Sultan bin Salim took over as wali or governor of Ras Al Khaimah when his brother Muhammad handed over control in July 1919.
In December 1919, the Political Resident, Arthur Prescott Trevor, visited Ras Al Khaimah and concluded that Sultan was too young to maintain his precarious grip on power in light of the strong factions supporting his brother Muhammad and decided to withhold recognition.
[1] Sultan bin Salim was only too aware of his family's turbulent past and moved to not only consolidate power but centralise it along with the revenues accruing to the Ruler.
The British had a vested interest in Kalba, which was the site of the backup landing strip to Sharjah airport and Sultan was punished by being sent to Bahrain.
Strangely, this impecunity helped him maintain his hold on power but when he secretly signed a lucrative oil concession with Petroleum Development Ltd, outraged family members conspired to have him removed and, in 1948, Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi mounted a successful bloodless coup against his uncle.