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ABSTRACT
This article examines the economic and political impact of the Second World War upon a small outpost of Britain’s informal empire. It analyses the multiple ways in which the economy, trade and governance of the Trucial Coast were disrupted, disturbed and challenged by the exceptional circumstances of the war. In response to these circumstances, a variety of emergency arrangements were introduced, resulting in an unprecedented degree of involvement of outsiders and foreign agencies in the management of the local economy. The transformation of Britain’s traditional policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of the Trucial Coast is traced back to the exigencies of wartime conditions.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Silverfarb, Britain’s Informal Empire; Glen Balfour Paul, ‘Britain’s Informal Empire in the Middle East’, in Louis and Brown, eds, Oxford History; Onley, ‘Britain’s Informal Empire’, 29–45; von Bismarck, British Policy.
2 Gallagher and Robinson, ‘Imperialism of Free Trade’, 1–15.
3 Webster, Debate on Rise of Empire, 73.
4 Ibid.
5 Onley, ‘Britain’s Informal Empire’, 36.
6 See Blyth, Empire of the Raj.
7 Ibid.,10.
8 Ibid., 7.
9 There is one paragraph devoted to wartime in Heard-Bey, From Trucial States. The period is not covered in either Morsy Abdullah, The United Arab Emirates, or Hawley, The Trucial States. There are a few incidental references in the short, final chapter of Zahlan, The Origins.
10 Robert Vitalis and Steven Heydemann, ‘War, Keynesianism, and Colonialism’, in Heydemann, ed., War, Institutions and Social Change, 114.
11 Note from Gibson (India Office) for circulation to Sub-Committee, 4 May 1938, L/P&S/12/3896A, India Office Records (hereafter IOR), British Library (hereafter BL),
12 Ibid.
13 Letter from Government of India, 8 Nov., 1938, L/P&S/12/3896A, IOR, BL.
14 Memorandum by Major R. G. Price, L/P&S/12/3935, IOR, BL.
15 Letter from Peel to Howes, 29 Aug. 1939, L/P&S/12/3938, IOR, BL.
16 Report by Lt. Colonel Prior, 1 Feb. 1940, R/15/1/281, IOR, BL.
17 Memorandum from Political Agent to Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, 10 Aug. 1942, R/15/2/180, IOR, BL.
18 Ibid.
19 Jackson, The British Empire, 44.
20 Behrens, Merchant Shipping, 204.
21 Letter from Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to Government of India, 8 May 1942, R/15/4/13, IOR, BL.
22 Behrens, Merchant Shipping, 206.
23 Telegram from Viceroy of India to Secretary of State for India, 26 Dec. 1942, L/P&S/12/786, IOR, BL.
24 Telegram from Political Agent to Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, 3 Jan.1944, R/15/2/781, IOR, BL.
25 Telegram from Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to various, 24 Dec. 1943, R/15/2/781, IOR, BL.
26 Telegram from Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to India Office, 28 July 1944, R/15/2/785, IOR, BL.
27 ‘Intelligence Summary of the Political Agent, Bahrain for the period 1st to 15th November 1942’, in Political Diaries, 332.
28 Telegram from Secretary of State for India to Government of India, 22 Sept. 1943, L/P&S/12/786, IOR, BL.
29 Telegram from Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to Secretary of State for India, 26 Nov. 1943, L/P&S/12/786, IOR, BL.
30 Letter from Political Officer, Sharjah to Political Agent, Bahrain, 10 Nov. 1943, R/15/2/781, IOR, BL.
31 Report by Political Agent, Bahrain, for period 1–15 December 1943, R/15/2/315, IOR, BL.
32 Telegram from Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to various, 24 Dec. 1943, R/15/2/781, IOR, BL.
33 Telegram from Government of India to Secretary of State for India, 29 Dec. 1943, L/P&S/12/786, IOR, BL.
34 Ibid.
35 Behrens, Merchant Shipping, 436.
36 ‘Administration Report of the Bahrain Agency and the Trucial Coast for the Year 1943’, in Persian Gulf Administration Reports, vol. 10.
37 Ibid.
38 Notes on supply and distribution of cereals on the Trucial Coast, R/15/2/781, IOR, BL.
39 Memorandum by Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, 12 Feb. 1944, R/15/2/766, IOR, BL.
40 Letter from Political Officer, Sharjah to Political Agent, Bahrain, 12 April 1944, R/15/2/770, IOR, BL.
41 ‘Administration Report of the Bahrain Agency and the Trucial Coast for the Year 1944’, in Persian Gulf Administration Reports, vol. 10.
42 Report by Political Agent, Bahrain for period 1–15 Dec. 1943, R/15/2/315, IOR, BL.
43 ‘Administration Report of the Bahrain Agency and the Trucial Coast for the Year 1944’, Persian Gulf Administration Reports, vol. 10.
44 ‘Intelligence Summary of the Political Agent, Bahrain for the period 16th to 30th June 1943’, Political Diaries, 528.
45 ‘Intelligence Summary of the Political Agent, Bahrain for the period 16th to 31st May 1944’, Political Diaries, 528.
46 ‘Administration Report of the Bahrain Agency and the Trucial Coast for the Year 1944’, Persian Gulf Administration Reports, vol. 10.
47 Memorandum from Residency Agent, Sharjah, to Political Agent, Bahrain, 17 Feb. 1943, R/15/2/1808, IOR, BL.
48 Memorandum from Political Officer, Sharjah, to Political Agent, Bahrain, 5 May 1943, R/15/2/1808, IOR, BL.
49 Letter from Political Agent, Bahrain, to Political Officer, Sharjah, 20 May 1943, R/15/2/1808, IOR, BL.
50 ‘Intelligence Summary of the Political Agent, Bahrain for the period 16th to 31st October 1945’, Political Diaries, 538.
51 ‘Administration Report of the British Agency, Sharjah for the Year 1949’, Persian Gulf Administration Reports, vol. 11, 96–97.
52 Blyth, Empire of the Raj, 2.
53 Webster, Debate on Rise of Empire, 76.
54 Lloyd, Food and Inflation, 327.