For over 150 years, from 1820 up to the foundation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, Britain and the emirates of the eastern Arabian Peninsula were linked by a relationship that was unique when compared to colonial models exercised elsewhere. From the signing of the General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Gulf in 1820, through to the oil and aviation concession agreements penned during the mid- to late-20th century, formal treaties and agreements with the rulers of the various emirates formed the basis of Britain’s long influence in the region, and are discussed in detail in this study. It also explores the evolution of the area’s first security force in the early 1950s—the Trucial Oman Levies (TOL), which played a key role in the security and development of the emirates. The study discusses in some detail the evolution of the Trucial States Council, from its formation in 1952, up to 1965 when the rulers of the emirates assumed the revolving chairmanship of the Council for the first time. Through its various committees, the Council played a critical role in overseeing the socio-economic development of the emirates, allocating and directing the developmental, medical and educational aid provided by Britain. Through these focus areas, this book provides a unique analysis of the role played by Britain in the internal administration of the Trucial States up to 1965, offering both scholars and casual readers valuable insight into the early administrative developments which would ultimately form the foundations of the United Arab Emirates as a modern-day federation.

With the end of the British Raj in 1947, the Foreign Office replaced the Government of India as the department responsible for the Persian Gulf, and would proceed to manage relations with the Trucial States (now the United Arab Emirates, UAE) until British withdrawal in 1971. This work is a comprehensive history of British policy in the region during that period, situated for the first time in its broad historical and political context. Tancred Bradshaw – an academic historian with extensive experience in the region – sheds light onto the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in the 1950s, Foreign Office attempts to instigate a long-term development policy in the region, the slow end of the British Empire, the origins of the UAE and – most importantly – the British legacy in this geopolitically crucial region today. The book relies on 40,000 pages of archival material, much of it previously unused, and will be of interest to Imperial historians, as well as anyone working on the history and politics of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.

General study of the United Arab Emirates - covers historical aspects, demographic aspects, political aspects, geographical aspects, political problems, the role of European powers, treatys with britain and the role of UK foreign policy, the economy, the petroleum industry, economic development patterns, etc. Maps, references and statistical tables.

With the end of the British Raj in 1947, the Foreign Office replaced the Government of India as the department responsible for the Persian Gulf, and would proceed to manage relations with the Trucial States (now the United Arab Emirates, UAE) until British withdrawal in 1971. This work is a comprehensive history of British policy in the region during that period, situated for the first time in its broad historical and political context. Tancred Bradshaw – an academic historian with extensive experience in the region – sheds light onto the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in the 1950s, Foreign Office attempts to instigate a long-term development policy in the region, the slow end of the British Empire, the origins of the UAE and – most importantly – the British legacy in this geopolitically crucial region today. The book relies on 40,000 pages of archival material, much of it previously unused, and will be of interest to Imperial historians, as well as anyone working on the history and politics of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.

The creation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 ended a century and a half of the existence of the Trucial States in special treaty relations with Britain. This book, first published in 1978, describes the evolution of tribes and their rulers’ authority over time, and the tribes’ treaties with Britain as it sought to exercise imperial control over its trade routes. Analysing changes to society as well as the politics of the region, this book analyses the formation of the United Arab Emirates.