Page 153 - Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf_Neat

Restructuring city and state 133

One of the strategies adopted by the old merchant families to rebuild
their fortunes was the parcelling up of assets among heirs and close
relatives in order to diversify business portfolios. After 1938, the three
al-Qusaybi brothers established independent firms taking advantage of
the new trade opportunities offered by oil exploitation on the eastern coast
of Saudi Arabia and the low re-export tariffs levied by the government.
‘Abd al-‘Aziz specialised in the provision of food and consumer goods,
‘Abdullah imported cars and ‘Abd al-Rahman remained in the pearl
business which survived as a result of a limited demand for natural pearls
in the European and American markets. When ‘Abd al-‘Aziz died in the
early 1950s the family firm was divided into some twenty branches as his
relatives had opened import businesses in al-Qatif and al-Hufuf. 50
A thriving entrepôt economy and private investment, rather than gov-
ernment grants and direct oil subsidies, supported Manama under the
municipal administration. Wealth and entrepreneurship, however, no
longer guaranteed direct access to the urban political arena, as they had
done in the years of the pearl boom. In this respect, a closer look at the
workings of the municipal council reveals how municipal government was
still supported by the old merchant families.

Inside the majlis: old notables as new coun cillors

Until the early 1950s, the nouveaux riches of the oil boom had virtually no
access to municipal government, which remained the preserve of
Manama’s old mercantile elite. The composition of the municipal council
reveals a high degree of continuity in urban leadership in the pearl and oil
eras. Some of the a‘yan of the pearl boom sat in the majlis for several
decades. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Qusaybi, a member of the first council formed in
1920, served for more than thirty years. Over time merchant families came
to view membership as a ‘natural’ right deriving from their involvement in
early municipal affairs. After the death of ‘Abd al-Nabi Bushehri in 1938,
his seat was taken over by his son Mahmud. 51 After the collapse of
pearling, membership of the council allowed some struggling old mer-
chant households to maintain political influence and social prestige. The
new resource base for municipal councillors was the electoral system,
50
Interviews with Hasan Khajah, Ibrahim Bashmi and ‘Ali Akbar Bushehri, Manama,
18 March and 20 April 2004; Field, The Merchants, pp. 236–7.
51
There are no comprehensive records which detail membership in the municipal council
for the period 1920–50; membership has been inferred from available electoral lists and
the minutes of council meetings for the years 1927–9 (R/15/2/1923 and 1218 IOR), 1934–
45 (R/15/2/1921 to 1931 IOR), 1946–50 (R/15/2/1932 IOR). I‘lan Hukumah al-Bahrayn
n. 7 of 1357, R/15/2/1252 IOR.