The Persian Gulf Residency was an official colonial subdivision (i.e., residency) of the British Empire from 1763 until 1971, whereby the United Kingdom maintained varying degrees of political and economic control over several states in the Persian Gulf, including: what is today known as the United Arab Emirates (formerly called the "Trucial Coast States") and at various times southern portions of Persia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.