The administrative reforms of the 1920s were a series of British-led reforms that have laid the foundations of modern Bahrain. They took place between 1919 and 1927, but their background extends to the early 19th century. Britain signed a number of treaties with Bahrain in 1820, 1861, 1880 and 1892. The latter two had effectively turned Bahrain into a British Protectorate. Earlier in 1869, Britain had appointed the young Shaikh Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa as ruler. Shaikh Isa was an autocrat and a feudal overlord whose authority was shared with his family and Sunni tribal allies. The economy was dependent on pearl diving and palm farming. Both sectors suffered from great inequalities; the conditions of the mostly Baharnah (Shia) peasants and the mostly non-Bahraini divers were often compared to slaves. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the British influence in Bahrain has been on the rise; in 1904-5 they extended their jurisdiction over all foreigners and in 1913 issued an Order in Council, which effectively turned Bahrain into a colony. The Order was not implemented until after the end of World War I.
The reforms began in February 1919 after the British Political Agent, Captain Bray, announced that the Order was effective. Bray's next step to appoint half members of al-Majlis al-Urfi, a council concerned with commercial disputes encountered opposition from Shaikh Isa which led to its suspension. In November, Major H. R. P. Dickson was appointed Political Agent. He introduced the Joint Court, the Municipal Council of Manama and resumed the meetings of al-Majlis al-Urfi. Dickson was resented by the ruler and his tribal allies, but enjoyed the support of Baharnah whom he encouraged to rise against their oppressors. In 1921, Major Daly was appointed Political Agent. A few months later, he started undermining the influence of Shaikh Abdulla, the youngest son of Shaikh Isa, in favor of his older brother and the heir apparent, Shaikh Hamad. Starting from mid-1921, Bahrain witnessed a series of petitions supporting and opposing the reforms. They were submitted to different British officials up to the Foreign Office. The supporting faction was composed of Daly, Shaikh Hamad, his supporters and the Baharnah. The Baharnah demanded equity, as they had to pay numerous discriminatory taxes and were subjected to maltreatment and oppression. The other faction, composed of Shaikh Isa, Shaikh Abdulla, tribesmen and pearl merchants opposed the reforms, because they were set to abolish their absolute powers and superior social status.
Faced with Britain's inaction, the Baharnah staged an uprising in Manama in February 1922. Shaikh Isa agreed to most of their demands, but did not carry them out. The Al Dawasir tribe contacted Ibn Saud, asking for his help against the reforms. On the other hand, Persians launched media campaigns accusing Britain of overlooking the oppression of their co-religious Baharnah in Bahrain. The British position then changed and reforms were to be carried out even against the wishes of Shaikh Isa. In May 1923, 3 days of riots broke out in Manama between the Persians and Najdis. Elsewhere, Al Dawasir and Al Khawalid branch of the Al Khalifa ruling family attacked several Baharnah villages. The British intervened, deposing the aging Shaikh Isa after he refused to retire voluntarily and installed his elder son as the ruler of Bahrain. Al Dawasir and Al Khawalid resumed their attacks against Baharnah villages for which they were put on trial and found guilty. Al Dawasir migrated to Dammam in the mainland, while Al Khawalid were either banished for long years or sentenced to death in absentia after their escape. The remaining opponents of reforms continued their peaceful means of pressure which culminated in a congress held in October. The pro-reform faction responded with similar moves. The British banished the leaders of the aforementioned congress.
With the end of all forms of opposition, the road was paved for implementation of the administrative reforms. They included customs, judiciary, police, pearl diving and land reforms. Daly took an important part in implementing reforms, that higher authorities cautioned him to not become the actual ruler. He left in 1926 after appointing Charles Belgrave as adviser to the ruler. Some reforms proved to successful, such as those in customs, while others were inadequate, such as those in police and judiciary. By the end of the 1920s, Bahrain had developed a modern administration. British officials occupied several leading positions in it. The reforms also empowered the Baharnah politically and lifted much of the inequalities they had suffered from. Critics of the reforms often state that Sunni groups remained dominant, but only had to change the way they exercised authority. Others analyzed the purpose of British intervention and the aforementioned congress.
