Editing History of Qatar (section)

==British protectorate (1916–1971)==
{{See also|Protectorate#British protectorates}}
The Ottomans officially renounced sovereignty over Qatar in 1913, and in 1916, the new ruler [[Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani]] signed a treaty with Britain, thereby instating the area under the [[Trucial States|trucial system]]. This meant that Qatar relinquished its autonomy in foreign affairs, such as the power to cede territory, and other affairs, in exchange for Britain's military protection from external threats. The treaty also had provisions suppressing [[slavery]], [[piracy]], and [[Arms trafficking|gunrunning]], but the British were not strict about enforcing those provisions.<ref name=cs/>

[[File:Alwakrahfort1908.jpg|thumb|Al Wakrah Fort in 1908.]]
Despite Qatar coming under British protection, Abdullah bin Jassim's position was insecure. Uncooperative tribes refused to pay tribute; disgruntled family members intrigued against him; and he felt vulnerable to the designs of Bahrain and the [[Wahhabi]]. The Al Thani were merchant princes, reliant on trade and especially the pearl trade, and dependent on other tribes to do their fighting for them, primarily the Bani Hajer who owed their allegiance to [[Ibn Saud]], amir of the [[Najd]] and [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Al-Hasa]]. Despite numerous requests by Abdullah bin Jassim for strong military support, weapons, and a loan, the British were reluctant to become involved in inland affairs. This changed in the 1930s when competition for oil concessions in the region intensified.

===Oil drilling===

The scramble for oil raised the stakes in regional territorial disputes and signified the need to establish territorial borders. The first move came in 1922 at a boundary conference in [[Uqair]] when prospector Major [[Frank Holmes (geologist)|Frank Holmes]] attempted to include Qatar in an oil concession he was discussing with Ibn Saud. Sir [[Percy Cox]], the British representative, saw through the ploy and drew a line on the map separating the Qatar Peninsula from the mainland.<ref>H.R.P. Dickson to the Political Resident, Bahrain, 4 July 1933, British Library India Office Records (IOR) PS/12/2/213-0</ref> The first oil survey took place in 1926 under the direction of [[George Martin Lees]], a geologist contracted to the [[Anglo-Persian Oil Company]] (APOC), but no oil was found. The oil issue rose again in 1933 after an oil strike in Bahrain. Lees had already noted that, in such an eventuality, Qatar should be investigated again.<ref>Report of G.M. Lees of 21 March 1926, BP Archive, Warwick University, Archive reference 135500.</ref> After lengthy negotiations on 17 May 1935, Abdullah bin Jassim signed a concession agreement with Anglo-Persian representatives for a period of 75 years in return for 400,000 rupees on signature and 150,000 [[rupee]]s per annum with royalties.<ref>Diary of a Visit to Qatar, C.C. Mylles, BP Archive, Warwick University, Archive Reference 135500.</ref> As part of the agreement, Great Britain made more specific promises of assistance than they had in earlier treaties.<ref name=cs/> APOC transferred the concession to the [[Iraq Petroleum Company|IPC]] subsidiary company Petroleum Development (Qatar) Ltd. to meet its obligations under the [[Red Line Agreement]].

[[File:Bahrain-Juzur Hawar.png|thumb|left|Hawar Islands (shown in red). Not to scale.]]
Bahrain claimed rule over a group of islands between the two countries in 1936. The largest island was [[Hawar Islands]], situated off the west coast of Qatar, where the Bahrainis had established a small military garrison. Britain accepted the Bahraini claim over Abdullah bin Jassim's objections, largely because the Bahraini sheikh's personal British adviser was able to phrase their case in a legal manner familiar to British officials. In 1937, the Bahrainis again laid claim to the deserted town of [[Zubarah]] after being involved in a dispute between Abdullah bin Jassim and the [[Na'im]] tribe. Abdullah bin Jassim sent a large, heavily armed force and defeated the Na'im. The British political resident in Bahrain supported Qatar's claim and warned Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain, not to intervene militarily. Indignant over the loss of Zubarah, Hamad ibn Isa imposed a crushing [[embargo]] on trade and travel to Qatar.<ref name=cs/>

