Question 1&2
The article chosen and read is From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates which explains the events that took place in the coast of Trucial states. The article gives an insight on how and the occasions that led to the signing of treaties between the British and Trucial states.
Question 3
The article clearly can be classified as one based on reporting an incidence. This is eminent as the article clearly portrays the incidences that occurred consequently influencing signing of the treaties. The article reports how a group of Sheikdoms was located in the south of eastern gulf referred to as the Pirate Coast by the British (Heard-Bey 1986). Based on historical facts, the article explains how the relation was soar precisely when the British vessel was attacked. This fuelled some military actions along the coast with consistent attacks mainly from Britain. The readers of this article are in a position to understand the interest that the British had in the Coastal harbour which is clearly explained to be the need to protect the British Indian trade. With the growing hostility between the British and the Trucial states, there was a need to ease the tension for common good on both sides. This consequently led to the signing of the peace treaty in 1820 which the sheiks interestingly adhered to (Reiche 2010).
Even after signing of this peace treaties, there were isolated cases of conflicts fuelled by the event when the Sheikh of Rams people became subject to the rule of Ras Al Khaimah. It was not until 1835 when sheiks agreed to end the hostility characterized by conflicts and skirmishes. To ascertain this, a new treaty was signed to and it was agreed that the treaty should not be abused precisely during the pearling season. Due to success of the previous treaty, the British political agent initiated the maritime peace in 1853. This period saw the signing of different treaties which were meant to foster coexistence and end hostility. The other notable treaties include the 1847 and 1856 treaties which sought to abolish the slave trade followed by the 1873 treaty cementing the need to completely abolish slavery.
With time, France and Russia were seen to be interested in Persian Gulf affairs (Price, 2011). To counter this, the Persian Gulf and the United Kingdom signed a treaty in 1892 where the sheiks agreed only to expose their territories to the United Kingdom, and to reciprocate the British would offer land and sea support in case of any attacks. The British protectorate status took substantially along period. This long events however came to an end in 1968 when Britain agreed to end its protectorate over Trucial Coast.
Question 4
Examining the article, one can argue that it is moderately accurate. There may be hidden information which has not been provided mainly on British activities is the Trucial coast. There are critics who argue that there were illegal activities that the British were involved in pointing out slavery as one of them. It is further argued that the British were more interested in gaining in terms of trade and not as some articles suggest that their presence was to offer help.
Events that were leading to conflicts and subjection of some people to certain rules may not be accurate (‘States-within-states: incipient political entities in the post-Cold War era’, 2005). There may be omitted reasons that may have fuelled some conflicts and hostility, for example there could be more reasons that lead to the subjection of the communities of the sheik of Rams and sheik of Jazirah to the rule of Ras Al Khaimah. However, the article clearly shows the events that were witnessed on the Trucial Coast and the role of each parties (‘United Arab Emirates’ 1975). It further explains how the treaties were signed and also explores the contributing factors towards signing of the same. The accuracy of the article is further eminent since the years quoted in the article are precisely true with every event that took place.
Question 5
On examining the significance of the article, it cannot be graded as just news. The article has many facts and is based on true events. It is a fact that the British had activities in the Trucial coast with study cases showing they had interests precisely on trade (Al-Otabi, 1989). The other factual information from the article is the information on how the information of sheikdom is explained which indeed is true based on early organization of those states. One can also argue that at times the authors of such articles are skewed or biased depending on the country or region they like most. Hence one may write the wrong information about a country or on the other hand wrong information about another country they dislike. The article of this nature can be used as a historical source for future scholars. It can also be used as an explanation of how different states were formed and how they became independent.
In countries or regions where there are hostilities, the case study of such an article can be used as a guideline to sign treaties and make peace. An example is examining how two or more functions in disagreements can be assisted in coming up with amicable solutions. The article is further useful in the sense that it can help a certain ethnic group understand their origin even after some kingdoms joining to form one empire as witnessed in different countries after the post-colonial era. The article can further be used as a case study how two or more countries can join and agree on trade treaties while assisting each other in terms of preventing aggression from other nations.
References
Al-Otabi, M. (1989). The Qawasim and British control of the Arabian Gulf. University of Salford.
Heard-Bey, F. (1986). From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates. Arab Law Quarterly, 1(4), 463.
Price, D. (2011). Politics, Piracy and Punishment: Copyright Protection in the Arabian Gulf. The Journal of World Intellectual Property, 14(3-4), 276-300.
Reiche, D. (2010). Renewable Energy Policies in the Gulf countries: A case study of the carbon-neutral “Masdar City” in Abu Dhabi. Energy Policy, 38(1), 378-382.
States-within-states: incipient political entities in the post-Cold War era. (2005). Choice Reviews Online, 42(05), 42-3073-42-3073.
United Arab Emirates. (1975). MERIP Reports, (36), 8.