Kalba

Kalba كلباء
town
Kalba
Mangrove swamp in Khor Kalba
Flag
Kalba Location of Kalba
Coordinates: 25°04′27″N 56°21′19″E / 25.07417°N 56.35528°E / 25.07417; 56.35528
Country	United Arab Emirates
Emirate	Al-Sharjah
Government
• Emir	Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi
Time zone	UAE standard time (UTC+4)

Kalba (Arabic: كلباء‎‎ Kalbāʾ) is a town in the United Arab Emirates. It is an exclave of the emirate of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman and south of the emirate of Fujairah. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south of the town by the Omani border. The town was captured by the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century and was referred to as Ghallah.^[1] It was attacked, sacked and put to the torch by the Sultan of Muscat's forces in March 1811 as part of the ongoing British/Omani campaigns against the maritime forces of the Al Qassimi.^[2] It was a Trucial State from 1936 to 1951 before being reincorporated into Sharjah.

Khor Kalba is currently closed to the public and is being developed as an eco-tourism resort by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). A number of conservationists and ecologists have expressed concern regarding the project.^[3]

History

Kalba was still being referred to as Ghallah at the time of Lorimer's 1906 survey of the Persian Gulf and Oman, when it was apparently home to ten boats trading with ports in the Persian Gulf and India.^[4]

Majid bin Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi was granted the Shamaliyah region, including Kalba, as a fiefdom by his brother, Salim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah. Kalba was subsequently ruled jointly by his two sons Hamad bin Majid and Ahmad bin Majid.

Hamad's son Said Bin Hamad succeeded him in 1902 at the time when the ruler of neighbouring Fujairah, Hamad bin Abdallah Al Sharqi, managed to establish independence. Said bin Hamad lived in Ajman, leaving the administration of Kalba in the hands of a slave named Barut. By the 1920s, he took up residency in Kalba again and in 1936 was recognised by the British as a Trucial Ruler as an incentive to grant landing rights to an emergency air-strip as a backup to the Imperial Airways runway and fort at Al Mahatta in the city of Sharjah.

Shortly afterwards, in April 1937, Said bin Hamad died while his eldest son, Hamad, was still a minor. His daughter Aisha rushed from his deathbed in Khor Fakkan directly to Kalba, organised the town's defences and put the slave Barut in charge. She then sent a message requesting aid to her husband, the former Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Qassimi. The subsequent debates and political jockeying over the succession involved many of the rulers of the Trucial States as well as the British Residency Agent.^[1]

In June 1937, the notable residents of Kalba selected the slave Barut as Regent for the 12-year-old Hamad, but this solution was not accepted by the British and a compromise candidate, Aisha's husband Khalid bin Ahmed Al Qasimi was selected as Regent. He ruled over Dhaid and Kalba (delegating his rule in Kalba to Barut) until 1950, when he was too old and infirm to take a role in affairs. In 1951, the last male descendent in the Qassimis of Kalba, Hamad bin Said, died.^[1] The rule of Kalba reverted to direct administration to Sharjah, although there are British records of an insurgency in 1952 this appears to have been settled.^[5]

That notwithstanding, there were almost constant outbreaks of squabbling and disputes between Kalba and neighbouring Fujairah (itself only recognised as a Trucial State by the British in 1952) which broke out into open fighting over a land dispute after the UAE was founded in 1971 and, in 1972 the newly founded Union Defence Force was called in to take control of the fighting which, by the time the UDF moved in, had killed 22 and seriously injured a dozen more. The dispute was finally settled after mediation between Sheikh Rashid of Dubai and other Rulers and a statement announcing the settlement sent out on 17 July 1972.^[6]

City access

Khor Kalba is accessible by three roads. The first merges after Wadi al-Haloo (وادي الحلو) tunnel with Maliha Road (شارع مليحة) which finally leads to the Sharjah-Kalba Road (90 km) from Sharjah International Airport.There is also the Fujairah-Kalba road (8 km).The Khor Kalba road extends until the border with Oman, and is one of the exit–entry points between the UAE and Oman.

Rulers

• Majid bin Sultan al-Qasimi (1871–1900)
• Hamad bin Majid al-Qasimi (1900–1903)

De facto independence of Kalba from Sharjah in 1903. Britain recognized Kalba on 8 December 1936.

• Said ibn Hamad al-Qasimi (1903–30 April 1937)
• Hamad ibn Said al-Qasimi (30 April 1937 – 1951)
• Saqr ibn Sultan al-Qasimi (1951–1952; Ruler of Sharjah ruler from 1951–1965)

Re-incorporated into Sharjah in 1952.

