TALE OF A CITY 36 outcome of thenewagreement with theEnglishwhowere granted concession to mine for red oxide in the Abu Musa Island. It was previously stated that on 15 May 1934, the retired navy commander, Bayldon, after introduction and recommendation by Sir Percy Cox, the Political Resident in the Gulf, applied for a concession to mine red oxide. Bayldon had worked with Cox and J. G. Laithwaite, Director of the Political Department in the Ministry of India, London. There had already been a British concession for the same purpose in effect between 1923 – 1928. Going back to those years and to much earlier ones, we can understand the Mughr story in Abu Musa. The former Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Salem al-Qasimi was previously Deputy Ruler, acting on his nephew’s behalf, Sheikh Saqr bin Khalid, Ruler of Sharjah when the latter had to be away. One year when Sheikh Saqr bin Khalid went for the Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah, Sheikh Sultan bin Salem al-Qasimi granted a concession for the mining of raw mineral on Abu Musa Island to Hasan Suma’iyyah and his son Abdullatif, as well as Eissa bin Abdullatif, son of the Sharjah Political Agent. This was on 10 April 1898. When the Ruler of Sharjah returned, he did not see anything objectionable in that agreement. Therefore, he approved it. The official correspondences show that the concession holders were described as British subjects. In1899,SheikhSaqrbinKhalidal-Qassimi,RulerofSharjah,participated in person in this concession for several months. The concession holders conducted systematic excavations a fewmonths later. Their plan of work was to keep around 50 workers on the island to mine the oxide at a slow pace, pile it up and use it to meet their orders as they received them. In June 1906, one of the lease holders, Hasan bin Suma’iyyah, sold part of his assets in the company to Thomas Brown, a British subject living in Lengeh. A few days later, Brown transferred part of his assets to the German Company Wönckhaus and Partners, in Lengeh. Now, the leaseholders comprised 3 British, Wönckhaus and Partners –who were German- in addition toHasan Suma’iyyah inLengeh. The wholematter now had turned completely into nothing more than a purely commercial business. The Ruler of Sharjah was informed that Suma’iyyah had sold part of his share in the red oxide mine to the German Herr Wönckhaus.
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