Page 94 - Records of Bahrain (6)_Neat

82 Records of Bahrain

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... * BRITISH RESIDENCY,
J BAHRAIN )
Despatch 34 V ftlf? v*ij . s«J I
CONFIDENTIAL 24th April, 1950.-
39^71756
Sir,
I propose in tills despatch to endeavour
to analyse the effect which the discovery and
exploitation of oil in Buhrain hus hod and is
lllcoly to huve on the people of the islands espec­
ially from the political angle, This is a mattor
which I have been considering for some time and I
have reached the conclusion that while the oil
operations have greatly increased the material
prosperity of the islands and possibly indeod because
of this the offect they have had on the minds of the
people is astonishingly small, In fuct uny slight
political stirrings there may have been are to be
attributed to the wireloss and Egyptian newspapers
rather than to the oil operations.
2. It must be remembered that Bahrain is a
port which has become a city state and that there is
nothing which can be called a "nation", There are
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three main elements.
(1) the Sunni ruling family,
(2) the merchants of various races, languages
and religions, and
(3) the Shiah cultivators of the gardens who
are more or loss serfs.
All three are extremely prosperous, The Shaikhs
are drawing large incomes from the oil royalties,
trade of all kinds flourishes and the Shiah cultiv­
ators provide the bulk of the well-paid labour
whichv the oil company employs. A fourth element
should perhaps be mentioned, viz. the pearl-divers
who ore mostly miscellaneous Arab tribesmen and ex­
slaves. But for the udvont of oil they would- be
in a parlous plight as the Japanese cultured pearl
dealt a heavy blow to their industry before the war
and the war und the conditions which followed it
removed all hopes of its revival, The industry
lingers on but fewer bouts go out each year and the
divers are reconciled to finding a steadier and less
risky employment with the oil company.
3. although the development of the oil
industry has undoubtedly raised the standard of
living of the people it lias not produced u demand
for the hiijer forms of education. The primary
schools uro crowded and many boys have to be turned
away und the recent census has shown that ubout 10%
of tho population are now 11torate - a high propor-
tioh for tho Middle East. As soon, howover, as tho
boys can reud and write a little English they loavo
school to seek employment with the oil companies
or to join their fathers' businesses in the towns.

His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State /As a
for Foreign Affairs,
The Foreign Office. London, S.W.lf
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