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almost exclusively with the Wahhābis or, at first, with the Egyptians, by whose
power that of the Wahhābis was for a time superseded in Central Arabia.Successful
In 1839-in disregard of a pledge not to extend his conquests in the directionEgyptian
of the Persian Gulf, given in 1838 by Muhammad Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, tointriguesin Trucial
Colonel Campbell, the representative of the British Government in Cairo-the'Omān, 1839. Egyptians occupied Hasa, appeared to contemplate the reduction of Bahrain, and
despatched an agent to prepare their way among the tribesmen of Trucial 'Omān.These steps provoked countermoves on the part of the British Government, who felttheir influence in the Gulf to be imperilled by the progress of the Egyptians; and inFebruary 1839 the Political Resident at Bushehr was expressly instructed to exerthis influence for the purpose of checking their further encroachments. With thesame object a visit was paid to the coast of Trucial 'Omān by Sir F. Maitland, theBritish Naval Commander-in-Chief in the East, in H.M.S.“ Wellesley"; and theTrucial Shaikhs, in the presence of Captain T. Edmunds, Assistant PoliticalResident, who accompanied the cruise, solemnly undertook to hold no friendlyrelations with the emissary of the Egyptians, but on the contrary to oppose him.Nowithstanding this promise the Egyptian agent, who was no other than the formerWahhābi representative Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq, was allowed by Shaikh Sultān-bin-Sagarto remain at Shārjah, where, on his arrival in March 1839, a fortified house andtower had been placed at his disposal by the Shaikh; and from this point of vantageSa'ad at once began to intrigue, calling on the Na'im tribe through ShaikhSultān-bin-Sagar to surrender Baraimi for occupation by a garrison of Wahhābis,whom he had brought with him, and opening a direct correspondence with theShaikh of Abu Dhabi, whose co-operation with themselves, in view of his previoussteady opposition to Central Arabian influences, had been confidently anticipatedby the British authorities. On the Na'im, who had but recently obtained orrecovered possession of Baraimi, the threats of the Egyptian agent produced noeffect, and the Na’īm were encouraged in their defiant attitude by SaiyidHamūd-bin-'Azzān of Sohār, who immediately sent his own brother Qais with200 men to their assistance; but by Shaikh Khalifah-bin-Shakhbūt of Abu Dhabi
the advances of Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq were cordially received.Counter
The situation vis à vis of the Egyptians was now so unsatisfactory thatactive mea Captain Hennell, the Political Resident, resolved on a personal visit to Bahrain andsures by the
Trucial 'Omān; he arrived off the coast of the latter on the 1st of July 1839 in the
Trial'Omán. he arriveBritishauthorities,
H.E.I. Company's Steamer “ Hugh Lindsay," of which the novel and surprisingJuly 1839. evolutions were not without their influence on the disaffected Shaikh of Abu
Dhabi.* Captain Hennell's enquiries showed that the Shaikhs of Dibai andUmm-al-Qaiwain were unfavourably disposed towards the Egyptians, but that theShaikh of Abu Dhabi was using every endeavour to supplant the Shaikh of Shārjahin Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq's favour, which Sultān-bin-Saqar on his part was doing hisutmost to retain. From each of these four chiefs the Resident obtained a generalwritten agreement to support the policy of the British Government and to resistthat of the Egyptians; and in the case of Sultān-bin-Saqar a further clause wasadded, by which the Shaikh bound himself not to enter into any correspondenceor treaty with Muhammad 'Ali of Egypt, his dependents, or any other foreign powerwithout the consent of the British Government, and to regard the friends andenemies of the British as his own. The Shaikh of Shārjah was also furnished, at hisown request, with letters from the Resident to himself and to Sa'ad-bin-Mutlagrepresenting the advisability of the return of the latter to Najd; and, to satisfy theShaikh's demands for British support, the Resident promised that, in casecompliance with policy enjoined should involve him in hostilities, he should besupplied with such munitions of war as might be necessary and proper: thisundertaking Captain Hennell offered to confirm in writing on the expulsion ofSa'ad-bin-Mutlaq. Meanwhile an appeal for help against Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq hadreached Captain Hennell from the Shaikhs of Baraimi, to which that officer repliedencouraging them to maintain their independence, by holding out hopes that anAgent would be sent to reside with them, and by promising to supply them withammunition, if attacked because of having conformed to his advice. TheResident's letter addressed to Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq contained a reference to thesenegotiations, and indicated that the Na'īm of Baraimi had been taken under Britishprotection pending a settlement between the British and Egyptian Governments.
* The “ Hugh Lindsay,” Lieutenant Campbell, drew only eleven feet of water, and the powerof the vessel to advance up a narrow channel against the wind greatly impressed the Arabs.
