British Government of India's position from influence of Muhammad Ali in the Arabian Gulf basin (1837-1840 AD)

Abstract

The Arab Gulf region represented one of the strategically significant focal points in international politics by the late 1830s (1837–1840 CE). Britain regarded it as a critical link in its communications with India, especially following the emergence of projects advocating the use of Iraq’s rivers as routes for Anglo-Indian transportation. Its importance grew further with the disruption of the international balance due to the rise of Muhammad Ali in Egypt, the Levant, and the Gulf, as well as his ambitions to extend his influence over Ottoman territories in Iraq. This situation prompted some international powers, such as Russia and France, to exploit it for their own gains, making the Gulf region a mirror reflecting the ambitions of global politics during that period.

For Muhammad Ali, the Arab Gulf region was considered one of the most crucial areas for building the foundation of his imperial structure in the East. He viewed it as a leverage card that could yield significant regional and international gains through new relationships his agents would establish with local powers in the Gulf during that phase. He was well aware of the region’s economic importance and the benefits it could offer to the desert hinterland in Najd, while also recognizing it as the only viable outlet through which to penetrate Iraq and complete the integration of his state’s parts in the Levant, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Initially, Muhammad Ali succeeded to a large extent in achieving these objectives. The sheikhdoms of the Arab Gulf looked with admiration at this emerging regional power, which they could rely on to counter British arrogance and the harsh protection imposed through oppressive and binding treaties affecting all Arab entities bordering the Gulf.

The British Indian government was not prepared to allow Muhammad Ali to realize his ambitions in the Arab Gulf region. Consequently, it employed all possible means—treaties, alliances, military demonstrations, and other methods detailed by the researcher in the study—to thwart these ambitions. It was only with the tragic end of Muhammad Ali in Egypt, following the London Convention of 1840, that these aspirations were ultimately curtailed.