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'File 8/3 Pearling industry' [61r] (144/182)
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.
Page 3. / a
8 :
coerce the foreign divers, who were the bacichone of the pass
ive resisters, or else to devise some concession which would
save the face of the Bahrain Government. I think a little
pressure would have brought them to reason, hut seeing the
Shaikh would give me no support and .ould certainly blame me
for any trouble that occurred^ Abdullah suggested that the
nalchudas should be allowed to give a loan if they wanted to,
up to 20/- for divers and 15/- for pullers against their tisqam
%
or end of season advance, and since it seemed likely that this
would enable the nakhudas with Bahrain! divers to get their
men out ( arioso make it difficult for the others to stay behind
as they always think that the boats that get out first may
stumble on some big find ) I advised the Shaikh to allow this,
and arranged for it to be done in a way that would save the
Bahrain Government 1 face ' to some extent.
7. The Bahrain Government had decided that they
would not enforce decrees against the divers salafs, and I had
agreed to this,but without enthusiasm since it meant revising
orders in over a hundred cases, and since almost all our divers
had left their homes provided for and only wanted their salafs
to spend on new bishts and a final orgy of whoring, but a new
complication now arose. To accpjet a ' tisqam ' at the close
of the year binds the diver to dive for that nakhuda in the en-
■X.
< v.
suing year, and men who had nearly paid off their debts did not
want to bind themselves for another year by simply taking a
loan of 20A This difficulty was tided over and next day a
number of Bahrain boats set out and finally, to day, practically
SaltesL -
all the remainder of the fleet have
8. Belgrave's attitude over the salafs is not alto
gether reasonable. Oae is of course kn anxious to keep the di-
v N;
vers out of debt as far as possible, but when they are setting
out on four months very hard, work a substantial advance is only
reasonable, and if an advance lower than this years would make
the divers look about for some other employment!^ if Bexgrave
had his way, I think he would reduce them still further.
Shailthf on the other hand,is never happier than when giving awuy
other people's money, in^case the merchants, who are very hard
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' [61r] (144/182), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/122, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023799069.0x000091> [accessed 30 June 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.