Drilling of the first oil well began in [[Dukhan]] in October 1938, and over a year later, the well struck oil in the [[Late Jurassic|Upper Jurassic]] limestone. Unlike the Bahraini strike, this was similar to Saudi Arabia's [[Dammam]] field discovered three years before.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2010/01/the-qatar-oil-discoveries|title=The Qatar Oil Discoveries" by Rasoul Sorkhabi|publisher=geoxpro.com|date=2010|access-date=1 February 2015|archive-date=5 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205055046/https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2010/01/the-qatar-oil-discoveries|url-status=dead}}</ref> Production was halted between 1942 and 1947 because of [[World War II]] and its aftermath. The disruption of food supplies caused by the war prolonged a period of economic hardship in Qatar, which began in the 1920s with the collapse of the pearl trade and was exacerbated in the early 1930s with the onsets of the [[Great Depression]] and the Bahraini embargo. As was the case in previous times of privation, entire families and tribes moved to other parts of the [[Persian Gulf]], leaving many Qatari villages deserted. Abdullah bin Jassim went into debt and groomed his favored second son, [[Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani]], to be his successor in preparation for his retirement. However, Hamad bin Abdullah's death in 1948 led to a succession crisis in which the main candidates were Abdullah bin Jassim's eldest son, [[Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani]], and Hamad bin Abdullah's teenage son, [[Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani]].<ref name=cs/>

[[File:Qatar, Al Jumailiyah (10), old oil installation.JPG|thumb|An old oil installation in north-west Qatar.]]
Oil exports and payments for offshore rights began in 1949 and marked a turning point in Qatar. The oil revenues would dramatically transform the economy and society and would also provide the focus for domestic disputes and foreign relations. This became apparent to Abdullah bin Jassim when several of his relatives threatened armed opposition if they did not receive increases in their allowances. Aged and anxious, Abdullah bin Jassim turned to the British. He promised to abdicate and agreed to an official British presence in Qatar in exchange for recognition and support of Ali bin Abdullah as ruler in 1949.<ref name=cs/>

Under British tutelage, the 1950s saw the development of government structures and public services. [[Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani|Ali bin Abdullah]] was at first reluctant to share power, which had centered in his household, with an infant bureaucracy run and staffed mainly by outsiders. Ali bin Abdullah's increasing financial difficulties and inability to control striking oil workers and difficult sheikhs led him to succumb to British pressure. The first official budget was drawn up by a British adviser in 1953. By 1954, there were forty-two Qatari government employees.<ref name=cs/>

===Protests and reforms===

{{Main|Qatar National Unity Front}}
Large numbers of protests against the British and the ruling family occurred during the 1950s. One of the largest took place in 1956; it drew 2,000 participants, most of whom were high-ranking Qataris allied with [[Pan-Arabism|Arab nationalists]] and dissatisfied oil workers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Herb|first=Michael|title=The Wages of Oil: Parliaments and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE|url=https://archive.org/details/wagesofoilparlia00herb|url-access=registration|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0801453366}}</ref> During another protest which took place in August 1956, the participants waved [[Egypt]]ian flags and chanted anti-colonialism slogans.<ref name="ibrahim">{{cite web|url=https://www.gulfpolicies.com/attachments/article/1632/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%83%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%201950-1963%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B1(%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9%20%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9).pdf|title=الحراك الشعبيفيقطر 1950–1963 دراسة تحليلية (Popular movements 1950–1963, analytic study)|publisher=gulfpolicies.com|last=Shahdad|first=Ibrahim|access-date=1 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215309/https://www.gulfpolicies.com/attachments/article/1632/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%83%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%201950-1963%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B1(%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9%20%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9).pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In October 1956, protesters tried to sabotage oil pipelines in the Persian Gulf by destroying the pipelines with a bulldozer.<ref name="ibrahim"/> These were major impetuses to the development of the British-run police force which was established by the British in 1949.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moi.gov.qa/site/english/aboutmoi/|title=About Ministry of Interior|publisher=Qatar Ministry of Interior|access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref> The demonstrations led Ali bin Abdullah to invest the police with his personal authority and support. This was a significant reversal of his previous reliance on his retainers and [[Bedouin]] fighters.<ref name=cs/>

