Blood-Red Arab Flag: An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy 1797-1820 (University of Exeter Press - Exeter Maritime Studies) [Hardcover]

Charles E. Davies (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0859895092 | ISBN-13: 978-0859895095 | Edition: 1

During the years 1797-1820 the Qasimi Arabs or Qawasim, inhabitants of the present day United Arab Emirates, acquired an enduring reputation as ruthless pirates. Some of their victims flew the British flag, and thus their actions were to provide the initial stimulus and justification for 150 years of British involvement in the Gulf.

 

Recently, however, it has been doubted whether the Qawasim were in fact pirates. In a scholarly but accessible account founded on contemporary sources, illustrated with testimonies of eye-witnesses and participants, this book sets out to decide this controversial question. By making use of valuable and hitherto untapped archival material, Charles Davies strongly evokes a flavour of life in the Gulf in this turbulent and formative period in the Gulf's history.

 

This book represents the first in-depth investigation into this controversial subject. It is based on original research and and helps to explain why the Gulf is as it is today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“...the book''s analysis shows that the common superficial view of piracy in the Gulf area obscures not only the complex issues of the relations between the Gulf states and Britain but the actual nature and ramifications of this particular chapter in the history of marine violence. . . This book makes a major contribution to Arab Gulf studies.” —Lloyd''s List, January 17, 1998

(Lloyd's List )

“Despite the lurid title, this is a serious historical work-sometimes indeed a little too serious to make for easy reading-but it does lead us to a fascinating but almost forgotten area of Middle Eastern history. . . a fascinating and scholarly book . . .” –Times Literary Supplement, September 4 1998

(Times Literary Supplement )

“The Blood-Red Arab Flag offers such a detailed and surgically sharp analysis of British policy and action, on the one hand, and the maritime history of the Gulf in general and the Qawasim in particular, that it may indeed, for a considerable time, be regarded as the definitive work on the subject...this book is highly recommended. Davies has made a major contribution to a crucial period of Gulf and British history which maritime historians will read with great advantage.” –The Northern Mariner, Vol.VIII, No 4, 1998

(The Northern Mariner )

“This is more than just an analysis of piratical acts; it is a successful attempt to understand what ingredients made the players act the way they did. It also provides the reader with a vivid and credible account of what life was like, both at sea and on land, for Persian Gulf dwellers, and in particular for the Qawasim pirates." –International History Review, June 1999

(International History Review )

About the Author

Charles E. Davies is a barrister and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Centre for Arab Gulf Studies, University of Exeter. He studied Oriental Studies at Trinity College, Oxford, and then completed a doctorate in nineteenth-century Persian History at Saint Antony's College. The Blood-Red Arab Flag is the fruit of an appointment in 1988 as full-time Research Fellow at Exeter's Centre for Arab Gulf Studies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: University of Exeter Press; 1 edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859895092
• ISBN-13: 978-0859895095
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,091,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)