File 522/1922 Pt 4 'Persian Gulf: Bahrein: Internal' [‎101v] (207/616)

mentioned in the above paragraph, t.e., the international aspect, the second dealing
with the facts which led to our taking so intimate a part m the internal administra-
tion of the Islands and with the degree to which that interference has now reached.
The first despatch is bound to be a long one. When I say that the important
dates which we have to consider today are 1783, 1803, 1811, 1820, 1822,1838,1848 *
3 859 1869, 1880,1886 and 1892, while many other dates of almost equal importance
occur, it will be seen that a period is covered during which constant activity Was
kept up, which cannot be disposed of in a few pages, and of w hich activity every
incident which I quote has an important bearing on the decisions and the opinions
to be formed.
5. In this despatch then I will deal with the history of the Shaikhdom for the
last 150 years, showing how T Bahrain became involved in our policy in the Persian
Gulf and the facts upon which Persia bases its claim to the Island, a claim wdiichshe
has never dropped though it is a century and a half since she has had any form of
jurisdiction in the place.
In actually both the Wahabis and the Sultan of Muscat have had far more
recent possession of the Islands and the claim of Persia has been kept alive by purely
diplomatic or fictitious incidents which have occurred through the difficulties in
which the Shaikhs of Bahrain have found themselves, either in preserving their
independence, or in meeting the activities of rival pretenders to the Shaikhdom.
The claims of Persia wmuld not intrinsically stand the test of examination bv
a committee of the League of Nations.
6. For the purpose before us it is necessary to go back to the year 1782 at which
date Behrain was unquestionably in possession of the Persians, who had first
occupied it in 1602, when they expelled the Portuguese. How long they held it
has apparently not been determined, but in 1718 the Islands were taken for a short
time by the Omani Sultanate. In the middle of the 18th century the Howalah
Arabs controlled the politics of the archipelago, but in 1753 the Persians definitely
occupied the Islands. In 1783 they w r ere once for all driven out by the Arabs led
by the Shaikhs of the Utb tribe, who still hold Bahrain today.
7. When it is said at any time that the Persians held the Bahrain Islands, the
expression needs explanation. Until as recently as 1854 Bushire, from whence the
sea power came, w r as held by an Arab Shaikh under Persian sovereignty, and to this
day the Persian Islands of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. are occupied by Arabs and Arab Shaikhs
who are similarly Persian subjects. These are the men who supplied the ships and
the crew s which acted for the Persians in Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. history ; the Persians have
never been seamen.
^ j ^ us ! n 1783 Bahrain w r as held by the Arab Sheikh Nasir of Bushire, under
the orders of the Persian Government, then settled at Shiraz. The garrison when
attac hed by the Arabs from the Southern mainland was commanded by Shaik
. asir s son and after a siege of two months duration the latter capitulated on the
2/th July and the garrison were permitted to return to Bushire.
Henceforward the archipelago was ruled by the A1 Khalieh section of the Utbi
ri e, a ac which gave umbrage to the Jatahmieh section of the tribe who with-
11° ar ont f e mainlan d> whence the Utb had come, and who for many years
-r r ° claimants or joined in with other claimants for the attacks on the
a • r A " yC£U ’ tne Persian Arab Shaikhs of Bushire and lionnu
Bahrain ma( ^ e preparations on a large scale for an attack o
but flip py nv e Ibe Qowasim on the Pirate Coast was to take pad
broken i ln k! +i! 01 j ne ^ er ® a Ped. In 1785 similar preparations were made but wer
broken up by the death of Ali Morad Khan of Shiraz.
Bahrain^rpm!?? 6 ( ? omes ^ c difficulties of the Shiraz Government which follower
fleet and thpnrp 6 during which time it acquired a great mercantil
cial emporium oftrkvesterU“tKranbulb 67 beCame ^ C ° mmeI
Bahrain to the C