Abstract: This file contains copies of the financial records of the Government of Bahrain that were sent to the British Political Agency in Bahrain by Charles Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain. The records cover the years 1359-1363AH (1941-1945). These records include details of the expenditure and budget of the government. A number of lists containing details of the salaries and allowances of members of the Al Khalifa family are also included throughout the file.The file contains correspondence that discusses Bahrain's financial situation, notably details of how and where investments should be made for Bahrain's state reserve fund, details of Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] excessive spending habits and the impact of the Second World War on Bahrain.The file also contains copies (in English and Arabic) of correspondence between Charles Geoffrey Prior, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.Of note are folios 198v and 199v, on which financial details from 1943/44 have been printed on the reverse of two unrelated British Government propaganda posters - presumably due to a paper shortage during war time.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present between ff 10-253; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out to prevent confusion with the main sequence.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between the British Political Agent at Bahrain, the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire and Muḥammad Sharīf bin Ḥājī Qutb al-Dīn Awāzī, as well as copies of correspondence between the British Political Resident at Bushire and the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, and various statements and court documents.These correspondence and documents concern the personality of Muḥammad Sharīf bin Ḥājī Quṭb al-Dīn Awāzī, his involvement in the Municipality (
al-Baladiyyah), and his relations with the Āl Khalīfah family, the British Political Agent and other notable personalities in Bahrain and Persia. In addition, there are correspondence concerning a slavery case involving his son, ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd, and his eventual insolvency and abscondment from Bahrain to Persia.Physical description: Foliation: There is one incomplete foliation sequence and one complete foliation sequence. The complete foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. It begins on the first folio of writing, on number 2, and runs through to 34, ending on the inside of the back cover. The incomplete foliation sequence appears in blue crayon, circled and in the top right corner of the recto of the page. It runs from number 1 on folio 2 to number 5 on folio 6.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials in Bahrain, Baghdad and Bushire, as well as with Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah and other members of the Āl Khalīfah family.These correspondence concern the personalities and activities of various members of the Āl Khalīfah family, including:Khalīfah bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah;Ḥamad bin Muḥammad Āl Khalīfah;Aḥmad bin Muḥammad Āl Khalīfah;Khalīfah bin Muḥammad Āl Khalīfah;Muḥammad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah;Muḥammad bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Khalīfah.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequence runs between ff 2-16; these numbers are written in blue crayon and are also circled.
Abstract: The volume’s correspondence and other papers concern Bahrain’s state budget, and the rising costs associated with the Bahrain civil list and the Āl Khalīfah family’s allowances. Most of the correspondence takes place between the Advisor to the Bahrain Government, Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave, and the Bahrain Political Agent, Colonel Geoffrey Prior. The volume is a chronological continuation of ‘File 9/2 II Bahrain Reforms: Finances of the Bahrain Government’ (IOR/R/15/2/128).The volume includes Belgrave’s budgets for Bahrain for the Hijri years 1347 (1928, folios 5-25) and 1348 (1929, folios 38-66). In these reports Belgrave gives great detail of the state’s expenditure on modernisation. For example, detailed reference of Bahrain’s education system, including the opening of a girls’ school, is given in the 1348 budget (folios 61-63).The remainder of the volume’s correspondence is chiefly related to Belgrave’s concerns over the continual financial increases being requested by Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah to Bahrain’s civil list. Belgrave’s concern was that these allowances took up too great a proportion of the Bahrain state budget, and because the issue was primarily a political one, he deferred the issue to the Political Agent, who in turn referred the matter to the Political Resident. There are several copies of the civil list included in the file (for example, folios 81-83). Prior and Shaikh Ḥamad discuss Belgrave’s concerns about the increasing expenditure of the civil list in August 1929 (folios 84-90), with Shaikh Ḥamad raising the hope that revenues from other sources such as kerosene oil might alleviate financial problems.Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. There is an earlier foliation system which runs through the volume, using blue pencil numbers in the top-right corner of recto pages.The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e.The following folios are foldouts: 11-13, 18, 19, 36, 46-48, 54, 85-89, 97, 105, 111, 112, 133, 134.
