Qatar Country - Research Paper Example

Qatar experienced a troubled past with the country being at the center of various territorial disputes in which neighboring countries attempted to claim Qatar as their own. Furthermore, Qatar was imposed upon and even ruled by foreign powers such as the Ottoman Empire and Britain. Qatar finally became fully independent on the 3rd of September 19712. Independence brought about a stabilizing factor in the country’s political, economical, and social affairs. This allowed Qatar to transform itself from a poor and corrupted state into an economically wealthy, politically stable, and socially developing country.

In the past, Qatar’s economy relied heavily on pearling and fishing; however, after the 1940s oil and gas reserves were discovered which helped develop the country’s economy. Qatar is now one of the richest states in the Gulf as it continues to provide the world with the scarce resources of oil and gas. Due to Qatar’s increasing international value, powerful nations such as Iran and the U.S.A have become interested in Qatar and now undertake extensive trade with the country. The assignment will focus on Qatar’s importance among the Gulf Cooperation Council’s [GCC] states and how Qatar’s present position impacts these states and the Arabian Peninsula as a whole.

Qatar has a rich and vibrant account of ancient history, which displays the strategic importance of the area; as well as, what the land and people had to offer. Archaeological evidence suggests that Qatar has been inhabited since before the sixth millennium B.C., making it one of the fifteen states which formed the so-called cradle of humanity3. An ancient site was discovered at Shagra in the South-East of Qatar which displayed the importance of the sea to the land and its people for survival.

Other findings of stone tools and pottery at Al-Khore, Bir Zekrit, and Ras Abaruk reveal that Qatar was closely linked to the Al-Ubaid civilization which was dominant in the fifth and fourth millennium B.C. in the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates4.