IT’S one of the richest countries in the world, with wealth built on vast reserves of oil and gas.
So it might be a surprise to learn Qatar relied on Britain for protection from attack from land and sea until just five decades ago.
The Arab nation was never a colony and the circumstances of officially ending links with Britain were very different from the battles fought by some countries for independence.
Here we look at Qatar’s relationship with Britain and the circumstances that led to it gaining full independence on September 3, 1971.
Under British protection
The links between Britain and Qatar date back to an agreement in 1868 in the aftermath of the Qatari-Bahraini War when Britain mediated a truce and recognised the Al-Thani family as ruler of Qatar.
Another treaty was signed in 1916, which meant that Qatar became a British protectorate.
Dr Anthony Gorman, senior lecturer in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at Edinburgh University, said: “This was part of Britain’s move into the Gulf – it talked about piracy as an issue in the area, but it was more about imperial expansion and safeguarding the route to India.
“It was a standard arrangement - local ruling family was recognised and the territory generally recognised. “They were given a free hand in terms of domestic policy but had to give up any sense of foreign policy or defence, that was taken over by Britain, that was the deal.
“So as long as they kept to that, there was no problem.”
The run-up to independence
Rather than any kind of internal pressures, it was events outwith Qatar that led to it becoming a fully independent state.
The aftermath of World War II had already seen a weakening of the British Empire.
Then in November 1967, the sterling crisis which saw the devaluation of the pound in the UK meant the Treasury had to make large-scale cuts.
Dr Francis Owtram, honorary research fellow at the University of Exeter, said the choice was to increase prescription charges or withdraw from the Gulf.
The decision to take the latter route came as a “great shock” to Qatar and other states who had been under a similar arrangement.
“In Qatar’s case it had protection from land by sea and it had also used its diplomacy to keep the British at arm's length,” he said.
“So it was quite a useful arrangement for Qatari Royal family – it helped protect their position, as British recognition was often the key deciding factor in whether one ruling family or another survived.
“In the late 1960s when informed of the Labour Government’s decision to withdraw from the Gulf, Qatar along with the rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai offered to pay for Britain’s continuing military presence.”
Gorman said the prospect of the “rather comfy arrangement” ending – where local rulers could have a free hand in their own territory in return for British protection – led to talks about a number of states forming what would eventually become the United Arab Emirates.
But he added: “Qatar decided to pull out of that - just at this time big gas find is discovered and it gives Qatar a very solid economic basis.
“It probably wasn’t entirely clear then and there but it decided to pull out of the UAE project and made its own way essentially thereafter.”
Success as independent state
Owtram said Qatar was an interesting contrast with some examples of British colonies, which had seen long and sometimes brutal campaign for independence.
Since independence, it has benefited from vast oil and gas reserves – which led to the setting up of a sovereign wealth fund – and has only around 300,000 citizens.
“Because it has such a small population, Qatar has been able to provide a high level of social welfare and standard of living for its citizens. It hasn’t faced so much internal discontent than other states such as Bahrain,” he said.
The country has however survived palace coups, a diplomatic crisis involving a blockade by four neighbouring Arab countries and recently ramped up its presence on the international stage by hosting the World Cup in 2022.
However, the spotlight on Qatar as it hosted the men’s football competition also highlighted concerns about the authoritarian nature of the state and the treatment of the huge workforce the country relies on - which does not enjoy the same rights of citizens and has no prospect of gaining citizenship.
Gorman said: “Something we need to keep in mind with all of the Gulf states is the very large non-Qatari population.
“This came up quite a lot during the lead-up to the World Cup, the labour force etc.
“Qatari citizenship is very restricted and there is probably something like 85% plus non-Qatari.”
He added: “It is you might say a distorted society in the sense that the majority of the population does not have anything like the rights that Qatari citizens have.”
