The Qawasim and British Control of the Arabian Gulf Mubarak Al-Otabi

The Qawasim and British Control of the Arabian Gulf Mubarak Al-Otabi Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Salford International Studies Unit 1989 Author's Note While every effort has been made to standardise proper and place names, it will be appreciated that these have undergone variation in transliteration since the middle of the eighteenth century; where archaisms occur, as in contemporary writings, reports and journals, these have been retained so as not to lose the period flavour they lend to the narrative TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Title Page 1 The situation in the Gulf in the 1 first half of the eighteenth century 2 The emergence of the Qawasim as 23 a new political power in the Gulf 3 The Wahabi movement and its effect 38 on the political history of the area (1800-1818) 4 Franco-British rivalry in the Gulf 58 (1798-1810) 5 Qawasim activity in the Gulf 107 6 The 1819 expedition and the pacifico‘lin 127 of the Gulf 7 Conclusions 164 Appendices A. The government of India 168 B. Treaty concluded between the 173 Honourable East India Company and His Highness the Imaum of Muskat, 12 October 1798 . C. Further treaty between the 176 Honourable East India Company and His Highness the Imaum of Muskat, 18 January 1800 D. General treaty with the Arab 178 tribes of the Persian Gulf, 1820 Bibliography 182 SUMMARY THE QAWASIM AND BRITISH CONTROL OF THE ARABIAN GULF For 150 years after 1820, Oman and the littoral sheikhdoms of the Arabian Gulf were known respectively as Trucial Oman and the Trucial States. This reflected the series of agreements beginning in 1820 progressively extending British control of the external policies of the area, leaving domestic and internal affairs in the hands of the traditional rulers. The trucial system was imposed initially to put down piracy by the Qawasim whose depredations on British trade with India reached a climax at the beginning of the nineteenth century. For many years an accepted version, the allegations of piracy have recently been challenged; this thesis seeks to investigate the issue using archive material from the Bombay Presidency and from the Cairo Citadel, material not previously investigated. It is the writer's contention that the traditional justification for British intervention and control of the Gulf, namely piracy, does not take into account the influence of Wahhabism or Anglo-French rivalry dating from the Egyptian campaigns of Napoleon. Thus, the trucial system rested on a more varied and complex origin than has generally been accepted and reflects more pervasive British interests than a simple humanitarian motive. 1 CHAPTER ONE The situation in the Gulf in the first half of the eighteenth century Any discussion of the origins and development of the Al 'Qawasim and their maritime activities conducted on the eastern side of the Arab Peninsula during the second half of the eighteenth century, when they emerged as a naval force to be reckoned with, requires a preliminary study of the politico- economic situation obtaining in the area during the first half of that century. We know for instance that the Gulf area constituted a location of strategic importance to countries with a strong interest in East-West trade activity - the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British. All these accordingly had dealings with the rulers of Persia, the local sheiks of Oman, and the leaders of the Qawasim, together with their Wahabi supporters, and notably the Saudis. The local population and its political and social systems were greatly affected by this attention focused on their region. The Arab Gulf lies between the latitudes of 24-30 degrees in the north, and the longitudes of 48-58 degrees in the east. The temperature during summer is high, with humidity up to 100%, but in winter it can fall as low as 5 0 centigrade. There is very little rainfall. Winds from the north are invariably cold, 2 whereas southern winds are dusty and hot. The Gulf covers 97,000 square miles and is 500 miles long stretching from Shatt- al-Arab in the north to the Hormuz straits in the south. It is 180 miles wide at its broadest, narrowing down to 29 miles in the straits of Hormuz. On the western borders of the Gulf from south to north runs the Oman mountain ridge, followed by a chain of small winding bays dotting the coastline between the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar. The area of Al-Hassa in the northwest is characterized by plains rich in minerals and sulphur springs. Thus, surrounded on one side by mountains and on the other by desert, the coastal Arabs had little choice but to turn to the sea to earn