Abstract: The volume contains printed copies of Government of India confidential correspondence, relating to the Bahrain reforms. The majority of the letters contained in volume are printed copies of correspondence originally sent to the Government of India either by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Trevor or Acting Resident Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Knox), or the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Clive Daly). Much of the correspondence featured in the volume can be found in the original (or as office copies) in a number of files in the two Bahrain Agency subsubseries ‘File 9 Bahrain Reforms’ (IOR/R/15/2/127-138) and ‘File 8 Miscellaneous’ (IOR/R/15/2/121-126), and the Bushire Residency subsubseries ‘File 19 Bahrain’ (IOR/R/15/1/314-77).The printed correspondence contained in the volume covers a range of subjects:Events leading up to the programme of reforms carried out in Bahrain: allegations of the oppression of Bahraini subjects by members of the Āl Khalīfah family, violence, the deteriorating economic situation;The reforms proposed and implemented by British officials: replacement of Shaikh ‘Īsá by Shaikh Ḥamad as defacto ruler, economic reforms, judicial reforms, pearl diving industry reforms, customs house reforms;Specific incidents of violence involving Sunnis and Shias, or Najdis and Persians.Some of the papers in the volume are accompanied by duplicate copies:Folios 61-64 are duplicates of folios 57-60;Folios 68-69 are duplicates of folios 66-67;Folios 81-84 are duplicates of folios 77-80.Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. Most of the items in the volume are printed items that have their own internal pagination systems, using printed numbers in the top-right corners of recto pages and the top-left corners of verso pages, or centred at the top of both verso and recto pages. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence and reports relating to proposed reforms of the pearling industry in Bahrain. The majority of the correspondence takes place between the Bahrain Political Agent (Clive Day, who was the principle architect of the pearling industry reforms, and served from 1921 to 1926, superseded by Cyril Barrett), the Political Resident or his secretary, and the advisor to the Bahrain Government, Charles Belgrave.The reforms proposed, and which are discussed at length throughout the volume include:Economic reforms, with particular attention given to shares of the profits paid to divers, and the allowances paid to divers, and interest on their debts, through the
Salifehcourt. This aspect of the reforms was designed to reduce the state of debt slavery that many divers existed in towards their boat masters (
nakhudas);The introduction of accounts books for all pearl divers;Boat registration and pearl fishing licenses;The introduction of a hospital boat intended to patrol the pearling banks, with medical staff on board who are capable of providing medical attention to pearl divers as required;The advantages and disadvantages of permitting pearl merchants to use motor launches to reach the pearling boats, the use of which would place some merchants at an advantage over those travelling under sail power.Items of note in the file include:A report entitled 'The Pearl Industry. Bahrain', written by Charles Belgrave, undated but probably 1928 (folios 3-23);Letters from the Director of the Bahrain Customs House to the Political Agency (1924), giving figures for the numbers of boats registered and pearling licenses issued, and the income generated (folios 51, 71, 84);A original petition in Arabic, signed by numerous
nakhudas, complaining of the reforms, dated 26 September 1925 (folio 123, English translation on folios 124-26);A letter written by Barrett to Horner (the Secretary to the Political Resident), dated 1 January 1927, writing of disturbances in Manama, caused by a crowd of two-hundred pearl divers who are unhappy with reductions in their allowances (folios 149-52);Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. An earlier, incomplete foliation sequence, using blue pencil circled numbers in the top right corner of rectos, runs from folios 24 to 66. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 23a, 79a, 130a, 157a.The following folios are fold-outs: 37, 42, 46-50, 52, 53, 60, 62, 70-73, 75-79, 79a, 84-86, 90, 92, 94, 96, 106, 111, 121-26, 149-54, 157, 157a, 161, 171, 177, 179, 183, 184, 187, 193.Due to the binding of the volume, the text on some items runs very close to the gutter, making text more difficult to read.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence, copies of contracts and other items related to the sinking of water wells in Bahrain, and the institution of a municipal water supply to the districts of Manama and Muharraq. