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Fujairah, the last emirate to surrender to the British, a land of proud and patient fighters, able to wait over a century to win its independence.
Fujairah, lady of Wadi Ham
The fortunes of this small emirate have always been linked to its territorial dominion over Wadi Ham, a fundamental road for passing goods from the interior of the Arabian Peninsula to the coasts of the Persian Gulf. These territories have always been linked to the Sharqiyin tribe who will later give rise to the current royal family of the Sharqi, still lords of the emirate today. Always placed under the control of Oman, its fate will change in 1850, when it will be ceded to the Emir of Sharjah, al Qasimi of Kalba. The new dynasty will have difficulty in governing these lands due to the continuous revolts of the locals, determined to no longer have masters.
There were many attempts at revolt, but the decisive result will be made by Hamad bin Abdullah al Sharqi, rightly considered the founding father of Fujairah.
The revolt of fort Bithnah
After several unsuccessful attempts, in 1884 Al Sharqi will occupy the fort of Bithnah, a fundamental hub for the streets of Wadi Ham. This will particularly annoy the Al Qasimi who in 1902 will send an army of 250 Bedouins against him, giving Hamad the pretext to ask for help from the neighboring emirates. England, which then exercised its protectorate over these lands, sided with the rulers of Sharjah, preventing the Emirate of Dubai and the Sultanate of Oman from intervening.
Thanks to the mediation of the British, the situation did not degenerate but remained tense for a long time, also because neither of the two suitors seemed to want to give up the stakes. The Arab states took the side of the al Sharqi, while London remained loyal to the al Qasimi. Due to the British refusal, it will only be in 1952 that the emirate will be recognized as autonomous, then immediately joining the United Arab Emirates.
Rich in culture
Unlike Abu Dhabi, the emirate does not have large reserves of gas or oil and for this very reason it depends a lot on state aid from the capital, which has allowed it a great technical and economic development.
As in the case of the capital, however, this place has been inhabited for millennia, with archaeological sites dating back to 2000 BC; Fujairah also can boast of having the oldest mosque in the country, built in 1446 in the village of Bidya.
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