For over 150 years, from 1820 up to the foundation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, the Trucial States and Britain were linked by a relationship that was unique when compared to the traditional colonial models that Britain exercised in India, Egypt and elsewhere.

The British administration of the Trucial States can be divided into two phases. The first was born of early British ambitions in the region and lasted until 1947. During this period Britain oversaw its interests in the Gulf through its representatives in India—the British East India Company and the India Office, which was dissolved after Indian independence in 1947. The second phase began in 1947 and ended in 1971, during which time Gulf affairs were transferred to the Foreign Office in London. This transfer of responsibility led to several administrative developments that had important implications for the internal affairs of the Trucial States.

This research is concerned with the period beginning in 1947 and ending in 1965—from the time that the responsibility for Gulf affairs was transferred to the Foreign Office in London, up to the year in which the chairmanship of the Trucial States Council was transferred from the British Political Agent to the native Sheikhs, marking a new phase in the history of the emirates.

A number of authors have dealt with various aspects of the British administration of the area in this period – for example, the second chapter of Nasser Ali Al-Bakeshi's Ph.D. thesis, “British Policy Towards the Trucial Coast Emirates 1947–1955” – and several researchers have addressed the question of British diplomatic representation in the emirates.