1913-1949 1971-1990







Bahrain, 1949-1971


Independence and Foreign Policy . According to a 1913 treaty, Bahrain was independent, but a British protectorate. In 1961 the ruling family regained political authority, as the British scaled down their influence on managuing the island. In 1969, in preparation for independence, the Federation of Arab Emirates, consisting of the seven Emirates making up the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, was established. When the British withdrew in 1971, Bahrain went alone, declaring independence.

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 The British Resident of the Gulf (in historical documents refered to as the Resident of the Persian Gulf) resided on Bahrain; he was responsible for Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States and Oman. Emir Sheikh `Isa ibn Sulman Al Khalifah ruled from 1961 to 1999.

The Economy . Until 1959 the Indian Rupee was legal tender, in 1959 replaced by the Gulf Rupee, which was pegged to the Indian Rupee. When Indiadevalued the Rupee in 1966, Bahrain introduced the Bahraini Dinar. From 1964 onward the Bahrain Currency Board was responsible for control of money supply. The National Bank of Bahrain was founded in 1957; Bahrain developed into a regional banking center. In 1958 Manama was declared a free port.
In 1949, Bahrain produced 1.5 million metric tons of crude petroleum, in 1971 3.7 million (IHS p.362).
An aluminum smelting industry was established in 1969.

Social History . The 1950 census counted 109,700 Bahrainis, the 1965 census 182,200, the 1971 census 216,100 (Lahmeyer).

Cultural History . The Bahrain Football Association was established in 1957.






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
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 : Arabia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1953 p.49, 1954 p.49, 1955 p.110-111, 1956 p.47 [G]
Article : Persian Gulf States, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1957 pp.604-604 [G]
Article : Bahrein / Bahrain, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1958 pp.88-89, 1959 p.91, 1960 p.91, 1961 p.93, 1962 p.76-77, 1963 p.194 [G]
Article : Protected States, Condominiums and Trust Territories, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1964 pp.694-695, 1965 pp.668-669, 1966 pp.635-636, 1967 pp.649-651, 1968 pp.648-650 [G]
Article : Depented States : Bahrain, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1969 pp.276, 278, 1970 p.278, 1971 pp.267-268 [G]
Article : Bahrain, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1970-1971 pp.1218-1220 [G]
Article : Arabia : Bahrain or Bahrein, in : Americana Annual 1957 pp.40-41 (on events of 1956) [G]
Article : Arabia - Bahrain, in : Americana Annual 1962 pp.40-41, 1963 pp.56-57, 1964 pp.57-58 [G]
Article : Persian Gulf States, in : Americana Annual 1969 p.529, 1970 p.533, 1971 p.528, 1972 p.529 [G]
Article : Arabia, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1952 p.38; Bahrein 1952 p.63, 1961 p.37 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 11th 2007

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