Public services developed slowly during the 1950s. The first telephone exchange opened in 1953, the first desalination plant in 1954, and the first power plant in 1957. A dock, a customs warehouse, an airstrip, and a police headquarters were also built in this period. In the 1950s, 150 adult males of the ruling family received grants from the government. Sheikhs also received land and government positions. This mollified them as long as oil revenues increased. However, when revenues declined in the late 1950s, Ali bin Abdullah could not handle the family pressures this engendered. Discontent was fueled by his residence in [[Switzerland]], extravagant spending, and hunting trips in [[Pakistan]], especially among those who were excluded from the regime's largesse (non-Al Thani Qataris) and among other branches of Al Thani who desired more privileges. Seniority and proximity to the Sheikh determined the size of allowances.<ref name=cs/>

Succumbing to family pressures and poor health, Ali bin Abdullah abdicated in 1960. Instead of handing power over to Khalifa bin Hamad, who had been named heir apparent in 1948, he made his son, [[Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani|Ahmad bin Ali]], ruler. Nonetheless, Khalifa bin Hamad gained considerable power as [[heir apparent]] and deputy ruler, in large part because Ahmad bin Ali spent much time outside the country.<ref name=cs/> One of his first acts was to increase funding for the sheikhs at the expense of development projects and social services. In addition to allowances, adult male Al Thani were given government positions. This added to the anti-regime resentment already felt by, among others, oil workers, low-ranking Al Thani, dissident sheikhs, and some leading government officials. These individuals formed the [[Qatar National Unity Front|National Unity Front]] in response to a fatal shooting of a protester on 19 April 1963 by one of Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali's nephews.<ref>{{cite book|last=Halliday|first=Fred|title=Arabia Without Sultans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T56CBAAAQBAJ|publisher=Saqi Books|year=2001|isbn=978-0863563812}}</ref> While the [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] monarch was at the ruler's palace on 20 April 1963, a demonstration occurred in front of the building. Police fired and killed three demonstrators, prompting the National Unity Front to organize a [[general strike]] on 21 April.<ref name="ibrahim"/> The strike lasted around two weeks with most public services affected.<ref name="alkuwari2">{{cite web|url=http://dr-alkuwari.net/sites/akak/files/lfsl_lkhms_lmd_llnshr__myw_1963.pdf|title=الدراسة الجامعية في مصر و حركة 1963 في قطر (University of Egypt and 1963 movement in Qatar)|publisher=dr-alkuwari.net|language=ar|access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref>

The group made a statement that week where it listed 35 of its demands to the government entailing less authority for the ruling family; protection for oil workers; recognition of [[trade union]]s; voting rights for citizens and the [[Arabization]] of the leadership.<ref name="ibrahim"/><ref name="alkuwari2"/> Ahmed bin Ali rejected most of these demands and moved to arrest and detain fifty of the most prominent National Unity Front members and sympathizers without trial in early May.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kadhim|first=Abbas|title=Governance in the Middle East and North Africa: A Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-etiAFUzJ0C|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|page=258|isbn=978-1857435849}}</ref> The government also instituted some reforms in response to the movements. This included the provision of land and loans to poor farmers, instituting a policy of preferential hiring of Qatari citizens, and the election of a [[Central Municipal Council|municipal council]].<ref name=cs/><ref>{{cite book|last=Hiro|first=Dilip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=obVTAQAAQBAJ|title=Inside the Middle East|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|page=15|isbn=978-0415835084}}</ref>

