"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٧‎٦‎٩] (١٧٨٢/٩١٢)

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769
In nothing 1 does the essentially Bedouin character of the subiects of
the Abu Dhabi Shaikh appear more distinctly than in the readiness with
which, on slight provocation, they abandon their homes and settle el^e
where. We have already noticed the permanent hiving-off of the A1
Bu Falasah in 1833 and the temporary secession of the Qubaisat in
1835-37 and 1849, and mention must now be made of a sustained effort
on the part of the Qubaisat to free themselves, by removal to a distance,
from the control of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi.
In 1869, for reasons not ascertained and therefore probably of slight
importance, a body of the Qubaisat under the leadership of Buti-bin-
Khadim once more forsook Abu Dhabi and established themselves in the
remote creek of 'Odaid
In 1871, in consequence of complaints by Shaikh Zaid that the
prosperity of Aim Dhabi was diminished by the competition of the
; Odaid settlement and that the latter had become a city of refuge for
fraudulently absconding debtors, Colonel Pelly, the British Resident in
the Gulf, made careful enquiries both personally and through his
Assistant, Major Smith, regarding the ownership of 'Odaid; the result
was to show that ■'Odaid itself, to which at this time no Shaikh of Qatar
so much as laid claim, was undoubtedly situated within the jurisdiction
of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi. The ^Odaid colonists, however, claimed to
form a state entirely independent of Abu Dhabi; they asserted that their
territory extended half way from 'Odaid to Wakrah on the side of Qatar,
and in the other direction as far as the island of Y as, and that it included
Dalmah and other adjacent islands formerly considered to belong to Abu
Dhabi; moreover, while they expressed a wish to continue under the
Tracial flag, they hinted not obscurely that, if their pretensions were not
admitted, they would place themselves under the protection of the '! urks^
who had now arrived in Qatar. Colonel Pelly asked that he might be
given instructions for dealing with the matter, inasmuch as the Shaikh
of Abu Dhabi, relying on the Perpetual Treaty of Peace of 1853, had
claimed his intervention as an arbitrator.
The orders of the Government of India, communicated in May
1872, were to the effect that no action by the Resident was called for
under the Maritime Truce, no attack having been made by sea upon the
Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, and that Colonel Pelly should not interfere
unless he apprehended a breach of the peace at sea between the parties;
but that he should report at once any overt action indicating an inten
tion on the part of the Turks to establish their supremacy at Odaid.
The position remained unchanged until 1873, when Colonel Ross,
who had meanwhile succeeded Colonel Pelly in charge of the C ju
Residency, reported an application by the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi 101 eave
to take naval action against the 'Odaid rebels : it was explained t a an
expedition by land was impracticable on account of physical p ,s ^ 06
Colonel Ross was inclined to think that refusal of sanction migu t row
the Shaikh himself into the arms of the Porte; but the Goveinmen o
India in reply directed him to avoid, if possible, giymg
Zand's request, and, in the opposite case, to inform him tha e f ,1
ment of India could not countenance, and would even pre\ 1 ^
proposed naval expedition. g8
Third seces-'
aion of the
Qubaisat to
'Odaid, 18G9-
80.
1869.
1871.
1872.
1873.