Tancred Bradshaw LONDON

One of the surprises of Britain’s withdrawal from the Middle East was the successful creation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Tancred Bradshaw will discuss the critical role played by Sir William Luce, previously Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Aden Colony, in that transition. Luce was responsible for establishing a viable political structure for the previously semi-independent sheikhdoms of the Gulf. Against the odds, he succeeded in his quest to create the UAE and to establish Bahrain and Qatar as independent states.

Tancred Bradshaw received his Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies and has since taught at Birkbeck College, the University of London, City University, and Florida State University. His books include King Abdullah I and the Zionist Movement and Glubb Pasha and Britain’s Project in the Middle East, 1920–1945. His talk will draw on his recent book, The End of Empire in the Gulf. He is currently working on a book entitled Britain and Oman: The Illusion of Independence.