IOR/R/15/6/239

This file relates to the Shaikh of Fujairah (transliterations vary throughout), Hamad bin Abdullah [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Sharqī], and his relations with the Shaikh of Shargah [Sharjah].

The correspondence begins with reports that the Shaikh of Fujairah – nominally considered to be subordinate to the Shaikh of Shargah [Shaikh Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qasimī] – has resisted orders from the latter and has asserted his independence.

Related matters covered in the correspondence include the following: reports of the Shaikh of Fujairah having requested assistance and protection from the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; the question of whether the British Government should regard the strip of coast between Khor Kalba and Dibba as being part of the territory of the Shaikh of Shargah; reports in 1903 of hostilities between the Shaikh of Shargah and the Shaikh of Fujairah; reports in 1925 of the Shaikh of Fujairah having enslaved the daughter of a Baluch woman residing in the Sultan of Muscat and Oman's territory; the Shaikh of Fujairah's reluctance to meet with the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf on board RIMS Lawrence, resulting in bombardment by the British; hostilities in 1926 between Fujairah and Kalba.

Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Agent and Consul, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the First Assistant to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Residency Agent, Shargah; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; Shaikh Hamad bin Abdullah of Fujairah; officials of the Government of India, the India Office, and the Foreign Office.

The Arabic language material consists of several letters, most of which include corresponding English translations. It should be noted that there is no material in the file covering the period 1905-1924.