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Notes to Chapter Six
Month of November 1932, no. 11, in IOR, L/P & S/12/3718 Pear/ing
1929- 48.
53 For this and the following see the report to the Department of Overseas
Trade, “Economic Conditions in the Persian Gulf", of October 1934, p.
19 of the printed version in IOR, L/P & S/12/3797 "Trade of the Gulf
1930- 1948"; the quotation is on p. 20 of this report. The third point in
the quotation was one which local pearl merchants seemed to consider
as particularly important. See also Extract from Bahrain Intelligence no.
20, 15 November 1935, where it is reported that Mani’ bin Rashid said
that he would be glad if a closed season were introduced in the Gulf and
the pearling were cut down to a couple of months each year; IOR, L/P &
S/12/3718.
54 See ibid., a memorandum prepared for the British Consulate General in
New York in 1948, and a letter by a leading New York pearl dealer, Mr
Rene Bloch. In the memorandum it was pointed out that principal pearl
buyers who visited the Gulf or Bombay in previous years such as Mr L.
Rosenthal were by 1948 dealing entirely in cultured pearls. Others,
mostly French Jews from firms such as Pack, Bienenfeld and Murray
bought directly from Arab pearl merchants in Bahrain. "Since Euro­
peans ceased to come the market has shifted to Bombay and Bahrain
dealers have to lake their goods to India for selling." Letter from C.D.
Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, dated 10 December,
1945. ibid. IOR, L/P & S/12/3718.
55 "This is due to the absence of rice and the difficulty of cooking wheat
and baking bread in small overcrowded sailing vessels." Extract from
Intelligence Summary of the Political Agency Bahrain for period of 1 to
15 May 1944 in IOR. L/P & S/12/3718.
56 See e.g. letter no. 702—J.S. By the Finance Department, Government of
India, 3 August 1943 to the Financial Department, India Office,
Whitehall in IOR, L/P & S/12/3718.
57 See Public Notices no. 813 issued by the Deputy Chief Controller of
Imports and Exports on 21 November 1947, and the correspondence
between the Residency in Bahrain and various departments in London
in IOR, L/P & S/12/3718.
58 See, for instance, the assessments by American pearl importers such as
Mr Rene Bloch of 610 Fifth Avenue, New York, in reply to enquiries
made by the Commercial Secretary of the British Embassy in Wash­
ington in 1947-8; in IOR, L/P & S/12/3718 and footnote 53.
59 Extract from Bahrain Intelligence Summary for the period of 1 to 15
January 1948. The Ruler of Dubai was reported to have published a
similar ban. See IOR, L/P & S/12/3718.
60 See extract from Confidential Report no. 81 from the Persian Gulf
Residency, Bahrain, dated 8 June 1948, in IOR, L/P & S/12/3718.
61 In Bahrain the high and steady wages which could be obtained for work
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