File 3939/1926 Pt 6 'Revision of Aitchison's Treaties. Persian Gulf Section.' [‎616r] (667/818)

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PERSIAN GTTLF—Bahfeiii.
2. Bahrein.
■s^&P±SZ.:
The island of Bahrein, owing to the richness of its pearl-fisheries, Waa
long a field of contention between the different powers that have held 1
supremacy in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
From the eleventh to the beginning of the sixteenth century the in
habitants of Bahrein, to whom an Arab and Persian descent has been
.variously assigned, were subject to Chiefs of their own race. In the time
of Albuquerque the island fell into the hands of the Portuguese and was
retained by them till 1622, when they were expelled by the Persians.
After the death of Karim Khan in 1779, the petty Chiefs of the Persian
Gulf, who had been kept in check by the strong hand of Nadir Shah and
his successors, became involved in contests for supremacy: and in 1783
the Atubi tribe of Arabs, who had for some years inhabited Zobara on
the mainland and were virtually independent, made themselves, with the
help of the A1 Sabah tribe, masters of the island. In 1800 the Imam of
Muscat succeeded in conquering Bahrein, but was driven out in the fol
lowing year by the Atubis (Arabic plural: IJtub), who were on this oc
casion assisted by the Wahabis. In 1810 the Atubis drove out the Wah
abi governor by whom the administration of the island was conducted,
and in 1816 repelled an attack by the ruler of Muscat. Since then the
JAtubis ha've remained paramount in the island, though at various times
they professed allegiance to Muscat, the Wahabis, Turkey and Persia.
In 1820, after the capture of Ras-al-Khaimah by the expedition sent
against the piratical tribes in the Gulf, an authorized agent on behalf of
Shaikhs Sulaiman bin Ahmad and Abdulla bin Ahmad, who then ruled
Bahrein conjointly, signed a preliminary Engagement (No. VIII) not to
permit in Bahrein the sale of property procured by plunder and piracy,
and to restore all Indian prisoners then in their possession. The Shaikhs
also subscribed the general treaty of 1820 (see Trucial Arab Chiefs of
Oman, No. XIX) for the pacification of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
In 1821 the Chiefs of Bahrein agreed to pay a fixed annual tribute of
30,000 crowns to the ruler of Muscat; but the guarantee of the British:
Government, for which both parties were anxious, was not given. Sub
sequently the tribute was reduced to 18,000 crowns, but ceased with the
failure of an attack made on the island by Saiyid Said in 1828. In
1830 tribute was demanded by the Wahabis, and their protection was
purchased by an annual payment of 4,000 crowns. Three years later the
Chief of Bahrein refused allegiance to the Wahabis, induced the neigh
bouring tribes to make incursions into their territory, and blockaded their
ports. The dispute terminated by his promising to pay them a tribute
of 2,000 dollars, on the understanding that they would assist him against
any invaders of Bahrein, and would not demand his co-operation against
Muscat. In 1839 the commander of the Egyptian forces in the neigh-