while other tribal raids and wars further built the demand for modern rifles: if one group had modern weapons, its enemies felt a need for them also. Outside Arabia, a strong demand for weapons in Persia and on the Northwest Frontier of India helped" pull weapons to the markets of the Gulf. This thesis deals first with the changing technology of weapons in the nineteenth century, so that the military 3 impact of the new weapons can be understood. The types of modern rifles introduced to the Peninsula is then reviewed, finding that the Peabody-Martini and the Martini-Henry, and their numerous variations, were the weapons most commonly imported in the decades around the turn of the century. with this information as background, the international politics of the arms trade are examined. Emphasis is on the Anglo-French rivalry at Muscat that gave treaty protection to French arms dealers. European fears that modern arms would reach Africa and make colonial control of the continent difficult or impossible led, in 1890, to the arms control provisions of the General Act of Brussels. The Act did not, however, extend to Arabia. The heart of the work is a detailed examination and analysis of the arms trade in and around Arabia. The arms trade in the region was centered in two main entrepots, Djibouti in French Somaliland and Muscat in southeast Arabia. By the late l890s, the bulk of the trade was passing through the Suez Canal before transshipment at one of these ports. Just over half of the arms reaching Muscat were exported to Persia and the Northwest Frontier, with the remainder reaching Arabia or Mesopotamia. The patterns of the private arms trade were complex, both at sea and on land, and are discussed at length. The political use of weapons by the Ottoman 4 Government, and by European states, contributed to the flood of guns into Arabia. The Ottomans, in particular, used their stocks of obsolete weapons to arm their client tribes in Arabia. Ottoman purchases of Sniders, Martinis, and finally Mausers, gave them a constant supply of older rifles for distribution. The arms trade in Arabia was controlled by international and local political developments, and fed by the availability of modern arms on the international market. The trade was complex and impossible to prevent so long as the European states and the Ottomans continued to sell or distribute obsolete rifles as new guns were adopted. GUN RUNNING IN ARABIA: THE INTRODUCTION OF MODERN ARMS TO THE PENINSULA 1880-1914 by JAMES W. FISCUS A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in HISTORY Portland State University © 1987 James W. Fiscus TO THE OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIES: The members of the Committee approve the thesis of James W. Fiscus for the Master of Arts in History presented July 13, 1987. Victor C. Dahl Forbes W. Williams • Bur ke, He act, Depar tmen t of History Bernard Ross, Vice-Provost for Graduate Studies TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE LIST OF TABLES • vi LIST OF FIGURES vii INTRODUCTION • • 1 I DEATH AND TECHNOLOGY • • 9 The Arms of Arabia 9 The Increased Deadliness of Modern Weapons •• • • • • • • 11 Notes • • 22 II THE SWEEP OF TECHNOLOGY 24 Modern Rifles in Arabia 24 Changes During World War I 33 Notes • 35 III INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND THE ARMS TRADE • • • • • • • • 37 Controls: The General Act of Brussels •••• • • 37 Use of the French Flag to Protect the Arms Trade ••••••• 44 Treaty Protection for the Arms Trade at Muscat 46 European Rivalry and the French Flag • • • 53 Notes 60 iv CHAPTER PAGE IV THE PRIVATE ARMS TRADE • • • 63 Early Pattern of the Arms Trade • • 63 Shift of the International Arms Traffic to Arabia 67 Notes 73 v THE PRIVATE ARMS TRADE IN THE PERSIAN GULF REGION • • • • • • • • • • • • 74 The International Trade and Efforts at its Control 74 The Arms Traffic Through Muscat and the Omani Ports and General Control Measures •••• • • • • •• 75 Notes 104 VI THE PRIVATE ARMS TRADE IN THE SECONDARY GULF PORTS AND THE RED SEA 107 Secondary Gulf Ports 107 Bahrein Kuwait "Turkish" Arabia: Iraq and el Hasa via Kuwait The Trucial Coast Ports and Smaller Ports • • • • • 122 Qatar Mesopotamia and Kuwait The Persian Coast Djibouti and The Red Sea Ports of Arabia • • • • • • • 128 Distribution of Arms Within the Peninsula 138 Capture of Ottoman Weapons 141 Capture from Tribal Enemies •• 143 Notes • 144 v CHAPTER PAGE VII THE GOVERNMENTAL ARMS TRADE 149 Official Ottoman Arms Purchases • 149 Egyptian Arms Purchases 159 Ottoman Distribution to Clients •• 160 The Blackmarket: Private Sales by Ottoman Troops or Client Tribes • •• 167 British Distribution of Arms 169 Arms Shipped to the Al Saud Aden Italian Distribution of Arms 171 Notes • 174 VIII THE EFFECT OF MODERN ARMS ON THE ARABIAN PENINSULA • • • • • 177 Increased Dependence on External Ammunition • • • • • • • • • 177 Imposition of Ottoman Authority Followed by Successful Local Resistance • • • • • 180 The Use of Technology in War • 185 Notes 189 CONCLUSION 190 DISCUSSION OF SOURCES • 192 BIBLIOGRAPHY: WORKS CITED IN TEXT 194 BIBLIOGRAPHY: WORKS CONSULTED BUT NOT CITED • 210 APPENDIX A: PRIVATE FIRMS ENGAGED IN THE ARMS TRADE 224 APPENDIX B: THE DEMAND FOR ARMS IN ARABIA: ARMIES AND POPULATIONS • • • • • • • • •• 234 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I Ottoman Purchases of Breech-Loading Rifles and Ammunition •• • • • • • • • • • • 155 II Dupuy's Theoretical Lethality Index 186 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Map Showing the Arms Trade Routes Around Arabia in About 1900 • • • • • • • • 8 2. Map of the Maritime Slave Trade and Arms Control Zones of the General Act of Brussels • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 43 3. Graph of Legal Arms Imports at Muscat, Comparing Value in Pounds Sterling of Arms Trade and Non-arms Trade From 1896-97 Till 1913-14 • • • • • • • 79 4. Graph of Arms Imports Reported by Muscat Customs, Showing the Relative Value in Pounds Sterling of the Trade of Various Nations from 1895-96 Till 1913-14 •••• 85 INTRODUCTION A Snider Squibbed in the jungle ­ Somebody laughed and fled, And the men of the first Shikaris Picked up their Subaltern dead, with a big blue mark in his forehead And the back blown out of his head. [1] War, death and modern weapons swept through Arabia in the opening years of the century, as they now sweep across the plains of southern Mesopotamia. The great powers of the world and of the region supported their allies, sought to undercut their rivals or tried to block the perceived advance of their enemy. The trade in modern arms became the focus of international contention, and a cause of wealth, death and victory: it was at once the cause and the result of international and regional conflicts. This work examines in detail, and analyzes, the introduction of modern arms to Arabia, the origin of those arms, the trade patterns by which they were moved, and the international and local political factors that affected the trade. Throughout most of the period, Britain sought to protect her position in the region, and the sea routes to India, while France sought to undermine that position. The arms trade in Arabia was not unique. Nations behaved then as they had for millennia, and 2 as they do now. Arms and national policy cannot be separated. Writing about a more recent period, George Thayer notes that the increased availability of modern weapons following World War II has been accompanied by an increased level in regional violence.