ABSTRACT
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the political evolution of Qatar became strongly linked to events in Hasa and Bahrain. This was largely due to the absence of any effective leadership from within Qatar itself and the special position held there by Bahrain. During the years after the 1820 treaties that had placed most of the coastal areas from Bahrain to Ras al-Khaimah under strict British surveillance, Qatar became an outpost for the different absconding elements in the region. As the contest for the position of ruler of Bahrain continued, Qatar alternated as a base for the two opposing members of the Al-Khalifah, each man in turn making Khawr Hassan as his headquarters in the peninsula while his rival was in Bahrain. In 1843, Muhammad bin Khalifah set off for Bahrain, and with the help of Isa bin Turayf and Bishr bin Rahmah, he was able to obtain acknowledgement as sole ruler of the islands.
