Persian Gulf Residency | |
|---|---|
| 1822–1971 | |
.svg) Flag of theEast India Company in use until 1874 | |
 | |
| Status | Residency of theEast India Company (1822–1858) Residency of theBritish Indian Empire (1858-1947) Group ofBritish protectorates (1947–1971) |
| Capital | Bushehr (1822–1946[citation needed]) Manama (1946–1971) |
| Official languages | English |
| Common languages | Arabic,Persian |
| Religion | Islam |
| States under Persian Gulf Resident |
|
| Government | Indirect colonial government |
| Chief Resident | |
• 1822–1823 (first) | John Macleod |
• 1970–1971 (last) | Geoffrey Arthur |
| History | |
• Established by theEIC | 1822 |
| 1820 | |
| 1858 | |
• Transfer from Government of India to Foreign Office | 1947 |
• Termination of the British protectorates | 1971 |
| Currency | Indian rupee (1822–1959) Gulf rupee (1959–1966) Various (1966–1971) |
ThePersian Gulf Residency was a subdivision of theBritish Empire from 1822 until 1971, whereby the United Kingdom maintained varying degrees of political and economic control over several states in thePersian Gulf, including what is today known as theUnited Arab Emirates (formerly called the "Trucial States") and at various times southern portions ofIran,Bahrain,Kuwait,Oman, andQatar.
British interest in the Persian Gulf originated in the sixteenth century and steadily increased asBritish India's importance rose in theimperial system of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the beginning, the agenda was primarily commercial. Realizing the region's significance, the English fleet supported the Persian emperorAbbas I inexpelling the Portuguese fromHormuz Island in 1622. In return, theEast India Company was permitted to establish a trading post in the coastal city ofBandar Abbas, which became their principal port in the Persian Gulf. Empowered by the charter ofCharles II in 1661, the Company was responsible for conducting British foreign policy in the Persian Gulf, as well as concluding various treaties, agreements and engagements with Persian Gulf states in its capacity as the Crown's regional agent.
In 1763, the British East India Company established a residency atBushehr, on the Persian side of the Gulf: this was followed by another residency inBasra several years later. The arrival of a largeFrench mission in Persia in 1807 underGeneral Gardane galvanized the British, both in London andCalcutta. They responded by sending a mission under SirHarford Jones, which resulted in establishing thePreliminary Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with the Shah in 1809. Despite being modified during subsequent negotiations, this treaty provided the framework within which Anglo–Persian foreign relations operated for the next half century. Britain appointed Harford Jones as their first resident envoy to the Persian court in 1808. Until the appointment of Charles Alison as Minister inTehran in 1860, the envoy and his staff were, with rare exceptions, almost exclusively recruited from the East India Company.
In the absence of formal diplomatic relations, the political resident conducted all necessary negotiations with Persian authorities and was described by SirGeorge Curzon as "the Uncrowned King of the Persian Gulf."[1] Whether Persia liked it or not, the political resident had naval forces at his disposal to suppress piracy, slave trading, and gun running, and to enforce quarantine regulations; he also could, and did, put landing parties and punitive expeditions ashore on the Persia coast. In 1822, the Bushehr and Basra residencies were combined, with Bushehr serving as headquarters for the new position of "British Resident for the Persian Gulf."[2] A chief political resident was the chief executive officer of the political unit, and he was subordinate to the Governor ofBombay until 1873 and theGovernor-General of India until 1947, when India became independent. In 1858, the East India Company’s agency was transferred to theIndia Office, who assumed authority of British foreign policy with Persian Gulf states: this responsibility went to theForeign Office on 1 April 1947.
British activity in the Persian Gulf was primarily commercial. Thus, the British Raj was slow to take action in protecting British and Indian shipping against raids fromQawasimpirates. By 1817, the Qawasim were spreading terror along the Indian coast to within 70 miles of Bombay. This threat generated a British military expedition in 1819, which crushed the Qawasim confederation and resulted in ratification of theGeneral Maritime Treaty on 5 January 1820. Through extension and modification, this treaty formed the basis of British policy in the Persian Gulf for a century and half. The ruler of Bahrain as well assheikhs along the northern coast of Oman pledged to maintain peace between their tribes and Britain and accepted clauses prohibitingslavery and cruel treatment of prisoners. The treaty further stipulated that the ships of maritime tribes would be freely admitted at British ports. While the treaty served British interests, because it was sensibly magnanimous and aimed at securing all parties' interests, it effectively ended piracy in the Persian Gulf. Articles 6 and 10 authorized the British Residency in the Persian Gulf to act as maritime police to administer the treaty's conditions and resolve tribal disputes. Article 7 condemned piracy among Arab tribes and implied a British obligation to maintain peace. The Trucial system took explicit form in 1835, when raids byBani Yas tribesmen –rivals of the Qawasim– led to a British-imposed truce during the summer pearling season. The truce was made year-long in 1838 and renewed annually until 1843 when it was extended for ten years.