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Clive Daly until September 1926, Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Barrett thereafter), Major Frank Holmes, representative of the Eastern and General Syndicate Limited, F. Madgwick, geologist, and Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, deputy ruler of Bahrain.After the forced abdication of Shaikh ‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah in 1923, public works projects in Bahrain, such as the sinking of artesian wells for the municipal water supply, were able to go ahead under the instigation of Shaikh Ḥamad (folios 28-30). The Eastern and General Syndicate Limited (London), represented by Major Frank Holmes, was awarded the contract to sink two wells in Manama and Muharraq to depths of 600 feet, in search of fresh water. The total expected cost of this first phase was 100,000 rupees (folio 5). A total of 300,000 rupees had been set aside by the Bahrain Government for the implementation of a water supply in Bahrain (folio 76). The Manama well struck good-quality water at 200 feet, and although Shaikh Ḥamad was keen to continue drilling to 600 feet, Holmes convinced the Shaikh against further drilling (folios 63-68). In the wake of the first two wells, water tanks capable of holding thirty tonnes of water were installed, and new contracts between Holmes and the Bahrain Government drawn up for the sinking of a further twelve wells, with the installation of the necessary pipework and tanks (folios 79-80, 82-83).A minor diplomatic incident was avoided when, in December 1924, the
Baghdad Timesreported that Holmes was travelling to Bahrain with drilling equipment. The Secretary of State for the Colonies wrote to the Resident, reminding him to in turn remind Shaikh Ḥamad that the British Government recognised the Anglo-Persian Oil Company's exclusive right to negotiate concessions for the exploratory drilling of oil in Bahrain (folio 39). The Resident replied to the High Commissioner in Baghdad that Holmes was interested only in sinking wells for water (folio 42). A later disagreement in 1927 arose between Holmes and the Bahrain merchant Khalil Kanoo, over the sinking of water wells in Bahrain. Holmes, who had by this point signed a concession to drill for oil in the state, objected to Kanoo's proposals to sink his own water wells in Manama (folios 108-14).Physical description: Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil notes in the top-right corner (but in some cases the top-centre) of each recto. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1A-1F, 81A, 81B, 84A, 84B, 111A, 111B.The following folios are fold-outs: folios 2, 4, 5, 14, 15, 23, 28-30, 32-34, 36, 37, 49-54, 70, 76, 90, 94, 104, 116.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and other papers related to Persia's withdrawal of claims to sovereignty over Bahrain. The majority of the file's correspondence takes place between the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Barrett until November 1929), and the Political Agent at Bahrain (Geoffrey Prior).The withdrawal of Persian claims over Bahrain raised a number of implications for British representatives in the Gulf, and these comprise the contents of the file. The main implications were: the treatment of Persian subjects in Bahrain; British representation of Persian subjects in Bahrain; the question of whether there should be an official or non-official Persian representative in Bahrain (which both the Resident and Political Agent were strongly objected to); and passports and certificates of identity for Bahrainis travelling within and beyond the Gulf.In response to a request from Barrett, Prior compiled detailed notes on the Persian communities in Bahrain. His official typewritten response (with handwritten notes) are included in the file (folios 43-47, 48-56). These notes include comments on Persian Sunnis and Shias in Bahrain, their relations with the Āl Khalīfah family, animosity between Nejdis [Saudis] and Persians, Persian schools and property in Bahrain, and the Political Agency's ability to represent Persians in Bahrain. Further notes on the Persian communities, sent to Prior by the Advisor to the Bahrain Government, Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave, are also included (folios 60-61A). A letter in English and Arabic, from Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah to Prior, dated 23 April 1930, is an undertaking not to attack Persian sovereignty or to violate Persian independence (folios 67-68).Physical description: Foliation: The file is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 61a. There is no folio 1.There is minor insect damage throughout the file, which is not sufficient enough to impair the legibility of the file contents.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence related to a number of different topics. The correspondence discusses legislation regarding the ownership of property by Bahrainis in the Hejaz, the ownership of property by foreigners in Bahrain (and Iraq), the status and property ownership rights of Persians in Bahrain and other related issues.The correspondence also contains references to a proposal to raise customs tariffs on Japanese goods imported into Bahrain.Physical description: Previously a bound correspondence volume, the file's pages have been unbound and are now loose.The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequences commences at folio 3 and terminates at f 156; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. A third foliation sequence (probably the result of a previous foliation error) commences at f 151 and terminates at f 206; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.Foliation errors: 1A, 1B and 1C.
