Part of the country series of articles.
TRAVEL ADVISORY: EXERCISE HEIGHTENED CAUTIONPARSTATE advises travellers to exercise heightened caution in the Trucial Coast. The political situation between the constituent sheikhdoms remains volatile and the security guarantee provided by British forces is uneven across the territory. Travellers should monitor local conditions closely and avoid travel outside major settlements.
| Trucial Coast Protectorate | |
|---|---|
| British Protectorate | |
 |
|
| Capital | Abu Dhabi |
| Languages | Arabic, English, and many migrant worker languages |
| Population | 680,000 |
The Trucial Coast Protectorate is a collection of sheikhdoms on the Persian Gulf under British protection. It was a minor stopover for Suez traffic throughout the late British Empire, but its fortunes changed once oil was discovered there in the early 1930s. The influx of money led to a minor arms race among the patchwork of sheikhdoms along the coast, which led to British intervention and subsequent management in the century since. Ostensibly held by the Trucial Mineral Resources Trust Company, oil extraction is handled materially by the Anglo-Arab and Anglo-American oil companies and they are the primary beneficiaries.
In many ways, the Trucial Coast is not much of a sovereign state at all – its rival Sheikhs rule unilaterally and competitively, and are united only in their fear of the Saudis. To this end, they tolerate the British garrison embedded there and receive hydrocarbon royalties regularly, which have produced striking contrast between the conspicuous wealth of the emiraties and the ordinary people who live much as they have for hundreds of years.