'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎10r] (24/180)

9
In 1798 Saiyid Sultan of 'Oman made peace with the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. in order to
facilitate the enforcement of certain claims which he had against the Turkish
authorities at Basrah; with the settlement of the Turko-'Oman dispute there was
a return to the normal state of warfare between the two Arab powers, and Saiyid
Sultan made a naval attack, which was beaten off, on the Qasimi seaport of Dibah.
In 1799 an attempt on Sohar was made by the Na'im and Bani Qitab tribes,
assisted by Bani Yas from Dibai; but the invaders were defeated at Liwa, with
great loss, by the Saiyids Sultan and Qais of 'Oman.
In 1880, as related in the history of the 'Oman Sultanate, an advanced force
of the Wahhabis, who had lately annexed the oases of Hasa and Qatif, arrived
in Baraimi. The leader of the expedition immediately took measures for a
permanent occupation of the place, which he must have seen to be admirably
adapted for controlling all western 'Oman, and succeeded in attracting some of
the neighbouring Bedouin tribes to his standard; and the ruler of Masqat and
the Shaikh of Ras-al-Khaimah—though they sunk for the moment their hereditary
differences, consulted together, and even tried conclusions with the newcomers in
the field—were unable to rid themselves of their presence. The wilder tribes of
'Oman continued to flock to the standard of the Wahhabi invaders, and, by the
middle of 1802, the whole eastern coast of Arabia from the neighbourhood of
Basrah to Dibah in the Gulf of 'Oman was reported to acknowledge their authority.
In 1803 the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. , under pressure from their Wahhabi masters, took the sea
against their late ally, Saiyid Sultan; and they probably had their share in a raid
on the island of Qishm, then a dependency of Masqat, which was ravaged in the
same year at the instigation of the Wahhabis.
Relations
with Masqat,
1798-99.
Establish
ment of ths
Wahhabis
in 'Oman,
1800-03.
Increase of Piracy, 1804-05.
The establishment of the Wahhabis at Baraimi was followed by an increase Alleged
of piracy and lawlessness at sea, which in India was ascribed chiefly to their Qf S f h 0 e nslblllty
influence; but a dispassionate study of the facts, after the laps of more than a wahhabis
hundred years, by no means confirms the extreme contemporary view that the
Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. , in the incidents which now took place, were mere unwilling instruments
in the hands of the Wahhabis. The natural character of the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. , as
proclaimed by their conduct in 1778-79 and 1797, and the policy of the Bombay
Government, which will shortly appear from the sequel, were such that it appears
almost superfluous to search for any further explanation of events in the working
of Wahhabi influences; and it must be remembered that force majeure on the
part of the Wahhabis afforded a convenient and unverifiable excuse for acts which
nothing could justify.
In 1804 a number of English gentlemen and Indian British subjects, who had The "Fly"
been captured by a French privateer* and released at Bushehr, were making the case ' 1804 -
passage from that place to Bombay in a native vessel, when, between Tunb Island
and Ras Musandam, they were captured by Qasimi pirates after a resistance in
which several of their number were wounded. Some of the party had belonged
to the H.E.I. Company's cruiser " Fly ", which, on being pursued by the French
vessel, had been run ashore on Qais Island, the treasure and despatches that she
carried being at the same time thrown overboard in shallow water; and on their
way down the Gulf the travellers had made shift to recover the " Fly's " despatches,
but had been obliged to leave the treasure behind. Finding that they were held
prisoners at Ras-al-Khaimah without hope of release, they volunteered, on
condition of receiving their liberty, to enable the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. to recover the sunken
treasure of the " Fly ", which they did; but the Arabs then proceeded to a general
massacre of the inhabitants of Qais and afterwards departed, leaving the released
prisoners to their fate upon the deserted island. In the end, out of a once numerous
company, only two—Mr. Jowl or Yowl, an officer of the mercantile marine, and
a seaman named Fennel—survived to reach Bombay and deliver the carefully
preserved despatches of the "Fly"; the rest mostly perished between Qais and
Bushehr, some by shipwreck and others from the hardships of the way.
The death of Saiyid Sultan of Masqat at the hands of the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. in 1804
is related in another place.
* This ship was " La Fortune " of 38 guns. Captain Surcouff, afterwards taken by H.M.S.
" Concorde ".