The 1835 maritime truce was agreed among individual Arab emirates such as Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, the rest of the Trucial States as well as Bahrain and Oman.

[3] In 1835, a loose coalition of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah ships began to harass and plunder vessels belonging to Oman.

[3] In 1850s and 60s, the relations between Qatar and Bahrain deteriorated with a series of disputes,[2] beginning with the Battle of Mesaimeer in June 1851 when Qatari tribes switched allegiances from the Bahrainis to Faisal bin Turki of the Emirate of Nejd.

[4] The next month, a peace agreement was reached which saw dominion over Qatar returned to the Bahrainis in exchange for an annual zakat paid to the Wahhabi ruler.

[6] The antagonism between the Qataris and Bahrainis persisted, exacerbated by the Al Khalifa's presumption that their annual tribute of 4,000 riyals to the Wahhabis had effectively purchased Qatar and its tribes.

[7] Lacking sufficient defensive capabilities, Ahmed was compelled to flee to Al Khuwayr, a location in the northern part of mainland Qatar, from where he dispatched a message to the ruler of Bahrain reporting the events.

[12] This contingent established a base in Ra’s Abū ‘Umrān, near Ar Ru'ays in northern Qatar, from which Bahraini and Abu Dhabi forces advanced towards Doha, the epicenter of the insurgency.

As reported by Muḥammad ibn Kahlīfa al-Nabhānī in The Nabhani offering on the history of the Arabian Peninsula (1924): "They wielded their swords against the unsuspecting inhabitants, compelling them to flee, abandoning their homes and possessions.

"[7] A British record later stated "that the towns of Doha and Wakrah were, at the end of 1867 temporarily blotted out of existence, the houses being dismantled and the inhabitants deported".

The historian Al-Nabhani succinctly describes the outcome of this encounter: "The two groups dispersed equally," suggesting a mutually destructive engagement that left both sides significantly weakened.

Before this could be effected the tribes of Qatar retaliated by an attack on Bahrain which proved unsuccessful; but in the naval action which took place a number of vessels were destroyed and great loss of life occurred.

[2] Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Pelly, the British Resident in Bahrain, issued an ultimatum to the Bahraini Hakim, accusing him of violating the maritime law and demanding reparations of 10,000 Iranian Tomans.

[16] On 6 September 1868, Ali al Khalifa effectively took control of Bahrain as hakim after Colonel Pelly appointed him,[17] after his brother Mohammed fled.