London & the British Residency in the Gulf knew that military presence wasn’t going to fly - not in the 1960s with #Nasserism at its height & the #BritishEmpire increasingly dwindling. They thus turned to other ways to remain relevant in #Bahrain & by extension the region ~RAR
The Political Residency decided to introduce a series of reforms for #Bahrain - partly as a way to improve conditions on the island but mainly as a way to remain relevant and important the Khalifa family. These reforms were political & extended to education. ~RAR
Bahrainis were encouraged to join the administration and the Khalifa family relaxed regulations so that non-royal members could also have some political agency. There were still uprisings & anti-British demos in #Bahrain throughout the 60s, which encouraged further reforms ~RAR
British military presence became more symbolic. When Harold Wilson became PM, policy shifted & #Britain prepared to withdraw from the Gulf - barely ten years after the decision to remain and increase its commitment to the region. ~RAR
The decision to withdraw saw Iran’s Muhammad Reza Shah revive the claim to Bahrain (see @RohamAlvandiLSE ‘s work for more) - resulting in negotiations between #Britain, the #UN & the #Shah as well as wider discussions over what post-independence #Bahrain would look like ~RAR
After much negotiations, Iranian claim was eventually abandoned - officially in May 1970. A day before Britain officially withdrew from the Gulf, and as part of the negotiations to abandon the claim, Iran occupied the islands of Tunbs & Abu Musa - without British resistance ~RAR
Tomorrow I will be ending my week here! I will look at the relationship between #Britain & #Bahrain since British withdrawal from the #PersianGulf and will also provide some further reading. Thank you so much for tuning in! ~RAR
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