Abstract: This file contains items related to a number of topics spanning the period between 1933 and 1935. The file includes - in the following order - an account of the election of the Shia Waqf Committee in Bahrain, a discussion regarding the arrival of Everard Gastell as the new political agent in Bahrain and the appropriate protocol for his arrival, letters concerning the work of Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in Bahrain's court and a proposal to put him in charge of the court while Charles Belgrave (advisor to Shaikh Hamad) is away in England, a letter that mentions a deterioation in Sunni-Shia relations in Bahrain in 1934 and a letter in 1935 concerning the the provision of funds for the construction of the Indian Assistant's Court in Bahrain.Physical description: Unbound, loose pages in a folder. The file's first foliation sequence begins at the first item of correspondence, on number 10 and ends on number 130, the last folio of writing. However, many numbers in between 1 and 130 have been missed out. This sequence is written in pencil, in the top right corner. The second foliation sequence, which is complete and should be used for referencing, begins on the front cover of the file, on number 1, and runs through to number 22, ending on the last folio of writing. This sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner.
Abstract: The documents contained in this file cover a diverse range of topics. The file includes - in the following order - letters concerning water boring operations in Bahrain (1925/1926), a report of an assassination attempt against Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (1926), a petition to the Political Agent from Sunni and Shia inhabitants of Bahrain (1926), a letter regarding Shaikh Hamad's desire to visit Abdullah bin Jasim Al Thani in Qatar (1927), a list showing the quantity and value of foreign goods imported into Bahrain in 1927, discussions regarding the granting of additional land in Bahrain to Mespers, The Mesopotamian-Persian Trading Corporation (1928), reports concerning the Persian school in Bahrain (1928), a letter from the Political Agent in Bahrain to the Political Resident in Bushire that discusses several matters (1929), correspondence that discusses the distinction between Shaikh Hamad's personal flag and the official state flag of Bahrain (1930), an intelligence report on the Qusaibi family of Riyadh (1931) and a letter about the implementation of a 10 percent cut to the personal allowances of the Al Khalifa family (1931).Physical description: Unbound, loose pages in a folder. Foliation starts on the first page of the file. The foliation numbers are written in pencil and circled. They appear in the top right corner of each recto. A previous foliation system runs from folio 3 to folio 8 but has been crossed out. An additional, inconsistent, foliation system appears in pencil and blue crayon, starting on folio 10.
Abstract: This volume contains correspondence regarding the appointment of the first Political Agent to Bahrain (1900). The documents include an assessment of Shaikh Isa bin Ali's rule and discuss the rationale behind the appointment of an Agent to the island as well as the logistics and price involved in doing so. The correspondence is primarily between the Political Resident in Bushire and the Government of India.Later documents, from 1904, discuss the need for the Agent to assume more responsibility and the Political Resident's desire to appoint an officer of the graded-list to the post. The volume also contains documents from 1907/8 related to the practicalities of using the Political Agent's boat against pirates in the area.Physical description: Formerly a bound correspondence file, its sheets have been unbound and are now all loose.The main foliation sequence starts at the titlepage and continues through to the 2nd folio from the back. This sequence is written in pencil in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Original non-sequential numbering is written in blue crayon in the same position.Foliation errors: 1a, 1b,1c, 1d; 21A and 21B, 43a and 43b; 45a and 45b; 54 and 54a; 58 and 58a; 63a, 63b and 63c; 69a, 69b and 69c; 85a and 85b.Foliation omissions: f.28 and f.31