Historiography of the British period in Persian Gulf history often covers economy and trade as well as political conflict between the Ottomans, Persians, and British as the era of independent nations began to replace imperial rule. A trope of the literature is that life in the gulf changed dramatically with the arrival of the British, and particularly when began using steam ships. What is often missing is the role of the Persian Gulf’s inhabitants. The Persian Gulf is important for the surrounding desert lands, both as a natural connection to major trade routes and for its unique resources. Locals engaged in fishing, pearl diving, and sailing, but little has been written about how local residents of the Gulf coped as their region passed from one imperial ruler and historical era to another. An environmental approach to this important region of the Middle East suggests that local Gulf residents used an ultra-localized understanding of their resources, terrain, and weather patterns to facilitate their transition from ruler to ruler throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Arab pirates knew the best escape channels between islands and the nearest inlets in which to hide along the barren shore, methods that worked even after the advent of steam power. Fishermen maintained an array of methods in order to bring in various types of fish in different seasons, often outside of governmental control. Pearl divers had always been more closely controlled because of the lucrative nature of their trade, but the British were, perhaps, less adept at controlling that industry than provincial Ottoman leaders who had deeper connections and greater knowledge of local conditions. Finally, if life became too difficult as a result of poor governance, political battles, open warring, or extreme weather, local residents knew when to flee and which distant Gulf shores would provide for their families. Through an examination of travelers’ guides, memoirs, and government documents, I recreate a picture of Arab and Persian daily life in the Gulf as it existed outside of major political centers. Such a paper provides a new assessment of the impact of new technologies on the Gulf region and show how local, collective environmental knowledge allowed inhabitants to maintain cultural traditions and resource management long into the modern period.