Anglo–Arab Wars

Anglo–Arab Wars
Part of Expansion of British Empire
The fort of Luft under attack by the British, 27 December 1809
Date 13 November 1809–19 November 1839 Location Persian Gulf, India, Africa, Red Sea Result Anglo–Indian–Omani victory
Belligerents
British Empire  India[1] EIC Supported by: Omani Empire	Arab Sultanates : Ras Al Khaimah Sultanate of Lahej Supported by:  France (in 1809)
Commanders and leaders
Lionel Smith William Grant Keir Henry Smith John Wainwright Said bin Sultan	Hassan bin Rahma Hassan bin Ali Hassan bin Rahma Sultan bin Saqr Muhsin ibn al-Fadl

Anglo–Arab Wars^[2] were series of conflicts between the British Empire and Arab sultanate and rebels factions.

In the early 1800s, the Indian Ocean was a key trade route between British India and Britain, with Bombay serving as a major port. The East India Company’s large trading ships, called East Indiamen, sailed these routes, while smaller “country ships” traded in the Persian Gulf. During the Napoleonic Wars, most British naval forces were sent elsewhere, leaving the Gulf poorly defended and vulnerable to attacks from local Arab fleets, especially the Qawasim tribes of Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, and nearby coasts. The Qawasim, who opposed the Sultan of Muscat (a British ally), captured and attacked many British ships, sometimes killing their crews. British naval ships like HCS Mornington tried to fight back but were outnumbered. Diplomatic efforts with Persia and Oman failed to stop the raids, and by 1809 the Qawasim controlled the southern Gulf and Arabian Sea with hundreds of dhows and thousands of men, threatening British and Indian trade.^[3]

After the raid on Sind and the 1809 monsoon, the British in India decided to launch a strong military campaign against the Qawasim, who were disrupting trade and receiving support from the French in Persia and Oman.^[3] A fleet was gathered in Bombay, made up of several East India Company warships, two Royal Navy frigates Caroline under Charles Gordon and Chiffonne under Commodore John Wainwright and troops from the Bombay garrison led by Lieutenant Colonel Lionel Smith. The expedition left Bombay on 17 September 1809, planning to meet at Muscat, but was delayed by escort duties and the sinking of the ship Strombolo. When they reached Muscat in October, Sultan Sa’id warned that 20,000 Bedouin fighters had joined the Qawasim, so Wainwright decided not to attempt a land invasion and instead planned a series of small raids, starting with the Qawasim base at Ras Al Khaimah near the Strait of Hormuz.^[4]

The British fleet reached Ras Al Khaimah on 11 November 1809 and found the Qawasim ships, including Minerva, in the harbor. When the pirates saw the large British force, they retreated, and Minerva was wrecked and burned by her crew. The Qawasim and their Bedouin allies built defenses around the town, protected by sandbanks that kept the larger British ships away. On 13 November, British troops landed a small group led by Lieutenant Samuel Leslie made a diversion attack from the north, while Lieutenant Colonel Lionel Smith led the main force from the south. After heavy fighting and cannon fire from ships, Smith’s men captured the town, burning houses and seizing the Sheikh’s palace. The British then entered the harbor, destroying over 50 Qawasim ships and the town’s defenses. By 14 November, the operation ended with light British losses but heavy damage to the Qawasim fleet, marking a major blow to their naval power.^[3][4]

On 17 November 1809, British commander Wainwright ordered an attack on the Persian town of Linga, where the people fled and 20 dhows were burned without any fighting. He then moved to Laft on Qeshm Island, a main Al Qasimi base, and after failed talks with local sheikhs, attacked on 27 November.^[5] British troops at first faced little resistance but were then ambushed near the fort; after heavy fighting and 70 British casualties, the fort surrendered by sunset. Around 50 defenders were killed, and 11 Arab ships were destroyed. The town was handed to Sheik Dewar, a British ally, and the fleet returned to Muscat. In early January 1810, Wainwright attacked Shinas, which had rebelled against Sultan Sa’id. After heavy bombardment that killed about 1,000 defenders, the fort was destroyed. By the end of January, Wainwright’s squadron returned to Bombay, believing the campaign against the Al Qasimi had succeeded.^[6]

On 3 November 1819, the British started an expedition against the Qawasim, led by Major-General William Keir Grant, with about 3,000 soldiers.^[7] They were joined by Said bin Sultan of Muscat, who sent 600 men and two ships after being promised control of the Pirate Coast. The British naval force included ships like Liverpool, Eden, and Curlew, along with six East India Company vessels such as Teignmouth and Benares.^[8] The army included British and Indian troops. By late November, the force reached Ras Al Khaimah, and on 5 December began bombarding the town from land and sea.^[9] The attack continued until 7 December, when British cannons and mortars caused heavy damage.^[10] The battle ended with only five British soldiers killed, while between 400 and 1,000 Qawasim defenders died.^[11]

After Ras Al Khaimah fell, the British sent three ships to blockade the nearby town of Rams, but it was empty. On 18 December 1819, British forces landed and moved inland to Dhayah Fort, where about 400 people, mostly farmers and herders, resisted for three days without water or shelter. The British used heavy cannons from HMS Liverpool to break the fort’s walls, and the defenders surrendered on 22 December. Only 177 of them were fighters. The British briefly raised their flag before destroying the fort. They then blew up Ras Al Khaimah, left a garrison there, and went on to destroy forts and ships in nearby towns including Umm Al Qawain, Ajman, Sharjah, and Dubai. The Royal Navy had no casualties, while one officer and three soldiers died at Dhayah.^[12]

In October 1820, a British expedition left Bombay and went to Sur through Muscat. The small force, led by Captain Perronet Thomson, included about 380 Indian infantry soldiers with four guns and joined around 2,000 men from the Sultan of Muscat. They marched to Belad Bani Bu Ali, the main town of the local tribe.^[13] After failed talks, the British force was attacked on 18 November 1820 and almost destroyed.^[14] The Arab fighters charged with swords and spears, killing most of the officers and about two-thirds of the soldiers. The few survivors escaped to Sur and then to Muscat before being taken to Qishm Island.^[15]

In 1821, after the earlier defeat of a British force in Oman, a larger expedition of about 6,000 British and Indian soldiers under Major General Lionel Smith was sent from Bombay to restore British prestige. The force included the Bombay Sappers and Miners, taking part in their first overseas campaign, and the 3rd Company of the Bombay Pioneers, who had served in the 1819 Ras al-Khaimah expedition. Landing at Sur in January, they advanced inland and, after repelling an attack, fought a fierce battle at Balad Bani Nu Hassan on 2 March. Despite the determined resistance of the Bani Bu Ali tribe, the British troops, supported by artillery and bayonets, defeated them, killing about 500 while losing 29 men and 173 wounded. The fort at Balad was captured, and British prestige in Arabia was restored.^[13]

The Aden Expedition was a naval operation that the British Royal Navy carried out in January 1839.^[16] Following Britain's decision to invade the Port of Aden as a coaling station for the steamers sailing the new Suez-Bombay route, the Sultan of Lahej, who owned Aden, resisted, which led to a series of skirmishes between the two sides.^[17] In response to the incidents, a small force of warships and soldiers of the East India Company were sent to Arabia.^[18] The expedition succeeded in defeating the Arab defenders, who held the fortress on Sira Island, and occupied the nearby port of Aden.^[19][20]