Abstract

The British imperial project in the Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial States originated in the early nineteenth century when the Government of India signed treaties with the rulers of the sheikhdoms. It was a model of low-cost imperialism in which the British secured their economic and strategic interests. Whitehall rarely intervened until the Labour Party came to power in 1964. Domestic economic and political considerations led Harold Wilson to announce in January 1968 that the British would withdraw from the Gulf by the end of 1971. This decision was devoid of any strategic rationale, and was regarded with dismay by the rulers of the sheikhdoms. The rulers were responsible for establishing a political structure, and until the summer of 1970 the Foreign Office left them to their own devices. The election of the Conservative government in June 1970 led to a fundamental re-evaluation of the Foreign Office’s policy and Sir William Luce was appointed to establish a viable political structure for the sheikhdoms. Against the odds, Luce and the Foreign Office played a key role in creating the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain and Qatar became independent states.

摘要

英国在巴林，卡塔尔和妥协国家的帝国计划起源于19世纪初期，当时印度政府与酋长国的统治者签署了条约。这是低成本帝国主义的一种模式，在这种模式下，英国人确保了其经济和战略利益。白厅很少干预，直到1964年工党上台为止。出于国内经济和政治考虑，哈罗德·威尔逊（Harold Wilson）于1968年1月宣布，英国将在1971年底退出海湾。这一决定没有任何战略依据，并且酋长的统治者沮丧地认为。统治者负责建立政治结构，直到1970年夏，外交部将其留给了自己的机构。保守党政府在1970年6月选举导致了英国外交部的政策和威廉·卢斯爵士的根本重新评估被任命为建立一个可行的政治结构的酋长。面对困难，卢斯和外交部在建立阿拉伯联合酋长国方面发挥了关键作用。巴林和卡塔尔成为独立国家。