The Blood-Red Arab Flag

An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy 1797-1820

By (author) Dr. Charles E. Davies

Publication date:

01 November 1997

Length of book:

500 pages

Publisher

University of Exeter Press

Dimensions:

240x165mm
7x9"

ISBN-13: 9780859895095

During the years 1797-1820 the Qasimi Arabs or Qawasim, inhabitants of the present day United Arab Emirates, acquired an enduring reputation as ruthless pirates. Some of their victims flew the British flag, and thus their actions were to provide the initial stimulus and justification for 150 years of British involvement in the Gulf.

Recently, however, it has been doubted whether the Qawasim were in fact pirates. In a scholarly but accessible account founded on contemporary sources, illustrated with testimonies of eye-witnesses and participants, this book sets out to decide this controversial question. By making use of valuable and hitherto untapped archival material, Charles Davies strongly evokes a flavour of life in the Gulf in this turbulent and formative period in the Gulf's history.

This book represents the first in-depth investigation into this controversial subject. It is based on original research and and helps to explain why the Gulf is as it is today.

Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Preface
A Brief Chronology of Events
Dramatis Personae
Part One: Introductory
Prologue
1 Outline
2 The Setting
3 The Players
Part Two: Of the Evidence
4 The Question of Piracy
a) Tableux
5 Incidents at Sea, in the Years 1797-1819, Which are Attested by Virtue of Admissions or Possession
6 The Most Important Cases of Alleged Piracy by the Qawasim Against British Vessels
b) Perspectives
7 Local Opinion
8 Cruiser Commanders' Blunders
9 Off the Indian Coast
Part Three: Interpretation
10 Preliminary Sketch
11 Political History
12 The Port of Ras al-Khaima, Her Society and Economy
13 Some More Piquant Ingredients in Qasimi Maritime Plunder,
Conclusion
Afterword: The Motivation behind Britain's Two Expeditions Against Ras al-Khaima in 1809/10 and 1819/20
Appendix A The Qawasim's Seizures off the Coast of India
Appendix B Qasimi Voyages to South Arabia
Appendix C Ras al-Khaima's War with Muscat, and the Political Fortunes of the Za'ab and the Tanaij, 1808-1809
Appendix D Hostilities Between Muscat and the Wahhabis in the Aftermath of the First Ras al-Khaima Expedition of 1809/10
Notes
Bibliography
Index

This is more than just an analysis of piratical acts; it is a successful attempt to understand what ingredients made the players act the way they did. It also provides the reader with a vivid and credible account of what life was like, both at sea and on land, for Persian Gulf dwellers, and in particular for the Qawasim pirates.