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17th century to 1939 AD
Between 1630 and 1700 the Dutch East India Company, set up in 1602, dominated Gulf trade, along with the English East India Company which had been formed two years previously. Portuguese trade had been monopolised directly by the crown, but this was a new era of 'merchant adventurers' from Holland, England and later, France.
Ottoman power was gradually weakened.
| Related heritage sites |
| Al-Zubarah town Fishermen's villages in the northwest North forts (Al-Thagab and Al-Rekayat) Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al-Thani Museum Qatar National Museum Zekreet fort |
In 1620 the Persians took control of Basra; even so Ottoman authority persisted in a reduced form until 1680, when it yielded to the ascendancy of the indigenous Arabs under the leadership of the Bani Khalid, who dominated eastern Arabia.
As for Qatar itself at this time, life continued to centre around the immemorial activities of pearling and fishing, with bedouin pastoralists grazing the interior. The main east coast settlements were Al Wakrah, Al Bidda' (later to become Doha), Al Huwailah and Al Ghuwairiyah. Al Huwailah emerged as the principal pearling port of the early 18th century.
On the north-west coast Murair fort was built in 1768 to protect Zubara from land attack, and the following year a ship canal two kilometres in length - a remarkable engineering achievement for the period - was dug from the sea to the fort, to facilitate the unloading of supplies. Zubara remained vulnerable from the sea for the next hundred years.
Meanwhile, in 1745 Sheikh Mohammed bin Abd al Wahhab began preaching adherence to orthodox Islam, and this led to a powerful reformist movement which swept the region. It was taken up by the Al Saud of Najd, who reached Al Hasa in 1793, replacing the Bani Khalid. Zubara gave shelter to some of the refugees from Al Hasa, and as a consequence of this Zubara was besieged in 1795 by the Saudi commander, along with Al Huwailah.
By 1820 the British had grown concerned that turbulence in the Gulf could interfere with their trade with India, where they had become the imperial power. Their intervention among the ruling sheikhs resulted in a General Treaty of Peace.
The following year Qatar was deemed to have broken the new treaty and the East India Company's cruiser Vestal bombarded Doha with their cannon, setting the town on fire - although few of the inhabitants of Doha knew of the treaty's existence. The first Maritime Truce taking effect from 1832, and brokered by the British, helped to outlaw warfare during the pearling season from May to November, and the truce was generally popular. But in 1841 a further bombardment of Doha was launched by the British. A more serious breach, however, was to take place in 1867 when Doha and Wakrah were sacked by a combined force of ships and men from Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. The following June the Qataris, although outnumbered, courageously counter-attacked Bahrain.
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