'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎37v] (79/384)

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During Lord Curzon’s Yiccroyalty the pentarchy of Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. enjoyed,
under British protection, almost undis-
Truciai Oman. turbed quietude in its external relations.
The foreign dealings of this Arab confederacy are chiefly with the opposite
coast of Persia, and at the beginning of the period some distrust of the Trucial
Chiefs was felt by the Persian authorities, who lived in fear of Arab reprisals
for the expulsion of the hereditary Arab Zabit of Lingah,—a measure carried
out by the Persian Government early in 1899, not without treachery. Every
precaution was taken by the Britisli authorities to prevent the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
from becoming the base for an Arab raid on Lingab, hut the Persian Governor
of the Gulf Torts nevertheless attempted to detach the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi
from the rest of the Trucial Chiefs, and succeeded in inducing him to adopt a
special flag instead of the Trucial flag prescribed in one of his engagements with
Great Britain ; this intrigue, however, was of short duration, for the Sheikh,
on being admonished through the British 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. , discontinued his
improper relations with Persia and the use of the new flag. In 1901 an
Arab vessel, having been driven by stress of weather into the neighbour
hood of Henjam island, was seized by the Persian Customs authorities who
unjustly, though not illegally, confiscated certain rifles and ammunition on
hoard, the property of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi. Lord Curzon, who con
sidered their restoration necessary in order to maintain the prestige of the
British 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. at Bushire as representative in Persia of the interests
of the Trucial Chiefs, pressed the matter through the medium of the British
Legation at Tehran with the result that the arms were at length returned in
1903. A serious incident occurred in the spring of 1904, w r hen Persian Cus
toms officials suddenly occupied the islands of Abu Musa and Tanb, belonging
to the Sheikhdom of Shargah, and hauled down the flag of the Sheikh w ho had
hoisted it in the previous year, in accordance with the advice of the Govern
ment of India, for the express purpose of preventing a Persian usurpation.
Lord Curzon urged the removal of the Persian flags and employes by means of
a British gunboat, but His Majesty’s Government preferred a diplomatic
treatment of the question ; a protest w r as accordingly lodged at Tehran which
resulted in the withdrawal of the Persian posts and the replacement of the Arab
flag after an interval of about three months only. About the same time the
political status of Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. came into question between Britain and France
in consequence of an attempt by the French Vice-Consul at Maskat to press
the claim of an alleged Irench subject on the Sheikh of Dibai; in accordance
with a suggestion made by Lord Curzon the position w r as explained to the
French Government who immediately agreed to the settlement of the claim
by the intermediary of the British political authorities. Shortly before Lord
/"'i 1 * 1 ? "xi • _ _ t ^ rran^,em ents were made to supply the Trucial
Chiefs w ith copies oi their agreements with the British Government and with
a translation of the speech made by Lord Curzon at the Shargah Darbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). ,
and to provide them from time to time with flags of the pattern prescribed by
their agreement of lb 20,—in rigid adherence to w hich some of them had, through
indolence and apathy, show n themselves remiss.
The traditional British policy of absention from interference in the internal
affairs of the Irueial Coast was observed by Lord Curzon, except in one
instance. In 1900 the headman of Fujeirah, the most influential personage
on the coast-once already mentioned—between Khor Kalba and Dibba, attempt
ed to throw off his allegiance to the Sheikh of Shargah and opened negotiations
with the Sultan of Maskat. These events led, as w r e have already noted, to the
formal recognition by the British Government of this strip of coast as a part
of the Shargah Shaikhdom. In 1902 an attempt w^as made by the local
British authorities to arrange the Fujeirah dispute, and Lord Curzon in his
i-hargah address exhorted the disputants to seek an amicable settlement; but
conclusion^ 11 ^ U ^ e ^ ra ^ 1 ' vas °kstinate, and the matter was not pressed to a
The era was one of peace and progress in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , and the town of
J Dai in particular, profiting by the mismanagement of the Persian Customs
™ attracting to itself a large proportion of the
ot ^ 1 Ӥ al1 and m becoming a port of call for two lines of steamers
as well as the chief pearl mart, after Bahrein, of the whole Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .