Trucial States

The Trucial States, also called the Trucial Coast or Trucial Oman, were a group of sheikhdoms on the south-eastern coast of the Persian Gulf whose rulers signed protective treaties with Britain. The name comes from the maritime truces that ended the piracy and raiding that had made the coast notorious; the first general treaty was signed at Ras Al Khaimah in January 1820, after a British expedition burned the Al Qasimi fleet. A Perpetual Maritime Truce followed in 1853, and in 1892 the rulers accepted exclusive agreements that barred them from dealing with any power other than Britain. The British did not rule the coast directly: each sheikhdom kept its own ruler, laws and flag, while a British political resident supervised relations from Bushire and later from the coast. The seven members were Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, with Kalba holding trucial status from 1936 to 1951. Pearl diving dominated the economy until the 1930s slump and the rise of cultured pearls; oil discoveries from the late 1950s transformed Abu Dhabi and Dubai. A Trucial States Council was formed in 1952 to coordinate the rulers, and the Indian rupee served as currency until the Gulf rupee arrived in 1959. When Britain announced its withdrawal, the treaties were revoked on 1 December 1971; the next day six of the sheikhdoms founded the United Arab Emirates, and Ras Al Khaimah joined in February 1972.