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160 Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf

jurisdiction after 1904 had brought considerable advantages to the com-
munity, which became a prominent symbol of the fragmented political
arena of Manama. al-Za’id expressed the fears of Bahrain’s tribal aristoc-
racy when (in connection with the baladiyyah affair) he deliberately asked
Shaykh ‘Isa if he expected any member of his own family to be judged by a
court presided over by Muhammad Sharif in the near future. 25 The
testimony of al-Za’id is a poignant reminder of the importance of inter-
communal conflict in Manama in the emergence of a new national narra-
tive against British rule. It also points to the unprecedented threat posed
to the indigenous government by British intervention in the early 1920s.
This threat resurfaced later in the decade when the combination of the
pearling reforms and the decline of the industry contributed to undermine
the economic foundations of the old order and the power base of its
aspiring national leaders.

The pearling riots: challenging old and new orders
In late December 1926, some 300 foreign divers assembled in front of the
office of Charles Belgrave in Manama and marched on to the palace of al-
Sakhir in central Bahrain to appeal to the regent against the reduction of
the advances announced by the government for the next pearling season.
Not having received satisfaction they regrouped in front of the customs
house and began to attack the markets. They then crossed to Muharraq,
looted the warehouse of an unpopular merchant and burnt his ledger
books, thus destroying evidence of his long list of debtors. 26 After this
episode the workforce started a systematic boycott of the pearl banks, an
action which impacted upon the most powerful capitalists in the industry.
In 1930 seventy men employed by Jabir ibn Al Musallam, the largest boat
owner of Muharraq, took their advances but refused to board the ships.
Several boats owned by ‘Abd ‘Ali ibn Rajab, one of the wealthiest pearl
merchants of Manama, were forced to return ashore after their crews
initiated a mutiny. 27
Turmoil among Bahrain’s diving communities was nothing novel. As
the fluctuation of the price of pearls determined the divers’ income, the
beginning and the end of the pearling season were particularly critical
moments for the markets. Foreign divers were in a unique position to

Persian School, 1913–57, BA: Telegram Ahali Bahreyn to the Iranian Prime Minister,
Minister of War and of Foreign Affairs in Teheran, 1 Khordad 1302/21 May 1923;
telegram Ahali Bahreyn to Prime Minister Teheran, 8 Khordad 1302/28 May 1923.
25
‘Abdallah al-Za’id to Shaykh ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali Al Khalifah, c. 1927, BA.
26
Belgrave Diaries, 30 December 1926 and 19 May and 25 August 1930, AWDU.
27
Political Agent Bahrain to Political Resident Bushehr, 1 January 1927, R/15/1/349 IOR.