The Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 was an operation by the British East India Company and Royal Navy to force the Al Qasimi (plural Qawasim, referred to by the British at the time as 'Joasmees') to cease their attacks on British ships in the Persian Gulf, particularly on the Persian and Arab coasts of the Strait of Hormuz. The operation's success was limited as the British did not press their advantage when invading Ras Al Khaimah and embarked without consolidating their gains and failed to permanently suppress the strong fleets of the Qawasim of Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah. The expedition did achieve its short-term goals by destroying three Al Qasimi bases and over 80 vessels, including the largest Al Qasimi ship in the region, the converted merchant ship Minerva. Although operations continued into 1810, the British were unable to destroy every Al Qasimi vessel. By 1811, attacks had resumed, although at a lower intensity than previously.
The operation against the Qawasim was a joint campaign by the Royal Navy and the fleet of the Honourable East India Company (HEIC), with soldiers drawn from the garrison of Bombay. The expeditionary force, led by Captain John Wainwright in the Navy frigate HMS Chiffonne, was despatched to the region, following an escalation in attacks on British shipping in the Persian Gulf after the French established diplomatic missions in Muscat and Tehran in 1807. These attacks not only threatened British trade links in the region, but also placed British relations with Oman and Persia in jeopardy at a time when French aspirations against British India were a cause for concern to the British government.
