1949-1971







Bahrain, 1913-1949


Political Status . According to the 1913 treaty between the Ottoman Empire and the United Kingdom, Bahrain was independent, but (since 1860) a British protectorate. In 1939 Bahrain declared war on Germany; in the same year Britain decided the Hawar Islands, off the coast of Qatar, to belong to Bahrain.

Administration . The British Resident of the Gulf (in historical documents refered to as the Resident of the Persian Gulf) resided on Bahrain; he was responsible for Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States and Oman. Until 1946 the Gulf Resident was subordinate to the President of Bombay; with the British preparing to leave British India, in 1946 the Gulf Residency was elevated to an independent administrative unit.

The Economy . Until 1959 the Indian Rupee was legal tender.
Oil was discovered by BAPCO (est. in 1929), a subsidiary of Standard Oil of California, in 1931; production began in 1932. In 1935 Bahrain produced 0.17 million metric tons of crude petroleum, in 1940 0.96 million, in 1949 1.5 million (IHS p.362). In 1934 the first oil was shipped; in 1936 the first refinery in Bahrain opened; in 1945 a pipeline connecting the island with Saudi Arabia opened. A 1937 agreement allocates 25 % of the revenue and assets of BAPCO to the state of Bahrain.
From 1932. Bahrain was connected to the world by regular flight services. The first postage stamps for Bahrain were issued in 1933; hitherto stamps of British India were used.
The rise of the cultured pearl industry in Japan resulted in the collapse of pearl fishing in the 1930es.

Social History . Jan Lahmeyer estimates the 1913 population as 66,000; the 1950 census counted 109,700 Bahrainis. The vast majority of the island's Muslim community is Shia (c.80 %), the minority Sunni; the ruling dynasty is Sunni.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles History of Bahrain, Bahrain Football Association, Persian Gulf Residency, from Wikipedia
Bahrain, from A Global History of Currencies (B. Taylor)
Timeline Bahrain, from BBC News
History, from Bahrain International Airport
Bahrain Petroleum Industry, from BAPCO
Bahrain Stamps and Postal History
Oil and Gas Sector, from State of Bahrain Industrial Companies Directory
DOCUMENTS Bahrain Statesmen : World Statesmen, by Ben Cahoon
Historical Population Statistics, Bahrain, from Population Statistics posted by Jan Lahmeyer
REFERENCE IHS : International Historical Statistics : Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2000, edited by B.R. Mitchell, Basingstoke : Palgrave MacMillan 4th ed. 2003
Article : Bahrein Islands, in : Statesman's Year Book 1918 pp/95-96, 1919 pp.99-101, 1924 p.102, 1925 pp.104-105, 1926 pp.93-95, 1928 pp.95-96, 1929 pp.95-96, 1932 pp.96-98, 1937 pp.102-103, 1943 pp.697-699 [G]
Article : Arabia - Bahrein, in : Americana Annual 1932 pp.40-41, 1933 pp.40-41, 1934 pp.48-49, 1935 pp.52-53, 1936 pp.50-51, 1937 pp.42-43, 1938 p.44-45, 1939 pp.41-42, 1940 pp.88-89, 1943 pp.48-49, 1944 pp.51-52, 1945 pp.50-53, 1946 pp.56-58, 1947 pp.34-36 [G]
Kings of the Middle East pp.554-572 in : John Gunther, Inside Asia, 1942 War Edition, NY : Harper & Brothers (1938) 1942
Article : Arabia, in : New International Year Book 1918 p.42, 1919 pp.50-51, 1920 pp.48-49, 1921 pp.49-50, 1923 pp.49-50, 1925 p.48, 01928 pp.47-48, 1930 pp.44-45 [G]
Article : Arabia - Bahrain Islands, in : New International Year Book 1932 pp.42-43, 1933 pp.41-42, 1934 pp.38-39, 1935 pp.35-37, 1938 pp.41-44, 1939 pp.32-34, Events of 1940 pp.29-30, 1941 pp.27-29, 1942 pp.34-35, 1943 pp.35-36, 1944 pp.35-37, 1945 pp.39-41 [G]
Article : Arabia, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1932 pp.57-58, 1933 pp.45-46, 1934 pp.46-47, 1935 pp.43-44, 1936 pp.38-39, 1937 pp.29-31, 1938 pp.29-31, 1939 pp.31-32, 1940 pp.32-33, 1941 p.31, 1942 pp.37-38, 1943 p.45, 1944 pp.34-35, 1946 pp.36-38 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 11th 2007, last revised on September 15th 2008

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