The infrastructure, foreign labor force, and bureaucracy continued to grow in the 1960s, largely under the instruction of Khalifa bin Hamad. There were also some early attempts at diversifying Qatar's economic base, most notably with the establishment of a cement factory, a national fishing company, and small-scale agriculture.<ref name=cs/> An official gazette was first published in 1961, and in 1962, a nationality law was introduced.<ref name="zahlan1">{{Harvnb|Zahlan|1979|p=102}}</ref> No cabinets existed during this period, however, British and Egyptian advisers helped establish a number of governmental departments, such as the Department of Agriculture and a Department of Labor and Social Affairs.<ref name="zahlan1"/>

===Federation of nine Emirates===
{{main article|History of the United Arab Emirates}}
[[File:LocationFederationofArabEmirates.png|thumb|The proposed [[federation]] of Arab emirates.]]

In 1968, Britain announced its plans to withdraw its military commitments east of [[Suez]] (including those in force with Qatar) in the following three years. Because of the Persian Gulf sheikhdoms' vulnerability and small size, the rulers of Bahrain, Qatar and the [[Trucial Coast]] contemplated forming a federation after the British withdrawal.<ref name="zahlan2">{{Harvnb|Zahlan|1979|p=104}}</ref> The federation was first proposed in February 1968, when the rulers of [[Abu Dhabi]] and [[Dubai]] announced their intention to form a coalition, extending an invitation to other Gulf states to join. Later that month, in a summit meeting attended by the rulers of Bahrain, Qatar, and the Trucial Coast, the government of Qatar proposed the formation of a federation of Arab emirates to be governed by a higher council composed of nine rulers. This proposal was accepted and a declaration of union was approved.<ref name="zahlan2"/> There were, however, several disagreements between the rulers on matters such as the location of the capital, the drafting of the constitution, and the distribution of ministries.<ref name="zahlan2"/>

[[File:Gulf emirate leaders meet to discuss union plans 1968.jpg|thumb|The first conference on the Federation of Emirates, held in [[Abu Dhabi]], 1968.]]
The rulers remained divided on multiple issues despite [[Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani|Khalifa bin Hamad]]'s election as chairman of the Temporary Federal Council in July 1968 and the establishment of numerous ministries. Two opposing blocs surfaced soon after the initial proposal, with Qatar and Dubai aligning together to oppose the inclinations of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.<ref name="zahlan2"/> Bahrain, being backed by Abu Dhabi, made efforts to marginalize the other rulers' roles in the union in an attempt to assume a leadership role and thus gain political leverage over their long-standing territorial disputes with [[Iran]]. The last meeting occurred in October 1969 when [[Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan|Zayed Al Nahyan]] and Khalifa bin Hamad were elected the first president and prime minister of the federation, respectively. There were stalemates on numerous issues during the meeting, including the position of vice president, the defense of the federation, and whether a constitution was required.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zahlan|1979|p=105}}</ref> Shortly after the meeting, the Political Agent in Abu Dhabi revealed the British government's interests in the outcome of the session, prompting Qatar and [[Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah|Ras al Khaimah]] to withdraw from the federation over perceived foreign interference in internal affairs. The federation was consequently disbanded despite efforts by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Britain to reinvigorate discussions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zahlan|1979|p=106}}</ref>

[[Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani|Ahmad bin Ali]] subsequently promulgated a provisional constitution in April 1970, which declared Qatar an independent Arab Islamic state with the [[Sharia]] as its basic law. Khalifa bin Hamad was appointed prime minister in May. The first [[Council of Ministers]] was sworn in on 1 January 1970; seven of its ten members were Al Thani. Khalifa bin Hamad's argument prevailed with regard to the federation proposal.<ref name=cs/>