Qatar : A « colony » of the British Empire

« Qatar : A « colony » of the British Empire     Simple context Benefits of Qatar for England The British Protectorate Qatar’s independence Qatar is a Middle Eastern emirate of 11,586km2, its capital is Doha An emirate is a politically united territory that is ruled by an emir. Qatar is located on a small peninsula jutting into the  Simple context In the early 19th century, Britain became a colonial force along the East African coast and the Persian Gulf.

At the time, there was no centralized authority in Qatar; the country was governed by a variety of disparate tribes.

At the end of the 19th century, Qatar was The British maritime trade was more interested in developing direct settlements in Egypt for example, as this allowed it to oversee the final touches to the Suez Canal to secure trade routes from the Mediterranean to  Benefits of Qatar for England Actually, Qatar was not a British colony but Britain found advantages in linking up with Qatar.

Firstly, the British saw Qatar and the Persian Gulf as a strategic middle ground for their colonial interests in India, and secondly, in the early 20th century, oil had become one of the most important resources Britain therefore thought it might be beneficial to take advantage of Qatar's vast oil fields to fuel its war efforts and increase its military and heavy assault vehicle production. An old oil installation in north-west Qatar.  The British Protectorate It was thus in 1916, two years after the beginning of the First World War and shortly after the break between Qatar and the Ottoman Empire, that the United Kingdom signed a protectorate with Qatar and recognised Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani to place Qatar under its truce administration system. Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani Under the terms of the treaty, the ruler agreed not to cede any of his territories except to the UK, and not to enter into relations with any foreign government without British consent. In return, the British promised to protect Qatar from aggression by sea and to assist in.... »