Overview
For centuries, pearl fishing was the heart of the Gulf region’s economy, with pearl oysters manually gathered from the seabed by skilled divers. From the mid-nineteenth century, the industry grew rapidly to meet increasing global demand, which outstripped supply and caused prices to soar. As John Gordon Lorimer noted, by the early twentieth century, pearling was ‘the principal or only source of wealth among the residents of the Arabian side [of the Gulf]’ (IOR/L/PS/20/C91/2, p. 2220). It wasn’t long before the industry entered a slow decline caused by decades of overfishing to meet demands. This decline was hastened by Japan’s development of the cultured pearl from 1916 onward and further compounded by the global financial crash of 1929, from which the Gulf’s pearling industry never fully recovered.
Below is a large – though by no means exhaustive – selection of 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. material on pearling in the Gulf.
The Boom Years: Mid to Late-Nineteenth Century
Two items from this IOR/L/PS/5 volume, both dated 1842, briefly report on a successful pearl fishing season, with one correspondent calling it ‘the best … for many years’ (IOR/L/PS/5/414, f. 188r), as do two items from the IOR/F/4 records, dated 1845-46 and 1849-50.
Several volumes from the Bushehr Political Residency’s subject-based letter books (1850-89) touch on pearl fishing and trading. One from 1858-59 discusses whether it is advisable for British subjects to engage in pearl fishing in the Gulf. Another, covering 1858, reports on ‘favourable’ pearl fishing in the Gulf while also noting an apparent abundance of ‘superior’ pearls at Socotra (IOR/R/15/1/176, f. 66v). In addition, this volume, contains administrative reports on Gulf affairs covering 1858-61, with discussion of pearl diving and trading.
This item from the IOR/L/PS/6 series, dated 1874, concerns the activities of Lieutenant Walter Grant, formerly of the Indian Navy, who was deputed by ‘certain speculators’ to investigate the projected establishment of a commercial company, as a venture by which to obtain pearls from the Gulf using ‘modern scientific appliances’, which became an increasingly common topic of discussion in later decades.
The Beginning of the End: 1900s-1930s
Two volumes from the IOR/L/PS/10 series notably cover British political and economic interests in pearl fishing. One, dated 1905-16, documents British officials’ concerns that a British sponge exploration syndicate might seek to exploit the Gulf’s pearl banks, while the other, dated 1902-14, discusses reports of depleted pearl banks and proposals to use modern diving apparatus.
This file from the Kuwait Political Agency covers the period 1906-24 and relates to pearl banks in the Gulf. It includes correspondence on the gathering of information for the ‘Persian Gulf Pearl Fisheries’ appendix to Lorimer’s Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Oman and Central Arabia (see part two of volume one of the Gazetteer for the published appendix). It further contains correspondence between the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and several Gulf rulers, where the former stipulates that the latter must not enter into any agreements over their pearl fisheries without prior consultation with him. The file also includes correspondence on sovereignty and monopolies over pearl banks, the use of modern diving equipment and divers’ shares of profits, along with a sketch map and a chart, both dated 1906, indicating pearl banks between Kuwait and Dubai.
The Bushehr Files and Beyond
Many of the Bushehr Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. subject files from this period contain material on pearl fishing and trading. One from 1918 includes a set of guidelines for handling economic disputes between captains, divers, and merchants. Two later Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. files, dated 1921-29 and 1935-39 respectively, discuss manumission cases heard at the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Muscat, many of which relate to pearl divers, while this slightly later volume contains correspondence on manumission cases. Pearl divers represented a significant proportion of those men seeking manumission, often on the grounds of having received insufficient earnings from their employers. (Detailed information on divers and diving terms can be found in this paper, located in this Bahrain Political Agency).
Another Bushehr Residency file, dated 1924-36, contains correspondence on Bahrain’s pearling industry and the reforms enacted by British officials during the 1920s. It discusses the industry prior to the reforms, the nature of the relationship between ship captains and pearl divers and the impact of the reforms on the working conditions of the divers. The subsequent four Residency files cover a similar period and concern the Government of Bahrain’s finances during that time including discussions of its pearling industry. In addition, this Residency file from 1929-38 contains a report by Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Ruler of Bahrain, describing the pearling industry around 1930 and the measures taken by the previous 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. at Bahrain (Major Clive Daly) to improve the working conditions of indebted pearl divers. On this subject, correspondence on demonstrations by pearl divers in Bahrain during 1932 can be found in this file from the IOR/L/PS/12 series, and in this Bahrain Agency file.
In Terminal Decline: 1930s and 1940s
Several of the Bahrain Agency’s records discuss the decline of the Gulf’s pearling industry in the early twentieth century. This volume, dated 1912-31, relates to Bahrain’s pearl diving economy and covers two major concerns. The first is the industry’s declining profitability and its impact on pearl divers. The second is the threat posed by modern innovations to the traditional pearling in Bahrain and along the Gulf coast, which the British Government had long tried to resist. The volume includes a 1930 proclamation, signed by Belgrave, banning the import of cultured or tinted pearls and the use of diving apparatus.
However, the threat of modernisation did not go away. This Bushehr Residency file from 1937-41 documents British concerns over the admission of foreign vessels into the Gulf to fish on its pearl banks, specifically the deeper banks that lay beyond the reach of the traditional methods used by divers. It contains a chart and two maps of pearl bank locations, and includes details of banks off the coast of Kuwait, Bahrain, the Trucial Coast, and Muscat. In addition, both this Bahrain Agency file (dated 1934-40) and this Kuwait Agency file (1938) discuss the impact of Japanese vessels on the health of the Gulf’s pearl banks and the possible ways to prevent their access.
Another Kuwait Agency file, dated 1934-47, contains correspondence on the working conditions of Kuwaiti pearl divers. It also includes a 1947 proposal by Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. William Rupert Hay to allow the use of modern pearl diving equipment by ‘local Arabs … to make what they can out of the local pearl while there is a market left’ (IOR/R/15/5/191, f. 16r). A related file from Bahrain Agency file ,dated 1934-49, features a letter from Belgrave to 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. in Bahrain, in which he states the opposition of the Ruler of Bahrain and the island’s leading pearling boat captains to introducing mechanical diving methods in Bahrain. Belgrave, who shared this view, also challenged Hay’s suggestion that the divers who would become unemployed as a result would find other employment.
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Dive Deeper
The selection above is by no means comprehensive; in fact, it is only a starting point. A simple search of the QDL using the key word ‘pearl’ returns hundreds of records, reflecting just how extensively pearling is discussed in 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. correspondence and highlighting its significance. Readers are invited to dive in and find even more relevant material waiting in the deep.
