independent nation. Jan 1968: Britain announces its decision to withdraw from the Persian Gulf, including the Trucial States, by 1971. 16 Dec 1971: Termination of British protectorate and military presence in the Persian Gulf. Political Agents Agents: 1763 – 1812 : .... c.1798 : Mirza Mahdi Ali Khan c.1810 : Hankey Smith 1812 – 1822 : William Bruce (acting to 1813) Chief political residents of the Persian Gulf : (for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the Trucial States) 1822 – 1823 : John Macleod 1823 – 1827 : Ephraim Gerrish Stannus 1827 – 1831 : David Wilson 1831 – 1835 : David Alexander Blane 1835 – 1838 : James Morrison 1838 – 1852 : Samuel Hennell 1852 – 1856 : Arnold Burrowes Kemball 1856 – 1862 : James Felix Jones 1862 : Herbert Frederick Disbrowe (acting) 1862 – 1872: Lewis Pelly 1872 – 1891: Edward Charles Ross 1891 – 1893 : Adelbert Cecil Talbot 1893 : Stuart Hill Godfrey (acting) 1893 : James Hayes Sadler (1st time)(acting) 1893: James Adair Crawford (acting) 1893 – 1894 : James Hayes Sadler (2nd time)(acting) 1894 – 1897 : Frederick Alexander Wilson 1897 – 1900 : Malcolm John Meade 1900 – 1904 : Charles Arnold Kemball (acting) 1904 – 1920: Percy Zachariah Cox - Acting for Cox - 1913 – 1914 : John Gordon Lorimer 1914 : Richard Lockinton Birdwood 1914 : Stuart George Knox (1st time) 1915 : Stuart George Knox (2nd time) 1915 – 1917 : Arthur Prescott Trevor (1st time) 1917 – 1919 : John Hugo Bill 1919 : Cecil Hamilton Gabriel 1919 – 1920: Arthur Prescott Trevor (2nd time) 1920: Arnold Talbot Wilson (acting) 1920 – 1924 : Arthur Prescott Trevor 1924 – 1927 : Francis Bellville Prideaux 1927 – 1928 : Lionel Berkeley Holt Haworth 1928 – 1929 : Frederick William Johnston 1929 : Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett (acting) 1929 – 1932: Hugh Vincent Biscoe 1932 – 1939: Trenchard Craven William Fowle 1939 – 1946: Charles Geoffrey Prior 1946 – 1953: Rupert Hay (from 1952, Sir Rupert) 1953 – 1958: Bernard Burrows (from 1955, Sir Bernard) 1958 – 1961: Sir George Middleton 1961 – 1966: Sir William Henry Tucker Luce 1966 – 1970: Sir Robert Stewart Crawford 1970 – 15 August 1971: Sir Geoffrey Arthur See also Pax Britannica Bahrain Province Further reading Blyth, Robert J., The Empire of the Raj Shadle, Robert (1991), Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism.