The End of Empire in the Gulf: From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates

Description

With the end of the British Raj in 1947, the Foreign Office replaced the Government of India as the department responsible for the Persian Gulf, and would proceed to manage relations with the Trucial States (now the United Arab Emirates, UAE) until British withdrawal in 1971. This work is a comprehensive history of British policy in the region during that period, situated for the first time in its broad historical and political context. Tancred Bradshaw – an academic historian with extensive experience in the region – sheds light onto the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in the 1950s, Foreign Office attempts to instigate a long-term development policy in the region, the slow end of the British Empire, the origins of the UAE and – most importantly – the British legacy in this geopolitically crucial region today. The book relies on 40,000 pages of archival material, much of it previously unused, and will be of interest to Imperial historians, as well as anyone working on the history and politics of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Illustrations Acknowledgements Maps Introduction Terminology Organisation of the book Sources 1 Benign neglect India and the Gulf States Political control in the Gulf Sheikhly rule and tribes in the Trucial States before oil Conclusion 2 The neo-Raj The transformation of the Gulf in the post-war era The establishment of the Trucial Oman Levies The origins of the development policy The implications of the Buraimi Crisis The expansion of the development programme Conclusion 3 The consolidation of British influence The ‘last ditch of British imperialism’ in the Middle East Arab nationalism and the Iraqi threat of Kuwait Relations with the rulers The Arabian Department and the Trucial States The economic development of the Trucial States Conclusion 4 Responsibility without power Domestic influences on policy in the Trucial States The threat of the Arab League Overthrowing Shakhbut Security forces and intelligence in the Trucial States The economic development of the Trucial States Conclusion 5 All politics and no strategy The response to the Labour Government’s policy reversal Defence and security forces in the Trucial States The Foreign Office and cooperation between the rulers of the protected states, 1968–71 The Conservative Government and the formation of the UAE Saudi and Iranian attitudes towards the UAE Implementing the withdrawal Economic and social development Conclusion 6 Epilogue Political relations Military and security relations after independence The UAE–Saudi boundary dispute The British re-engage in the UAE Conclusion Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index