their living, which they did with considerable skill. Due to its location, the Arab Gulf occupied a prominent place as one of the major trade routes linking East with West before the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope in August 1498. Trade was conducted along two major routes, namely the Red Sea and Egypt, and the Gulf and the north land route. (1) The Gulf was the route along which products from India and China reached the markets of Persia and the North, with exports from the Arab Peninsula, Persia and Europe conveyed by this route to India and the Far East. (2) Exports from India were shipped through the Gulf and then conveyed by caravans via Iraq and the north to one of the Mediterranean ports to Europe. As for the Red Sea route, (1) Lorimer, J G, Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia, Calcutta, Superintendent Government Printing, 1915, Vol 1, p 9. (2) Kelly, J B, Britain and the Persian Gulf, 1795-1880, Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1968, p 1. 3 goods were transported by sea to Alexandria or Damietta, where they were loaded on ships bound for Europe. Amongst the various trading 'centres of the Gulf, Bahrain benefited greatly from its favourable geographical position, blessed as it was with safe anchorages and harbours, close to the main ports situated in the Gulf. Pearl fishing was the main industry and was conducted along the coast extending from Katif to Dubai, with extensive pearl fisheries being located around Bahrain Island itself. The representative of the East India Company in Basra in 1750 estimated the value of pearl exports from Bahrain to B g sra to be 500,000 Indian rupees (about £50,000) per annum. In 1790, the annual value of the pearl trade remained at 500,000 Bombay rupees (3) , whilst Captain John Malcom, ten • years later, estimated the annual export of pearls at 1,000,000 rupees. ( size of the Gulf pearling fleet was considerable:- Captain Robert Taylor, an official of the East India Company, estimated the number of vessels at 1400: H of which 700 were of larger burthen, 300 intermediate, and 400 of a small size. The larger were manned by one master, fourteen divers, and fourteen assistants, in all twenty-nine men; the intermediate with one master, nine divers, and nine assistants, in all nineteen men; the least with one masec, seven divers, and seven assistants, in all fifteen men."0) Bahrain imported its foodstuffs and commodities - cotton, sugar, spices, rice, metals, drugs and pine - mainly from India, with grain, dried fruits, dates and coffee being obtained from Persia, (3) India Office Library and Records (IOR), Factory Records, Persia and Persian Gulf G/29/21 - Manesty and Jones to Governor- in-council; Bombay, 18/12/1790. (4) Al-Qasimi, The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf, London, Croom Helm, 1986, p 10. (5) Selections from the records of the Bombay Government, new series no XX IV, 1856 (henceforth Bombay Selections XXIV), compiled and edited by R T Hughes, Cambridge, The Oleander Press, 1985, p 22. 4 Oman, Basra and Yemen. Bahraini merchant vessels used principally for trading with India numbered some 20 vessels with a loading capacity which varied between 140 and 350 tons. Bahrain had also 100 small trading vessels, the loading capacity of which varied between 40 and 120 tons.(6) Muscat (now Oman) for its part lies between latitudes 23-24 in the north and longitudes 58-60 in the east, and is coastal territory, bordered inland by the Rub al Khali desert, separating Muscat from the rest of the Arab Peninsula. A chain of mountains, the Al Hajar (eastern and western) reaching a height of 1,000-12,500 metres borders most of its coastline. Muscat played a prominent role in the international trade conducted between India and Arab states due to its position astride the route linking India, the Arab states and Europe; because of its location it was occupied more than once by countries anxious to safeguard trade routes. With its harbours and bays fit for the anchorage of all types of ships, Muscat was developed by its rulers as a large warehouse or trading zone whereby goods coming from the East and the West could be stored as well as sold; a 5% tax was imposed on goods imported and sold and 2% on goods imported but not sold. No tax was imposed however on exports. (7) A land tax was also levied. The annual revenues from customs and land taxes in 1780 were computed at 120,000 crowns, (8) with trade earnings of Bombay Selections XXIV, p 566. 10R, Political and Secret Library, L/P and S/20/C 248 C. Bombay Selections XXIV, p 288. 5 Muscat annually amounting to £1,000,000. Most of the goods bound for Muscat were re-exported after collecting custom duties.

Load more