Editing History of Qatar (section)

===Economic repercussions===

[[File:Mapofqatar1849.jpg|thumb|180px|1849 map of Bahrain and present-day Qatar.]]
In a move which angered Mohammed bin Khalifa, Faisal bin Turki provided a safe haven for Abdullah bin Ahmed's sons in [[Dammam]] in 1852. Consequently, the Bahrainis attempted to drive away residents of Al Bidda and Doha who were suspected of being loyal to the Wahhabi by imposing an economic [[blockade]] on the inhabitants, which prevented them from engaging in [[pearl hunting]]. The blockade continued until the end of the year.<ref name="rahmanb">{{Harvnb|Rahman|2006|pp=113–115}}</ref> In February 1853, the Wahhabi began marching from [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Al-Hasa]] to Al Khor. After Bahrain received assurance from Qatar that they would not cooperate with the Wahhabi forces if they crossed their borders, they sent Ali bin Khalifa to the mainland to act as a collaborator with the local resistance. A British-mediated peace agreement was reached between the two parties in 1853.<ref name="rahmanb"/>

Hostilities were provoked again after the Bahraini sheikh, in response to the harboring of Bahraini fugitives in Dammam, stopped paying tribute to the Wahhabi amir in 1859 and proceeded to instigate Qatari tribes to attack its subjects. Following threats made by [[Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud (1831–1889)|Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud]] to attack Bahrain, the British navy dispatched a ship off the coast of Dammam to prevent any attacks. The situation escalated in May 1860 when Abdullah threatened to occupy the coast of Qatar until the annual tribute was paid. In May 1861, Bahrain signed a treaty with the British government in which the latter agreed to offer protection and recognize Qatar as a dependent of Bahrain.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rahman|2006|p=118}}</ref> In February 1862, the treaty was ratified by the [[British Raj|Indian]] government.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rahman|2006|pp=115–116}}</ref>

Following the involvement of the British, the sway that the Al Khalifa tribe held over Qatar's affairs began declining. [[Mohammed bin Thani]] was described by [[Gifford Palgrave]] as the acknowledged governor of the Qatar Peninsula in 1863.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rahman|2006|p=116}}</ref> Some of [[Al Wakrah]]'s inhabitants were forced to vacate the town by the Bahraini sheikh in April 1863 due to alleged links with the Wahhabi. The town's chief, Mohammed Bu Kuwara, was taken into custody on a similar charge.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rahman|2006|p=117}}</ref> In 1866, a report by the British revealed that Qatar was paying an annual [[zakat]] of 4,000 German krones to the Wahhabi, in encroachment of the 1861 British treaty. The report also contended that the Al Khalifa were taxing the people of Qatar for the same annual payment.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rahman|2006|p=119}}</ref>