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‘Disorder’, political sociability and the urban public sphere 155

the connotation of ‘readiness to resort to arms’, rather than being strict
indicators of tribal and ethnic affiliation. 8
The disturbances of 1923 present striking similarities with the events of
1904, illustrating the importance of migrant marginal groups in providing
the muscle for urban unrest. The tribesmen who joined the militias of
Shaykh ‘Ali in 1904 were occasional visitors in search of loot, a frequent
occurrence in Manama. The protagonists of the 1923 disturbances were
dock workers, seasonal labourers and pearl divers from Najd, and
Persians from barasti communities, the most restless segments of the
town’s lower classes. While the Persian population had steadily increased
since the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the number of Najdis
arriving in Manama soared after the Wahhabi conquest of al-Ahsa’ in
1913. By the early 1920s the labour force from Najd outnumbered the
Persians as a result of the embargo imposed by Ibn Sa‘ud on Kuwait,
which served to consolidate the position of Bahrain as the entrepôt centre
for Eastern Arabia. 9
Besides increasing economic competition, migration gave impetus to
patronage politics which in turn fuelled factionalism among urban nota-
bles. Shaykh ‘Ali clearly took advantage of the spontaneous outbreak of
violence in 1904 to target Kazeruni and his business in the harbour. In
1923 Najdi and Persian notables were important players in the conflict on
the side of their protégés, acting as intermediaries with the Municipality
and with the British agency. 10 For some years, they had been the upcom-
ing mercantile lobbies of the town. The appointment of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-
Qusaybi as the representative of Ibn Sa‘ud in Bahrain soon after 1913
allowed his family to acquire a virtual monopoly on the trade towards
Eastern Arabia. 11 Among the Persians, the wealthy Sunni community had
risen to commercial and political prominence as a result of the demise of

8
Enclosure n. 20 in ‘Correspondence Respecting the Affairs of Arabia’, Political Resident
Bushehr to Government of India, 17 December 1904, The Affairs of Arabia, 1905–1906,
vol. I, pp. 104–5; Political Agent Bahrain to Political Resident Bushehr, 22 April 1923,
R/15/2/101 IOR.
9
Political Agent Bahrain to Political Resident Bushehr, 7 April 1929, n.C-50 of 1929,
L/P&S/10/1045 IOR; Political Agent Bahrain to Secretary of Political Resident Bushehr,
2 June 1931, R/15/2/101 IOR.
10
In April 1923 ‘Abdallah al-Qusaybi, one of the brothers of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, negotiated the
release of some of the Najdi ringleaders with the political agency by producing a kifalah,a
document guaranteeing their future good behaviour. In May, as the headquarters of the
family firm was the scene of the first clashes, ‘Abdallah placated the vehemence of the
rioters, gaining the confidence and support of the Bayt al-Dawlah. See R/15/2/101 IOR in
particular Political Agent Bahrain to Political Resident Bushehr, 22 April 1923.
11
Political Agent Bahrain to Secretary of Political Resident Bushehr, 2 June 1931, R/15/2/
101 IOR.