The modern history of Bahrain begins with Great Britain exploring the area, trying to keep Iran from taking more land. The British gave support to the Al-Khalifa family, who made a power base in the island and allied with the British to keep the island from Iran. The British got free passage to the Persian Gulf through this agreement. In November of 1957, the Iranian parliament declared that Bahrain was the Fourteenth Province of Iran. Later the British would become involved in the politics of Bahrain by choosing an Emir of the island. Iran and Britain later agreed that the United Nations Secretary General would judge the political situation in Bahrain. In a Plebiscite to decide the country's future, the majority of the people of Bahrain chose to reject Iran's claims, and to define their country and their culture to be Arabic, and not Persian.