ABSTRACT
The Dutch position in the gulf was eclipsed entirely by 1766 when the British consolidated their position in India. The initial British interest in the gulf was commercial and was exercised through the British East India Company. The eighteenth century witnessed the rise of French imperial aspirations in the Indian Ocean, rivaling those of the British there and in the gulf as well. The result of the British victory was a treaty which became the cornerstone of the British political, strategic, and economic presence in the gulf for 150 years. The British announcement of its intention to end its treaty obligations and withdraw its troops from the gulf caused foreign offices throughout the world to reevaluate their interests and policies toward the gulf. In the gulf shaykhdoms, British military and security officers have stayed on after independence, either seconded from their British services or on direct contract to their host governments.
