The Kingdom of Hormuz was an important centre for trade in the 15th and 16th centuries AD but it was taken by the Portuguese in 1514. In a policing action at the behest of their traders, a Portuguese naval fleet attacked the coastal villages of Qatar in January 1625.

 

During the 16th century AD (10th century Hijri), the Qataris had aligned with the Turks to drive out the Portuguese. Subsequently Qatar, and the entire Arabian Peninsula, fell under Ottoman Empire rule or influence for over three hundred years, until 1871. However, Ottoman sovereignty was largely symbolic and the real power remained in the hands of the local Arab tribes.

 

By the 17th century AD, trade in the Gulf was dominated by Europe and The British East India Company, founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, and began to assume a more political role in the region.

 

The Ma’adeed, a branch of the Al Bin Ali, and the Al Bu Kuwarah controlled the coastal village of Fuwairit, and the Al Muallam were dominant in Huwaila. Meanwhile the Al Khalifa clan, who had controlled Al Zubara under the auspices of the Kuwaiti Bani Khalid family, moved across to Bahrain in 1783.

 

But by 1795, the Al Saud launched raids on the region, and in 1787, forces led by the Saudi General Sulaiyman Ibn Ufaisan raided Qatar. By 1795, Al Zubara, Al Huwaila, Al Jassasiya and Al Ruwayda had been conquered.

 

The British East India Company’s trade in the Gulf was declining, blamed by Britain on piracy. However some historians believe this excuse was used to cover an attack on their competitors; Qatar escaped the wrath of the British fleet. In 1820 a ‘General Treaty of Peace’ was signed – Qatar never acceded to the Treaty, but the British acted as if it had and as a result of what it called Qatari ‘violations’, shelled Doha (Al Bidda), totally destroying it. The British Resident in the Gulf later acknowledged that the people of Doha had no knowledge of the treaty.

 

Pearling was by now an important part of the economy of Qatar but frequently disrupted by disputes. The British Resident of the time, Captain Hennell, formulated a Maritime Truce in 1832 to outlaw all warfare during the pearling season – 21 May 21st to November 21st– which became permanent in 1853. Doha was to suffer again however, in 1841, when British ships shelled it in retaliation for supposed attacks at sea by a group of the Bani Yas, who had moved to Khor Al Adaid in 1835. By 1850, the lucrative pearl trade was centred at Al Zubara.

The Al Thani family’s presence in the Qatar peninsula dates from the 18th century - the present Emir, HH Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, is the eighth successive Al Thani ruler.

 

The family is named after Sheikh Thani Bin Mohamed, the father of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Thani who was first to rule the peninsula in the middle of the 19th century. Initially the tribe settled in the north of the peninsula, moving south in the mid 19th century under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Thani. His capital was Al Bidda, now the centre of the city of Doha; he ruled until his death in 1878.

 

Born in 1826 (1242 Hijri), Sheikh Qassim developed the skills to guide the country at an early age, and sought to turn Qatar into a single unified and independent entity. His reign was characterised by security, justice and prosperity, reflected in the fact that Qatar became a major exporter and trader in pearls.

 

In April 1871, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad to Eastern Arabia, Medhet Pasha, sent an expedition to Qatar; Sheikh Qassim asked the Ottoman administration to consolidate its presence, which it did in December 1871 using a fortress in Al Bidda as the headquarters.

 

Medhet Pasha welcomed Sheikh Qassim’s initiative and granted him the post of Governor of Qatar in 1876. After taking power, he was granted a higher civil rank in 1888 and promoted again in 1893. Sheikh Qassim vehemently opposed attempts to increase Ottoman influence in Qatar and as a result, a crucial battle broke out at Al Wajba. On 25 March 1893, Sheikh Qassim and his troops from the Qatari tribes massed at Al Wajba; they fought bravely and claimed victory, defeating the Ottoman army. As a reminder of the important battle, Al Wajba is now the location of the Emiri Palace complex.

 

Prosperity followed: the number of pearling and trading dhows doubled; jobs and resources were diversified; markets expanded; the population grew and urbanisation spread.

 

Sheikh Qassim died on 17 July 1913 ending a fruitful and memorable life.

 

In 1867 the seeds of independence were sown after Britain signed a treaty with Qatar, under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Thani, which no longer regarded the territory as a dependency of neighbouring Bahrain. Britain subsequently signed another treaty with Qatar in 1916, which was ratified 23 March 1918.

 

Under the treaty, Britain controlled Qatar’s external affairs in return for guaranteeing its protection. Following the British decision to withdraw from the region in 1968, a decree was issued in 1969 (Law No. 11) concerning the establishment of a foreign affairs department. This subsequently became the core of Qatar’s current Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Until the 1920s and 30s and the decline of Qatar’s pearling industry, the population could be roughly divided into two distinct groupings: those dwelling in coastal areas, and the nomadic Bedouin tribes.

 

For both groups, life was harsh and in environments where survival was easily threatened, help was willingly given and hospitality was considered to be of the essence. When competition for oil concessions in the region intensified, Britain made more specific promises of protection.

 

In 1935 the previous treaty was amended and ‘suspended provisions’ in the 1916 treaty pertaining to British political representation in Qatar were revoked. A post office, airport and other installations were established.

 

Fortunately for Qatar, just as the Great Depression and the rise of the Japanese cultured pearl industry put the Gulf’s natural pearl industry in jeopardy, the nation’s new lifeline was discovered – hydrocarbons. Oil was first discovered on the west coast, in Dukhan, in 1938, but exploration was halted for four years (1942 – 1946) when the wells were sealed during World War II. Oil was finally exported on the 31st of December 1949, when the first tanker set sail from Mesaieed destined for international markets. The huge North Field, off the northeast coast of Qatar, is believed to be the largest single un-associated gas field so far delineated in the world, with proven reserves of 910 trillion standard cubic feet.

 

Qatar now exports gas from the field by pipeline to the UAE and, in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to countries from the Far East to Europe and the USA. The first LNG cargo was exported in 1997 and in 2006; Qatar became the world’s major LNG exporter .

 

Now, the country has become the Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) capital of the world, the first exports having been made from Ras Laffan Industrial City in 2007.