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'File 8/3 Pearling industry' [51r] (124/182)
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.
the reforms were finally pushed through mainly owing
to the keenness and energy of Major Daly.
4
The principal features are as follows.-
The amount of the advances and the amount of
interest permissible is laid down by law. Eo other
charges may be debited against a diver. Merchants
and boat captains are compelled to keep regular accounts,
which were made out by a number of diving clerks who
are authorized by the Government. Svery diver keeps
a small book issued by the Government wnich shows nis
account with his captain. Boat captains are forbidden
to sell the pearls privately but must do so in the pre
sence of not less than three of the divers. When a
diver dies his children are not made to take over his
debts and dive for his captain, the debt becomes an
ordinary one against the estate. x^o person ^ doco
not own a diving boat may take over divers for >bt.
fhese. and various other rules, nave grenuxv
improved the diving conditions. Although men who have
been diving for a long time are still hopelessly inciebo-
ed to their captains, and t ill remain so until uhe.y
die the new generation of divers are no lon^.r m the
I::, Previously a diver had no
against his captain, a court existed, but it con
sisted of boat captains and its reputation was notorious.
Divers now realise when they are cheated and appeal to
the courts when they find that the diving rules are
not being carried out by their employers.
Tlr re still remains an influential party of rerohants
and captains who bitterly resent the improved conditions
and who continually try to upset and evade them. - e
strictest supervision is needed by the Government and 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' [51r] (124/182), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/122, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023799069.0x00007d> [accessed 27 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.