"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٣‎٥‎٤] (١٧٨٢/٤٩٧)

Relations of
Britain with
Qatar.
Ill
Muladmiuis-
tration of the
Bahrain
customs.
354j
representations beinc? made by His Britannic Majesty's Embassy at Con-
stantinople, tlie Porte undertook to maintain the status quo in Qatar, can
celled the appointment, and withdrew from other projected encroachments.
Meanwhile, since 1900, Ahmad, one of the Shaikhs of Qatar, had been
in correspondence with the British representative in Bahrain, his object
beinu; to obtain British protection in return for an undertaking on his
part to maintain maritime security near the coast and co-operate generally
with the British Government, It was considered, however, in 1903, that
the promise given by the Porte to abstain from disturbing the stain ({no
in Qatar involved h corresponding obligation on the part of Britain not to
enter ink) a fresh agreement with any Qatar Shaikh ; and the negotiations
ended in nothing.
Affairs and foreign relations of Bahrain, 1899-1905.
The principal event in Bahrain affairs during the period was a rupture
between the ruling Shaikh and the British Government, which various
causes contributed to bring about.
In 1899 it was calculated that the trade of Bahrain had increased in less
than ten years, under the fostering protection of Britain, by 40 per cent. ;
but the Shaikh owing to mismanagement of the Bahrain customs, which he
invariably farmed out to merchants, had benefited little by the prosperity
of the port. He was strongly and repeatedly advised to adopt a better
system but obstinately evaded doing so, and his pecuniary difficulties, by
which the administration of his principality suffered more than he did per
sonally, remained unrelieved.
This controversy somewhat disturbed the relations of the Shaikh with
the British political representative in Bahrain ; but the open breach, which
occurred in 1904, had nothing to do with the customs question. For some
years the Shaikh had been on bad terms with one of his nephews, named
Ali ; and the latter, of whom the Shaikh was really afraid, had taken to
evil courses and began to trouble the public peace bv his behaviour. At
length, in September 1904, a serious aggression was committed by 'Ali on
h German tlrm at Bahrain; and in November a riot and general attack
upon the Persians in Manamah town occurred, for which his servants and
dependents were responsible. The Shaikh was at once called to account for
these outrages, and in the case of the German firm a satisfactory settle
ment was reached without serious difficulty or delay. But in the case of
the Persians the course in which the Shaikh persisted showed that he had