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'File 8/3 Pearling industry' [50r] (122/182)
The record is made up of 1 volume (89 folios). It was created in 18 Jun 1912-18 Sep 1931. 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.
Most divers existed on the small bi-annual advances
which'were debited against them, with interest. These
conditions were favoured by the improvident and extra
vagant nature of the Arab.
Divers were handed over from one captain to
another, sometimes to captains from foreign ports and
sometimes to private individuals in payment for debts.
If a diver died his house and belongings were seized
by his captain o^ if he had grown up sons they were
compelled to incur their father ! s debt, if the sons
were children they incurred the debt when they became
old enough to work. Sales of pearls were conducted
privately captain and merchant and usually the prices
obtained were higher than the amount annoiniCcd uu tue
divers. The captains pocketed the difference. Infirm
old men and young boys were forced to dive and any in
subordination was punished by floggings ena wrious
tortures. Io questions were asked about deaths that
o enured at the banks. During the off season-the divers
were made to work in the houses and garaens 01 taeii
owners.
Attempts to improve the diving system met v itn
difficulties# The divers were suspicious sj - >
the merchants and captains were violently opposed to
changes that would loosen their hold over the men ana
until the present Shaikh succeeded his father it was con
sidered unpolitic to ^ press for reforms. I 1334
E. 3. Shaikh Hamad in conjunction with Ilajor uaxy, wno
was then
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.
, and with the support of the
Government of India, took the matter in hend. Only
c very few of the'more far sighted merchants, and the
Shia and Sunni ^dis, supported the movement, but the
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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'File 8/3 Pearling industry' [50r] (122/182), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/122, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023799069.0x00007b> [accessed 26 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/122
- Title
- 'File 8/3 Pearling industry'
- Pages
- 45r:45v, 48r:52v, 59r:62v
- Author
- Belgrave, Sir Charles Dalrymple
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.