Bahrain, Kingdom, British protectorate, 10 Fils – AH 1385 / 1965

Description

The ruling family at the beginning of the s. XIX, Al Khalifa, walked among British, Persian and Ottoman protection maintaining its independence. Finally they fell into the British orbit, and after the war with Qatar they had to sign an agreement that accepted British protection, in exchange for giving up their own foreign policy. Other subsequent agreements sealed the protectorate relationship. British interest in Bahrain was based mainly on its usefulness on the control of Persian and Saudi ambitions. Persia requested in 1927 in the Nations Society the incorporation of Bahrain into its territory, which was answered by the United Kingdom trying to reduce Iranian influence. The social tensions for the protectorate were continuous, and the United Kingdom promoted a series of reforms, and ended up taking effective control of the island, even through a “counselor” to the sheikh (in the figure of Charles Belgrave). The oil exploitation began in 1932, and after World War II, antibritan tensions grew as in other Arab countries. On August 15, 1971, independence was proclaimed, with a treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom. Persia”s Shah had insisted on his territorial claim, but accepted the result of a referendum, leaving any subsequent claim. The oil crisis of the seventies, incredibly benefited the young country.