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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [‎72] (87/148)

The record is made up of 1 volume (69 folios). It was created in 1919. It was written in English. The original is part of the 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. .

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72
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
[No. 90
strengthening the natural Arab bias against new and
improved methods. A moral factor acting against in
dustrial improvement is the fierce fighting spirit of the
nomad Arabs, which measures tribal and individual
greatness by success in war, and is in sharp conflict
with the commercial and industrial spirit. Arabs
when they have settled and become more civilised, have
a good reputation as workers. At Aden, where they
are employed as coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. , road-menders, &c., they are
much more industrious than Somalis, and those who
have had experience of them in Mesopotamia report
very favourably on their work.
The condition of slaves in Arabia is generally not
hard; in the Hadhramaut especially they are well
treated and can rise to positions of trust. One or two
tribes in Asir, however, treat their slaves with
notorious cruelty. The cultivators of Kheibar oasis,
mainly negro tenants of the Beduin owners, only work
before noon.
Particulars of wages are only available for Aden and
Bahrein. Before the war the following rates were
normal at Aden :—
Carpenters from 2 6 to 3 2 per day
These rates have been raised since 1914. Indian
skilled workers generally earn better wages than others.
The pearl-fishing industry at Bahrein has produced
a class of labourers living under abnormal conditions.
The pearlers, some 20,000 in number, are financed
during the whole year by the pearl merchants, although
they work only from May to October. They are obliged
to obtain the necessities of life from their masters, and
therefore during the off-season contract debts, which
they pay off with their labour in the summer. There
results a kind of serfdom, with a power that may
become tyranny on the one hand, and an almost total
s. d. s. d.
Masons
Coal coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory.
Day labourers...
2 0 „ 3 0
0 8 „ 10
0 7,, 10

About this item

Content

This volume contains information on the geography, political history and economic conditions of Arabia and was published by the Historical Section of the Foreign Office in April 1919.

It is divided into four sections: 'Geography Physical and Political'; 'Political History'; 'Political Conditions' and 'Economic Conditions'. There is an Appendix, containing tables regarding trade in Aden, Muscat and Bahrein, 1909-1917.

There is a map 'Sketch Map of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Arabia', compiled by the War Office on June 1914.

Extent and format
1 volume (69 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the map on a sleeve on the inside back cover, on number 70.

Pagination: There is also an original pagination, iv-vi, 2-127.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [‎72] (87/148), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E85, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023512781.0x000058> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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