References

Portuguese overseas empire
North Africa 15th century 1415–1640 Ceuta 1458–1550 Alcácer Ceguer (El Qsar es Seghir) 1471–1550 Arzila (Asilah) 1471–1662 Tangier 1485–1550 Mazagan (El Jadida) 1487–16th century Ouadane 1488–1541 Safim (Safi) 1489 Graciosa 16th century 1505–1541 Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué (Agadir) 1506–1525 Mogador (Essaouira) 1506–1525 Aguz (Souira Guedima) 1506–1769 Mazagan (El Jadida) 1513–1541 Azamor (Azemmour) 1515–1541 São João da Mamora (Mehdya) 1577–1589 Arzila (Asilah)
Sub-Saharan Africa 15th century 1455–1633 Anguim 1462–1975 Cape Verde 1470–1975 São Tomé1 1471–1975 Príncipe1 1474–1778 Annobón 1478–1778 Fernando Poo (Bioko) 1482–1637 Elmina (São Jorge da Mina) 1482–1642 Portuguese Gold Coast 1508–15472 Madagascar3 1498–1540 Mascarene Islands 16th century 1500–1630 Malindi 1501–1975 Portuguese Mozambique 1502–1659 Saint Helena 1503–1698 Zanzibar 1505–1512 Quíloa (Kilwa) 1506–1511 Socotra 1557–1578 Accra 1575–1975 Portuguese Angola 1588–1974 Cacheu4 1593–1698 Mombassa (Mombasa) 17th century 1645–1888 Ziguinchor 1680–1961 São João Baptista de Ajudá 1687–1974 Bissau4 18th century 1728–1729 Mombassa (Mombasa) 1753–1975 Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 19th century 1879–1974 Portuguese Guinea 1885–1975 Portuguese Congo 1 Part of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1753. 2 Or 1600. 3 A factory (Anosy Region) and small temporary coastal bases. 4 Part of Portuguese Guinea from 1879.
Middle East [Persian Gulf] 16th century 1506–1615 Gamru (Bandar Abbas) 1507–1643 Sohar 1515–1622 Hormuz (Ormus) 1515–1648 Quriyat 1515–? Qalhat 1515–1650 Muscat 1515?–? Barka 1515–1633? Julfar (Ras al-Khaimah) 1521–1602 Bahrain (Muharraq • Manama) 1521–1529? Qatif 1521?–1551? Tarut Island 1550–1551 Qatif 1588–1648 Matrah 17th century 1620–? Khor Fakkan 1621?–? As Sib 1621–1622 Qeshm 1623–? Khasab 1623–? Libedia 1624–? Kalba 1624–? Madha 1624–1648 Dibba Al-Hisn 1624?–? Bandar-e Kong
Indian subcontinent 15th century 1498–1545 Laccadive Islands (Lakshadweep) 16th century Portuguese India  • 1500–1663 Cochim (Kochi)  • 1501–1663 Cannanore (Kannur)  • 1502–1658  1659–1661 Quilon (Coulão / Kollam)  • 1502–1661 Pallipuram (Cochin de Cima)  • 1507–1657 Negapatam (Nagapatnam)  • 1510–1961 Goa  • 1512–1525  1750 Calicut (Kozhikode)  • 1518–1619 Portuguese Paliacate outpost (Pulicat)  • 1521–1740 Chaul   (Portuguese India)  • 1523–1662 Mylapore  • 1528–1666 Chittagong (Porto Grande De Bengala)  • 1531–1571 Chaul  • 1531–1571 Chalé  • 1534–1601 Salsette Island  • 1534–1661 Bombay (Mumbai)  • 1535 Ponnani  • 1535–1739 Baçaím (Vasai-Virar)  • 1536–1662 Cranganore (Kodungallur)  • 1540–1612 Surat  • 1548–1658 Tuticorin (Thoothukudi)  • 1559–1961 Daman and Diu  • 1568–1659 Mangalore   (Portuguese India)  • 1579–1632 Hugli  • 1598–1610 Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam) 1518–1521 Maldives 1518–1658 Portuguese Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1558–1573 Maldives 17th century Portuguese India  • 1687–1749 Mylapore 18th century Portuguese India  • 1779–1954 Dadra and Nagar Haveli
East Asia and Oceania 16th century 1511–1641 Portuguese Malacca [Malaysia] 1512–1621 Maluku [Indonesia]  • 1522–1575  Ternate  • 1576–1605  Ambon  • 1578–1650  Tidore 1512–1665 Makassar 1537–1999 Macau [China] 1571–1639 Decima (Dejima / Nagasaki) [Japan] 17th century 1642–1975 Portuguese Timor (East Timor)1 19th century Portuguese Macau  • 1864–1999 Coloane  • 1851–1999 Taipa  • 1890–1999 Ilha Verde 20th century Portuguese Macau  • 1938–1941 Lapa and Montanha (Hengqin) 1 1975 is the year of East Timor's Declaration of Independence and subsequent invasion by Indonesia. In 2002, East Timor's independence was fully recognized.
North America & North Atlantic 15th century [Atlantic islands] 1420 Madeira 1432 Azores 16th century [Canada] 1500–1579? Terra Nova (Newfoundland) 1500–1579? Labrador 1516–1579? Nova Scotia
South America & Antilles 16th century 1500–1822 Brazil  • 1534–1549  Captaincy Colonies of Brazil  • 1549–1572  Brazil  • 1572–1578  Bahia  • 1572–1578  Rio de Janeiro  • 1578–1607  Brazil  • 1621–1815  Brazil 1536–1620 Barbados 17th century 1621–1751 Maranhão 1680–1777 Nova Colónia do Sacramento 18th century 1751–1772 Grão-Pará and Maranhão 1772–1775 Grão-Pará and Rio Negro 1772–1775 Maranhão and Piauí 19th century 1808–1822 Cisplatina (Uruguay) 1809–1817 Portuguese Guiana (Amapá) 1822 Upper Peru (Bolivia)
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Khor Kalba & Kalba Corniche | Following The Bikers’ Trail