Qatar has been inhabited for millennia. the Thani bin Mohammed, the founder of the Al-Thani family was elected Sheikh of Qatar, where he ruled in Al-Bida (now known as Doha) In the 19th century, the Al Khalifa family occupied the northern part of Qatar until 1868 when, at the request of Qatari nobles, the British negotiated the termination of the Al Khalifa claim to Qatarexcept for the payment of tribute. The tribute ended with the occupation of Qatar by the Ottoman Turks in 1872. The Al Khalifa family moved to Bahrain.
When the Turks left, at the beginning of World War I, the British recognized Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani as Ruler. The Al Thani family had lived in Qatar for 200 years. The 1916 treaty between the United Kingdom and Sheikh Abdullah was similar to those entered into by the British with other Gulf principalities. Under it, the Ruler agreed not to dispose of any of his territory except to the U.K. and not to enter into relationships with any other foreign government without British consent. In return, the British promised to protect Qatar from all aggression by sea and to lend their good offices in case of a land attack. A 1934 treaty granted more extensive British protection.
During the 1950s and 1960s gradually increasing oil reserves brought prosperity, rapid immigration, substantial social progress, and the beginnings of Qatar's modern history.
Qatar achieved full independence in an atmosphere of cooperation with the United Kingdom and friendship with neighboring states. Most Arab states, the U.K., and the United States were among the first countries to recognize Qatar, and the state promptly gained admittance to the United Nations and the Arab League. Qatar established diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R. and China in 1988. It was an early member of OPEC and a founding member of the GCC, whose rotating presidency it holds until December 1997.