Qatar / History / The Colonial Era

With the arrival of the Portuguese in East Africa and India in the fifteenth century, the pattern of dominance in the Gulf region changed dramatically. These conquerors established forts in the Gulf, thereby enabling them to control trade and levy duties on all ships using the sea route.

This situation continued until the early seventeenth century, when the British arrived on the scene, invited by a disgruntled Persian Shah, who no longer wished to pay revenues to the Portuguese. A period of on-off warfare ensued for a couple of centuries, until the British established their dominance in the nineteenth century, motivated by the desire to protect and enhance their trade routes to India.

During this period of shifting colonial influences, various tribes held sway in the Qatar / Bahrain area and Zubara became a town of considerable influence.

These tribes included the Al-Musallam, the Maahid, the Bani Ali and the Al Bu Kawara, in addition to various nomadic bedouin tribes.

Tribal society was ruled by the leader of each group, who held responsiblity and judicial authority over his people. Alliances ensured support for neighbours based on political expediency, but on the whole these tribes co-existed peacefully, each holding sway over its territory and peoples.

The settled tribes of the Qatar area were based around the coast, and largely engaged in fishing, pearling and trade, while the nomads of the interior wandered around on a seasonal basis, and were generally left undisturbed. It was during the latter part of this era that Doha came to prominence as an urban settlement.

In the late eighteenth century a new force within Islam rose to prominence in the Arabian peninsula. This was known as Wahhabism, after its founder Mohammed Ibn Abd Al Wahhab, and it sought to return Islam to its purest and strictest form, from which it was deemed to have strayed. The leader of the Ibn Saud tribes from the Riyadh area joined forces with Al-Wahhab and these tribes embarked upon an aggressive mission of conquest on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, inspired by their desire to spread the true word of Islam. The tenets of Wahhabism proved appealing to various local tribes in the Qatar region, notably the Al-Thani. However, the Al-Khalifas of Bahrain, who currently ruled in the region, did not embrace the new religious principles, and moved to invade the peninsula of Qatar as a result.

This was fiercely resisted by the Al-Thani and their followers, and by the early 1890's Qatar was established as an isolated Wahhabi community on the east coast. This proved highly significant for the subsequent history of the country, and established the Al-Thani for the first time as a dominant ruling entity in the region.

Around the same time, the British Political Resident for the Gulf (appointed by the East India Company) came to Qatar for the first time, extending his support for the Al-Thani against the Al-Khalifa.

In 1868 an agreement was signed between the Resident and Mohammed Al-Thani, whereby the British offered protection in return for a guarantee of peace by the local residents. This treaty gave stature and prominence to Mohammed Al-Thani and contributed to the rise of influence of his family in the area.

Shortly thereafter, the Ottoman Turks invaded the Arabian peninsula, and Qatar came under their rule. The head of the Al-Thani by this time was Mohammed's son Qasim, who accepted Ottoman rule, counterbalancing this against maintaining links with the British.

Matters continued peacefully until 1893, when the Turks moved against Doha and a battle ensued, which, against the odds, the Al-Thani tribes won. This victory established yet more firmly the hegemony of the Al-Thani and gave the newly emerging country a sense of independence and political cohesion. For the first time, roads were built and a few religious schools were established.

Although the Ottomans continued to dominate the region, their direct inflluence was scarcely felt in Qatar itself.

In 1913 the Wahhabis, under the leadership of Ibn Saud, underwent a resurgence and reasserted their influence in the eastern part of Arabia, driving the Ottoman Turks from the area.

Shortly afterwards, Abdulla, the son of Qasim Al-Thani, succeeded his father and decided to cast his lot in with the British. An exclusive treaty was signed in 1916 whereby Qatar agreed not to enter into political relations with any other power without the permission of the British, and agreed not to engage in piracy or slave trading, while the British guaranteed the safety of Qatar by land and sea. Under the terms of this treaty, Abdulla was recognised as the independent ruler of Qatar, and the hegemony of the Al-Thani was formally established.