1916-1949 1971-1990







Qatar 1949-1971


Status and Foreign Policy . Until 1971, Qatar was one of several British protectorates in the Gulf. In 1961 Qatar joined OPEC. Britain announced her withdrawal from the Gulf by 1971. In preparation, the Federation of Arab Emirates was established in 1969, consisting of the seven emirates later forming the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain. When the date for independence arrived in 1971, Qatar decided to go alone.

Administration . Qatar is a monarchy. From 1949 to 1960 Sheikh 'Ali bin 'Abdu'llah Al-Thani ruled; he was succeeded by Sheikh Ahmad ibn `Ali Al Thani (1960-1972). As Qatar was a British protectorate, the British were responsible for defense and foreign representation. The British Resident of the Gulf (in historical documents refered to as the Resident of the Persian Gulf) resided on Bahrain; he was responsible for Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States and Oman.

The Economy . Until 1959 the Indian Rupee was legal tender, in 1966 replaced by the Gulf Rupee, which was pegged to the Indian Rupee. When India devaluated the Rupee in 1966, the Gulf States introduced the Gulf Riyal, pegged to the Saudi Riyal.
Oil production began in 1949; by 1971 it had risen to 20 million metric tons (IHS p.363).
In the 1960es agriculture expanded. Qatar National Fishing Co. was incorporated in 1966.

Social History . In 1950 the population of Qatar was 47,000, in 1971 122,000 (Lahmeyer). Education, including university level, and health care are free.

Cultural History . The first modern school opened in 1949; schooling is free since 1951. In 1959 Rumailah Hospital was opened; health care is provided free of charge.
The Qatar Football Association was established in 1960.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Article History of Qatar, List of Emirs of Qatar, Gulf Rupee, from Wikipedia
Qatar, from A Global History of Currencies (B. Taylor)
Historical Perspective, from Qatar Central Bank
Qatar in the 20th Century, from DIB Qatar
Qatar, from Library of Congress, Country Studies
DOCUMENTS Qatar Statesmen : World Statesmen, by Ben Cahoon
Historical Population Statistics : Qatar, from Population Statistics (Jan Lahmeyer)
REFERENCE IHS : International Historical Statistics : Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2000, edited by B.R. Mitchell, Basingstoke : Palgrave MacMillan 4th ed. 2003
Article : Arabia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1949 pp.50-51, 1950 pp.53-54, 1951 p.53, 1952 p.50, 1953 p.49, 1954 p.49, 1955 p.110-111, 1956 p.47 [G]
Article : Persian Gulf States, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1957 pp.603-604 [G]
Article : Qatar, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1958 p.574-575, 1959 p.574, 1960 p.576, 1961 p.585, 1962 p.576, 1963 pp.677-678 [G]
Article : Protected States, Condominiums and Trust Territories, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1964 pp.694-695, 1965 pp.668-669, 1966 pp.635-636, 1967 pp.649-651, 1968 pp.648-650 [G]
Article : Dependent States : Qatar, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1969 p.278, 1970 p.278, 1971 pp.267-269 [G]
Article : Qatar, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1970-1971 pp.1220-1221 [G]
Article : Arabia - Qatar, in : Americana Annual 1962 pp.40-41, 1963 pp.56-57, 1964 pp.57-58 [G]
Article : Persian Gulf States, in : Americana Annual 1969 p.529, 1970 p.533, 1971 p.528 [G]
Article : Arabia, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1952 p.38; Qatar 1952 p.343, 1961 p.283 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 9th 2007

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