'File 4/14 I Bahrain Development' [16r] (31/344)
The record is made up of 1 file (172 folios). It was created in 23 Dec 1937-12 Sep 1945. It was written in English and Arabic. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
7* In another direction, we ought without further delay
to get on with extensive improvements in agriculture* We
still await the Agricultural Expert’s report, and I rather
suspect that after all the delay which has occurred it may
be of no very great value, nevertheless we do know that
valuable vegetable crops can be grown here - and that a market
exists for them* Belgrave has proved that sugar cane can be
grown and sold; and even if there were nothing better there
is still room for much expansion in date palm cultivation.
As far as I know there are considerable areas of unclaimed
cultivable land in certain parts of Bahrain, and I have
advised Belgrave to put his Land Department on to registering
all such lands as Government property; and we know that there
are magnificent artesian water supplies. If however State or
quasi-State agricultural projects an a large scale are to be
initiated the first essential is for the Bahrain Government
to obtain control over all artesian water supplies in the
island. At the moment terrifying quantities of good water
are being wasted. Artesian wells have been sunk in extravagant
*
profusion and many of them are not even provided with valves
to shut off the flow. His Highness the Shaikh himself and
the A1 Khalifah are among the worst offenders, and it will
need considerable pressure, preferably originating in advice
from His Majesty^ Government themselves, to induce His Highness
to agree on his own account and to order other landowners to
put their artesian supplies under Government control. It
should not be a difficult task, though it may take some time
and money, to ascertain by experiment the quantity of water
required to irrigate a specific area for a specific crop in
any particular locality in Bahrain. Once this is done all
artesian wells should be fitted with locked valves and meters,
and it should be the business of a properly conducted Government
Department /«
About this item
- Content
This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding an expansion of government administration in Bahrain that had been made possible by an increased level of oil revenue being received by the state. The correspondence discusses the intended direction of this expansion, the state's investment policy, a number of possible economic development projects in Bahrain and the condition of the country's water resources.
The file contains two reports written by officials of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) regarding the possibility of manufacturing cement in Bahrain (ff 35-39 and ff 48-51), as well as a report entitled 'Water Resources of Bahrain' that was also written by a BAPCO official (ff 58-66). A report on BAPCO's water supply at Zellaq is also included in the file (ff 86-92) , this report contains a map on folio 92 that is entitled 'Sketch Map showing Approximate Position of Drainage Ditches Carrying Surplus Irrigation Water to Sea.'
The file also contains extracts from a Memorandum entitled 'Water Resources of Bahrein Island' by Mr. Max Steineke of the Californian Arabian Standard Oil Company (ff 112-116).
A number of letters in Arabic from Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, the ruler of Bahrain, to British officials are contained throughout the file.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (172 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 2-12 and ff 13-158 respectively; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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'File 4/14 I Bahrain Development' [16r] (31/344), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/207, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025648598.0x000020> [accessed 17 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/207
- Title
- 'File 4/14 I Bahrain Development'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:30v, 32r:45v, 51v:56v, 66v:74v, 76r:81v, 83r:86r, 92v:99v, 101r:102v, 107r:108v, 110r:110v, 117r:119v, 121r:121v, 123r:124v, 127r:129v, 131r:154v, 158r:171v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence