Robert Thomas – Arabian Gulf Intelligence

A fascinating and detailed collection of documents on the Arabian Gulf, taken from British records in the 18th and 19th century.

Subtitled: Selections from the Records of the Bombay Government. New Series, No. XXIV, 1856, concerning Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, and Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and the Islands of the Gulf.

Describes the profiles and histories of various tribal relationships, families and governments in the region, including the Qawasim, Utuba and Wahabis. Mostly written by correspondents reporting to the British colonial authorities in India, the accounts also cover aspects of topography, navigational channels, conflicts, relationships with foreign powers and more.

This is a scarce reprint of an original version from 1856 that is itself nearly impossible to find.

Published in Cambridge by The Oleander Press in1985. Softback, in very good condition.