British policy towards the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, 1757-1914

Abstract

The present work deals with the study of British policy towards the Red Sea and Persian Gulf during the Period 1757-1914 AD. This period is significant in view of Britain s influence over both the above channels of commerce, navigation and her hold on its Indian colony. The region lay between England and India and Britain s other eastern possession. This work has been divided into seven chapters. Chapter one relates to geopolitical and commercial significance of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. It also broadly deals with the physical features, land masses and the structural outlook of Middle Eastern region, taking into account the strategic and commercial importance of ports, harbours, the Gulf of Oman etc. From this survey, it appears that European powers which had hold over Persian Gulf and Red sea channels were bound, sooner or later, to have control over the economically rich countries of the Middle East. Due to this, British alone were not the only trading and the imperial nation as the French, Russia and Germany too were very active in that region. Before embarking upon colonising and establishing hold over the two channels and the other strategic points in the region, British initiated a process of building influence and concluding agreements which other European powers also followed. This chapter also discusses expansion of wahhabis as a local regional power in 2nd half of the 18th century down to the turn of the 19th century. They extended their hold over Iraq, Mesopotamia, Syria and Hejaz. Mohammad Ali Pasha of Egypt, however, was induced to suppress them by force. Since the early 18th century Britain s all out endeavour was to maintain control over the sea route from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, not to mention the commercial interest in the Persian Gulf region only. Piratical activities supposedly encouraged by Wahhabis led Britain to make bilateral agreement with rulers of the Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and Wahhabis.