ABSTRACT
Bahrain's inhabitants have had a long and turbulent history. With the ascendency of Great Britain in the Gulf beginning in the cyclical pattern of regional politics is broken, and a more linear dynamic began to take shape, one in which the workings of British imperialism served to reinforce the predominance of the Al Khalifah within Bahraini society. The growing prosperity of the cities dominated by the Al Khalifah made them attractive targets for both the ruler of Muscat and the Al Saud based in the Najd. The imperial administration of India, unwilling to tolerate the fluid boundaries among tribes that characterized the region, insisted on demarcating the limits of each ruling family's territory. The three episodes persuade the imperial government in Bombay to include Bahrain within an expanded trucial system despite Persian, Omani, and Muwahhidini claims to the islands.
