ABSTRACT
The Gulf region is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. According to ancient tradition, a fish-man, Oannes, swam up the Gulf, bringing with him the gifts of civilization. The authority of Hormuz extended to several places on the Arab and Persian coasts, including the Bahrain islands whose pearls provided one of the main sources of Hormuz's income. The prosperity of Hormuz, however, went into decline with the entry to Gulf waters of the Portuguese. It was the successful circumnavigation by Vasco da Gama of the Cape of Good Hope during the late fifteenth century which ushered in the era of European penetration. In 1820, after a devastating siege of Ras al Khaimah by British forces which was followed by the destruction of the entire Qasimi fleet, the trucial system was set in motion. The last significant group of treaties with Britain concerned the awarding of oil concessions.
