'File 8/3 Pearling industry'

Content

The contents of the volume relate to Bahrain's pearl diving economy, and fall under two major concerns:

1) The industry's declining profitability, and the impact this has had upon pearl divers. A large portion of the file is occupied by handwritten balance sheets (all undated) of saibs (pullers) and ghais (divers) showing the payments, loans and debts for individuals (ff 5-36). Also included is a report, written in 1930 by Britain's Advisor to the Government, Charles Belgrave, entitled 'Slavery and the Bahrain Pearl Industry' (ff 49-52);

2) The threat posed by modern innovations to the traditional nature of the pearling industry in Bahrain and the wider Gulf coast. Of chief concern are the modern diving technologies that commercial enterprises wish to use, and the introduction to the Gulf of cultured pearls. Included in the file is a translation of a proclamation from 1930, which bans the import of cultured or tinted pearls, the sale of unbleached, drilled pearls, and the import or use of diving apparatus (f 62). A letter from a Glasgow-based company to the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. in London, dated 15 May 1931, seeks advice on obtaining a license to use its modern diving apparatus to dive for pearls in the Gulf (f 65). A return letter dated 21 August 1931 rejects the possibility of obtaining a permit to dive in the Gulf (f 74).

Extent and format

1 volume (89 folios)

Arrangement

The correspondence in the volume is arranged in chronological order, from the earliest item at the front of the volume, to the most recent at the end.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation starts with 1a on first page with writing (3rd page on volume), and runs to 74 on the last page of text. The front cover and two blank sheets at the the front of the volume are unfoliated, as are the five blank pages and the inside back cover at the end of the volume. With the exception of a few pages where foliation anomalies were corrected in pencil, the foliation is the original, in blue crayon in top-right corner of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages. The following foliation anomalies occur: ff 1A-1D; ff 5-5A; ff 23-23A; ff 43-43A.

Condition: Many of the pearl divers' balance sheets included in the file are fold-outs, and are in fragile condition.

Written in

English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/2/122

Former external reference(s)

Confidential Files: 8/3

History of this record

Date(s)

18 Jun 1912-18 Sep 1931 (CE, Gregorian)

Context of creation

The Government of Bahrain, under the guidance of Britain's Advisor to the Government, Charles Belgrave, and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , established workers' reforms and sanctions on the pearling industry in order to ensure its stability, and avoid wider economic and political instability in Bahrain.

Related material

Subjects

Pearl industry and trade

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'File 8/3 Pearling industry', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/122, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000359> [accessed 24 April 2024]

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