10BEFORE OILsailed away amid the crumbling of the imperium in 1971. They were
interested in Arabia for its strategic location on trade routes between
Europe and India. The British imposed their dominance around a series
of truces, starting in 1835, which granted protection and political back-
ing for ruling sheikhs who relinquished control over foreign affairs and
trade. The last of these was signed with Qatar in 1916.^3
While the Ottomans and British were rival intruders, they presided
over a crucial change in the system of tribal rule on the peninsula. Before
their arrival, communities in Arabia were not organized under the cur-
rent system of hereditary sheikhly rule. Instead, a more ad hoc system
prevailed, where the head of a respected family agreed to mediate dis-
putes and manage relations with neighbors and distant powers.^4
British and Ottoman treaty relations amended the old system. The
British had a particular problem with ill- defined tribal rule and nebu-
lous concepts of territorial control. They wanted to deal with identifi-
able rulers who controlled sovereign territory with clear boundaries.^5
Since these institutions did not exist, the British created them. British
authorities gave political and financial backing to sheikhs who followed
the terms of the queen’s treaties. Once imperial powers recognized a local
sheikh, they had vested interests in ensuring that “their” ruler and his
family remained in control to enforce the treaty. This practice had the
effect of solidifying and, later, legitimizing hereditary rule.
Afterward, British surveyors laid out borders between sheikhdoms
that have, in many cases, become accepted international boundaries.
These practices allowed the Gulf sheikhs to extend control over their ter-
ritories and encouraged the settlement and loyalty of nomadic tribes.
SIX INDEPENDENT MONARCHIESBy the time the British folded their flags and set sail from the region in
1971, six independent Persian Gulf monarchies had emerged. Over time,
the six have developed strong governing institutions and, for the most
part, remained politically stable through momentous social and