Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎185r] (374/794)

and 1865-66. During the whole of period they appear to have paid tribute to
Turkey ; notably in 1855, but also in 1859, they formally claimed to be Turkish
dependants, and in 1866 they appealed to Turkey. On the death of the Amir
Feisal in 1865 dissensions in the ruling house prepared the way for the invasion
£>f the Turks in 1870 and the fall of the Saudi dynasty. Throughout this period
Hie Trucial Sheikhs remain to a not inconsiderable extent under Wahabi influence,
but retain their independence, and from 1845 to 1869 the Wahabis are in possession
of Baraimi and use it as their base in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . The independence of
Bahrein (and with it the relative independence of Qatar) is consistently maintained;
Koweit falls outside the Wahabi sphere, and Muscat remains, as in the past, an
independent State.
III.—1870—1901. From the Fall of Baraimi and the Turkish Occupation of Hasa
to the Capture of Riyadh by Ibn Saud.
Abortive Wahabi Plans to recover Baraimi, 1870-1871.
124. It is unnecessary for the purpose of the matters now specially under
consideration to examine the history of this period in any very great detail.
Suffice it to say that in 1870-71 active steps were in contemplation by the Wahabi
Amirs for the restoration of Baraimi, which at one time caused some apprehension
to the Government of India and to the Trucial Sheikhs. In 1870 the Trucial
Sheikhs, having been approached by the Wahabi Amir with a view to an attack
on the fort, returned conciliatory answers, with the exception of Abu Dhabi. The
internecine quarrels of the Wahabi ruling family, closely followed by a Turkish
expedition into Nejd in 1870 to assist the Amir Abdulla against his brother Saud,
led to the abandonment of the prosecution of the war against Oman. Baraimi
remained under the control of Abu Dhabi; the Trucial Sheikhs emerged from any
form of Wahabi control or influence ; Wahabi influence outside Nejd and Hasa
disappeared, and matters remained in this state throughout the whole of the period
now under consideration.
Turkish Occupation of Hasa, 1871.
125. It may, however, be recorded that in 1870 the Amir Abdulla, having
been defeated by his brother, himself appealed to the Turks, with the result that
a Turkish expedition occupied Hasa in 1871. In the same year the Turks ceased,
•even in appearance, to act on behalf of the Amir Abdulla, and a notification was
issued that the “ El Saud has ceased to reign ” and that a Turkish official was
appointed Governor of Nejd, and the Amir Abdulla fled to Riyadh.
Wahabi Appeals to Great Britain, 1871-1873.
126. In September of 1871, Saud bin Feisal protested to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
against the activities of the Turks in the Gulf waters. He urged that the peace of
those waters was under British protection and begged for British arbitration, a
request which was refused. Between 1871 and 187 3 no fewer than four letters
were received by the Resident from Saud, in which he represented that he had
been “ easy as regards the sea coast in reliance to your answer, the sea being in
your charge and protection. . . . The sea is under charge of the Resident, and
I was careless about the sea owing to his word.” ... “ The Sircar ”... is
“bound to keep peace.” The Government of India informed the acting Resident
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , with reference to these letters, that unless Saud “ w T as a party
to the so-called maritime truce or had otherwise received assurances from the
British Government he was mistaken in supposing that the British Government
had undertaken to protect his territories from attack by sea.” The Resident was
instructed to report whether anything had been said or done at any time to
commit the British Government, directly or indirectly, to defend him or to use
their influence to prevent attacks being made upon him by sea. I he report when
received showed that Saud was not a party to the maritime truce and that the
British Government had in no way been committed to protecting him by sea.
Later communications from Saud showed that he now understood the position and
merely hoped for the good wishes and friendship of the British Government, and it
was left to the Resident in these circumstances to answer Saud’s latest letter, either
then or afterwards, in general terms, expressive of goodwill. “Should he again
P.R. to Bo.,
10.2.70.
G. of I. to
S. of S.,
Desp. 17,
22.2.70 ;
Desp. 19,
15.3.70.
Bo. to G. of
I, Desp. 147,
25.4.70.
Nejd Precis,
§ GO.
Secx-et
Proceedings,
Mar. 1872,
249, 252,
257, 259-66.
Secret
Proceedings,
Oct. 1873,
No. 441.
Nejd Precis,
§ 144-9.