Editing Oman (section)

==== British de facto colonisation ====
The [[British empire]] was keen to dominate southeast Arabia to stifle the growing power of other European states and to curb the Omani maritime power that grew during the 17th century.<ref name=BOR/><ref name=OQ/> The British empire over time, starting from the late 18th century, began to establish a series of treaties with the sultans with the objective of advancing British political and economic interest in Muscat, while granting the sultans military protection.<ref name=OQ/><ref name=BOR>{{cite news |url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/close-relationship-britain-and-oman-1750|title=A Close Relationship: Britain and Oman Since 1750 |author=Dr Francis Owtram |publisher=QDL|date=11 December 2014 |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308192336/https://www.qdl.qa/en/close-relationship-britain-and-omamn-1750 |url-status=live}} 2014.</ref> In 1798, the first treaty between the British [[East India Company]] and the Albusaidi dynasty was signed by Sayyid Sultan bin Ahmed. The treaty aimed to block commercial competition of the French and the Dutch as well as obtain a concession to build a British factory at [[Bandar Abbas]].<ref name=HOIOO>[Joseph A. Kechichian "Oman and the World: The Emergence of an Independent Foreign Policy" RAND 1995]</ref><ref name=OmanForeignPolicy/><ref name=HTSHC2>Salîl-ibn-Razîk. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023697835.0x00005a History of the imâms and seyyids of 'Omân by Salîl-ibn-Razîk, from A.D. 661–1856 (89/612)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308153139/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023697835.0x00005a |date=8 March 2021 }} History of the imâms and seyyids of 'Omân. British National Archive. Page 89. QDL.</ref> A second treaty was signed in 1800, which stipulated that a British representative shall reside at the port of Muscat and manage all external affairs with other states.<ref name=HTSHC2/> As the Omani Empire weakened, the British influence over Muscat grew throughout the nineteenth century.<ref name=OQCP/>

{{multiple image
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| image1            = Muscat Squadron.png
| caption1          = A [[Royal Navy|British naval squadron]] in [[Muscat]]<ref name=BNSIM>Muscat and the Monsoon. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/muscat-and-monsoon British National Archive: Muscat and the Monsoon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308145949/https://www.qdl.qa/en/muscat-and-monsoon |date=8 March 2021 }} British National Archive. QDL.</ref>
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In 1854, a deed of cession of the Omani [[Kuria Muria]] islands to Britain was signed by the sultan of Muscat and the British government.<ref name=KMITTB>A Collection of Treaties and Engagements. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023550810.0x000037 British National Archives: ''A Collection of Treaties and Engagements relating to the Persian Gulf Shaikhdoms and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman in force up to the End of 1953' &#91;26v&#93; (54/92)''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706133302/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023550810.0x000037 |date=6 July 2022 }} British National Archives. Page 54. QDL.</ref> The British government achieved predominating control over Muscat, which, for the most part, impeded competition from other nations.<ref name=BPCOM>Historical Summary of Events. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415995.0x0000be British National Archive: Historical Summary of Events 189/222] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308180039/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415995.0x0000be |date=8 March 2021 }} British National Archive. Page 189. QDL.</ref> Between 1862 and 1892, the Political Residents, [[Lewis Pelly]] and Edward Ross, played an instrumental role in securing British supremacy over the Persian Gulf and Muscat by a system of indirect governance.<ref name=ABQOLR/> By the end of the 19th century, and with the loss of its African dominions and its revenues, British influence increased to the point that the sultans became heavily dependent on British loans and signed declarations to consult the British government on all important matters.<ref name=BOR/><ref name=QDLM>Muscat and Oman Internal Affairs History. [https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415995.0x0000c0 British National Archive: Muscat and Oman Internal Affairs History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308205414/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415995.0x0000c0 |date=8 March 2021 }} British National Archive. Page 191. QDL.</ref><ref name=GR/><ref name=HLBB>The Financial Troubles of Said bin Taimur.[https://www.qdl.qa/en/financial-troubles-said-bin-taimur British National Archive: The Financial Troubles of Said bin Taimur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111194717/https://www.qdl.qa/en/financial-troubles-said-bin-taimur |date=11 November 2020 }} British National Archive. QDL.</ref> The Sultanate thus came ''de facto'' under the British sphere.<ref name=GR/><ref name=QoO/>

Zanzibar was a valuable property as the main [[Indian Ocean slave trade|slave market]] of the Swahili Coast as well as being a major producer of cloves, and became an increasingly important part of the Omani empire, a fact reflected by the decision of the Sayyid [[Sa'id ibn Sultan|Sa'id bin Sultan]], to make it the capital of the empire in 1837. In 1856, under British arbitration, Zanzibar and Muscat became two different sultanates.<ref name=YDAASD>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/20694640?read-now=1&seq=10#page_scan_tab_contents E. C. B. MacLaurin "Oman and the Trucial Coast"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117102818/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20694640?read-now=1&seq=10#page_scan_tab_contents |date=17 January 2023 }} Oman and the Trucial Coast. Pages 65–76. The Australian Quarterly. JSTOR. 1958.</ref>