'File 1/A/48 I Control of Prices of standard foodstuffs in Bahrain.'
- Holding institution:
- British Library. India Office Records and Private Papers
- Data provider:
- Qatar National Library
- Title:
- 'File 1/A/48 I Control of Prices of standard foodstuffs in Bahrain.'
- Date:
- 1939/1941
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the control of prices of foodstuffs and other commodities in Bahrain, the suppression of hoarding, and the regulation of imports and exports by the Food Controller, Bahrain, against the background of wartime conditions caused by the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45).The principal correspondents are the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Residency Agent, Sharjah; the Government of India; the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier); and the Food Controller, Bahrain (Captain Arthur Charles Byard; later deGrenier).The papers include: initial discussion of measures to protect the poor in Bahrain from profiteering by merchants in the bazaars, and the introduction of fixed price lists for commodities (folios 2-12); the need for the British to consider Indian traders in Bahrain (folios 7-9); the issue of hoarding of stocks (folio 11); initial estimates of stocks of essential foodstuffs in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast; measures in the event of war (folios 14-16); regular Customs Department statistics of commodities available for sale in Bahrain, and estimated period of sufficiency; statistics of consumption of foodstuffs; notices issued by the Government of Bahrain and the Political Agent, Bahrain concerning prices and hoarding; regulation made under the Persian Gulf States (Emergency) Order in Council, 1939, which gave the Political Resident powers to control the supply and pricing of commodities (folios 40-41, 106); definition of luxury goods (folio 43); the effect of the measures on Saudi Arabia (folios 46-47); representations from merchants in Bahrain; the appointment of a new Food Controller, Bahrain (folios 141-142); accusations of profiteering (folios 151-156, folio 159); the effect on Bahrain if Japan were to enter the war (folio 176); special arrangements for the supply of provisions to the Royal Navy (folios 205, 235-240); and the suggestion by the Political Agent that British India Steam Navigation Company (BISN) steamers be used to bring food supplies to Bahrain (folios 207-208).The Arabic language content of the file consists of approximately fifteen folios, mostly official notices in Arabic and English issued by the Government of Bahrain and the Political Agent, Bahrain.The date range gives the covering dates of the correspondence; the latest addition to the file is an entry in the notes dated 26 March 1942.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 283; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-282; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Language:
- English
- Type:
- Archival file
- Type (Narrower):
- Other Texts
- Type (Broader):
- Text
- Subject:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
Food supply
Food prices - Geographic region:
- Trucial Coast
- Rights:
- المُلكية العامة
- Identifier:
- 81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000388_ar
81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000388_en
IOR/R/15/2/169
IOR/R/15/2/169