The Trucial system received formal permanency with the 1853Perpetual Maritime Truce. The British policy of non-involvement in the internal affairs of the Trucialsheikhs was abandoned with passage of theExclusive Agreement in March 1892. This agreement prohibited the Trucial rulers from yielding territorial sovereignty without British consent. Britain, moreover, assumed responsibility for foreign relations and thus, by implication, their protection. This treaty marked Britain's shift from commercial to strategic priorities and formed the diplomatic pillar of British authority in the Trucial States.[3]
In the years followingWorld War I, the British continuously curtailed the Trucialsheikhs' capacity to act independently. This was partially a result of Britain shifting attention away fromIran, whereReza Shah's nationalist assertion of power undercut their hegemony. It also reflected growing commercial and imperial communications interests, such as air route facilities. For example, according to agreements concluded in February 1922, the Trucialsheikhs pledged themselves not to allow the exploitation of oil resources in their territories except by "persons appointed by the British government". Even more restrictive was the ultimatum issued by the political resident in 1937 requiring Trucial states to do business exclusively with Petroleum Concessions Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the London-basedIraq Petroleum Company, which was itself partly owned by theAnglo-Iranian Oil Company. Instead of reflecting higher demand for oil (Britain then had adequate supply), this ultimatum was designed to block other parties out of the economic and political affairs of the Trucial States.
In 1946, the Persian Gulf residency relocated to a new base in Bahrain. However, while Reza Shah succeeded in removing Britain from Iranian territory, his efforts to curtail their role in the Iranian oil industry backfired, and led to an extension of the concession operated by theAnglo-Iranian Oil Company.[4] From their new base in Bahrain, the British resident directed other political agents in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the Trucial States and Oman until those regions became independent.[5]
Indian independence saw the responsibility for the administration of the Gulf passed from the Indian Government in Bombay to theForeign Office in London and this demanded a more 'hands on' approach to issues such as slavery and gun running, particularly in the Trucial States, where in 1949 the role of 'Native Agent' – the Residency Agent in Sharjah – was terminated and a British Political Agency was opened in Dubai in 1954.[6]
On 1 April 1947, the British political residency came under the authority of the Foreign Office, 'graded' as an ambassador in the Persian Gulf. The political resident fulfilled his obligations by using a network of representatives known as political agents, operating in Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Additionally, political officers were retained for the remaining Trucial states, acting under the British Agency at Dubai. Foreign relations in Muscat were conducted by aConsul-General, who was also, administratively, answerable to the resident in Bahrain.[7] Through his political agents the resident preserved close connections with Persian Gulf rulers – simultaneously protecting their political and economic interests and the British government's on the basis of established treaties and agreements. According to Rupert Hay, thesheikhs enjoyed control over internal affairs, with Britain "ordinarily only exercises control in matters involving negotiations or the possibility of complications with foreign powers, such ascivil aviation, posts and telegraphs." However, Hay added that "constant advice and encouragement are… offered to various rulers regarding improvement of their administrations and development of their resources, mostly in an informal manner".[8]
The resident also administered Britishextraterritorial jurisdiction, which had been exercised in certain Persian Gulf territories since 1925. Extraterritorial jurisdiction was ceded to Britain in the 19th century by virtue of informal agreements with various rulers. In Muscat it was based on formal agreements that were renewed periodically. Extraterritorial jurisdiction was originally applied to all resident classes in Persian Gulf states, but was later limited to British subjects, Commonwealth nationals and non-Muslim foreigners. Britain relinquished extraterritorial jurisdiction in Kuwait on 4 May 1961, transferring jurisdiction over all classes of foreigners to Kuwaiti courts. British extraterritorial jurisdiction in the Persian Gulf was implemented in accordance with the British Foreign Jurisdiction Acts of 1890–1913, which empowered the Crown to establish courts and legislate for the categories of persons subject to jurisdiction by means of Orders in Council.
Regarding the resident's role in concluding concession agreements between rulers and foreign oil companies, Hay says: 'The oil companies naturally bulk largely in the political resident's portfolio. He has to closely watch all negotiations for new agreements or the amendment of existing agreements and ensure that nothing is decided which will seriously affect the position or the rulers of the British government…' He also refers to what he termspolitical agreements, to which, he says "oil companies’ are all bound… with the British government… in addition to their concession agreements with the rulers… One of the main objects of these, is to ensure that their relations with the rulers in all matters of importance are conducted through, or with, the knowledge of British political officers."[9]
In the correspondence of the Persian Gulf Residency, archived at theIndia Office Records and digitised by theQatar Digital Library, many regional figures are mentioned, including:
