Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A 'fish eye' (the ancient name for pearl) dating back to 2300 BC, found in the excava-
tions at Sar, suggests that pearling was an activity dating back to the days of Dilmun but
despite the beauty of the catch, pearling was an unglamorous industry. It entailed local
'divers' working with little more than a nose- peg and a knife in shark-infested waters,
and being hauled up with their bounty by 'pullers' working long and sun-baked shifts
from June to October. At the height of the pearling industry, some 2500 dhows were in-
volved in the industry and loss of life was common.
The rich pearl industry was something of a mixed blessing in other ways as well as it
attracted the big naval powers of Europe, which wheeled about the island trying to estab-
lish safe passage for their interests further east. In the early 1500s the Portuguese invaded,
building one of their typical sea-facing forts on Bahrain's northern shore (Qala'at al-
Bahrain) - the coping stone on seven layers of ancient history. Their rule was short-lived,
however, and by 1602 the Portuguese were ousted by the Persians.
Pearls played a hand in the country's modern incarnation: this lucrative trade attracted
the Al-Khalifa, the family that now rules Bahrain, to the area from their original strong-
hold in Al-Zubara, on the northwestern edge of the Qatar peninsula. The Al-Khalifa were
responsible for driving out the Persians from Bahrain in about 1782. They were them-
selves routed by an Omani invasion, but returned in 1820 never to leave again.
Relationship with the British
It only takes a walk through Adlya, with its emphasis on full English breakfasts and high
teas, to discover that the British are part and parcel of the island's history. The origin of
that special relationship can be traced to the 19th century when piracy was rife in the Gulf.
Although piracy never gained a foothold in Bahrain as such, the island gained
something of a reputation as an entrepĂ´t, where captured goods were traded for supplies
for the next raid. The British, anxious to secure their trade routes with India, brought the
Al-Khalifa family, who were professedly opposed to piracy, into the 'Trucial system' (the
system of protection against piracy that operated throughout the old Trucial States; that is,
the Gulf states that signed a 'truce' or treaty with Britain against piracy and which largely
make up today's United Arab Emirates).
In hindsight, this could almost be dubbed 'invasion by stealth', as by 1882 Bahrain
could not make any international agreements or host any foreign agent without British
consent. On the other hand, as a British protectorate, the autonomy of the Al-Khalifa fam-
ily was secure and threats from the Ottomans thwarted.
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