Page 33 - Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf_Neat

Introduction 13

sentiment, a development which triggered the progressive Arabisation of
the state in the 1960s, reflected the exclusive nature of modern national-
ism. The emergence of Manama as an ‘Arab’ city, this study argues, was
one of the most visible signs of the demise of the cosmopolitan town of the
pearling era.
Besides reflecting the thematic agenda of this study, the organisation of
the chapters emphasises the plurality of contexts which framed the history
of Manama, hence the plural Histories in the title. The periodisation
follows the rhythm of both urban change and state building and takes
the 1880s, 1919 and 1932 as the beginnings of three different stages of
urban development characterised by the pearl boom, municipal govern-
ment and oil. The next important dates are 1937, 1957 and 1971. In 1937,
the enforcement of provisions of nationality had a profound impact on
Manama’s historic communities; 1957 marked the collapse of the urban
order championed by the municipality and of Bahrain’s nationalist move-
ment; with independence in 1971 Manama became the official capital of
the Arab State of Bahrain.
Chapter 1 discusses urbanisation and state formation in Bahrain during
the rule of the Safavid Empire (1602–1717) and in the Al Khalifah era
(1783–1923). The principal focus of this chapter is to explore the making
of new rural and urban landscapes after the Al Khalifah occupation of the
islands in 1783, particularly the establishment of Muharraq and of new
tribal towns. This chapter discusses the close relationship between tribes,
urbanisation, Sunni Islam and state building in the nineteenth century,
and explains how the political and socio-economic inequalities between
Sunni tribesmen and Shi‘i cultivators were reflected in the organisation of
towns and villages, and in the enforcement of separate domains of public
and communal life for the Sunni and Shi‘i population living outside
Manama.
Chapter 2 shifts to the regional and international contexts in order to
situate the development of Manama as a port town in the wider setting of
coastal urbanisation. The aim is to draw a picture of urban development
across the Gulf in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries against the
backdrop of tribal migrations and British expansion, and to analyse the
socio-economic and political structure of port towns in the age of pearl
urbanisation. While making a distinction between tribal centres and

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