Background
Early Al Khalifa rule
Bahrain fell under the control of Al Khalifa in 1783, following the defeat of Nasr Al-Madhkur who ruled the archipelago as a dependency of Persia. The first Al Khalifa ruler, Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalifa (1783–96) was based in Al Zubara (modern day Qatar) and spent summers in Bahrain. Following his death, Ahmed's sons Salman and Abdulla moved to Bahrain; they co-ruled it as feudal estates and imposed taxes on the Baharnah population. Salman settled in Bahrain Island and Abdulla in Muharraq Island, each of them ruling independently. The Al Khalifa soon became split into two branches, Al-Abdulla and Al-Salman that engaged in open conflict between 1842 and 1846. Al-Salman branch was victorious and enjoyed complete rule of Bahrain. Until 1869, Bahrain was under threat of occupation by various external powers including the Wahhabis, Omanis, Ottomans, Egyptians and Persians, yet the Al Khalifa managed to keep it under their control.; . The Al-Abdulla branch continued to be a cause of threat until 1895.
Treaties with Britain
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Britain, then the dominant power in the region was attempting to end piracy in the Persian Gulf in order to secure maritime trading routes to its East India Company in the Indies. In 1820, Britain signed the General Maritime Treaty with tribal chiefs of the Persian Gulf, including the Al Khalifa (at their request). By signing this treaty, Britain recognized Al Khalifa as "legitimate" rulers of Bahrain. Between 1820 and 1850, the Al Khalifa have repeatedly tried to persuade British authorities to provide full protection to Bahrain against external threats, but without avail. Britain wanted Bahrain to remain an independent state. The situation changed in 1859–60, when the Al Khalifa ruler appealed to the Persians and Ottomans to provide protection, and in 1861 blockaded Al-Hasa. This prompted the British in 1861 to force the ruler to sign a new treaty with Britain, the Perpetual Truce of Peace and Friendship; the ruler of Bahrain was not to engage in "prosecution of war, piracy and slavery at sea" and Britain was to provide maritime protection. The treaty also recognized the Al Khalifa ruler as an "independent ruler".; ; .
Six years later, in 1867–8, the British navy intervened after a Bahraini attack on Qatar. After two years, in 1869, they intervened again to end an internal struggle over power, and appointed Shaikh Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa, then aged 21 as ruler of Bahrain. In subsequent years, the British exercised increasing control over Shaikh Isa's communications with foreign powers, especially the Ottomans, who had claims over Bahrain and Qatar. The increasing Ottoman influence in the region threatened the status quo in Bahrain and prompted Colonel Ross, the British Resident to sign a new treaty with Bahrain on 22 December 1880. The treaty prohibited the ruler of Bahrain from negotiating, signing treaties or accepting any form of diplomatic representation with foreign powers without British consent, with the exception of "customary friendly correspondence... of minor importance". It did not refer to Bahrain's independence.; .
Fearing the increasing Ottoman activity and French influence in the region, Britain signed a new treaty with Bahrain in 1892 which further limited the foreign relations of the ruler by prohibiting disposal of territory to any foreign power other than Britain. It also prohibited the minor communications exempted by the 1880 treaty. The treaties of 1880 and 1892 have effectively turned Bahrain into a British protectorate, giving the British control over defense and foreign relations. The ruler was also to accept British "advice" regarding internal matters. During this period, Bahrain was the center of British commercial operations in the region. Between 1829 and 1904, the Persian Gulf Residency appointed an Assistant post in Bahrain. It was occupied by natives until 1900 when a British was assigned to the post in order to accommodate the increase in British trade and attract British companies. The British were mainly concerned with their commercial interests and paid little attention to internal affairs.; ; ; . Britain is credited for the stability and growth Bahrain witnessed in the latter half of the 19th century.
Demographics
According to Lorimer, at the beginning of the 20th century (1905), the population of Bahrain was estimated at 100,000. Muslims formed the overwhelming majority (99%). The Sunni community who mostly lived in towns was estimated to form about 60% of the population, while the Shia community who mostly lived in villages were estimated at 40%. The largest city, Manama had 25,000 inhabitants (60% Shia and 40% Sunni), about 7,500 of them were foreigners. The inhabitants of Muharraq numbered 20,000. Bahrainis constituted 17,250 of them (5% Shia and 95% Sunni), while the remaining were foreigners. The majority of the rural population were Shia. The Sunni component was composed of the Al Khalifa family and its tribal allies who migrated to Bahrain in the late eighteenth century, and the Huwala who formed the largest segment of this component. The Shia community was mostly composed of Baharnah (sing. Bahrani), who were the oldest group that still inhabited the island. Baharnah were also the largest single community, followed by Huwala. The other Shia group is Persians, who formed a small minority.; ; .
Political system
Following the end of internal conflicts and external threats in 1869, the tribal rule in Bahrain was stabilized. According to Bahraini historian Khayri, during the first 20 years of Shaikh Isa's rule, authority was centralized. However, in 1889, after the death of his brother, Shaikh Ahmed, authority began to be distributed. The system resembled a "feudal estate system" in which authority was shared with different groups whose power was dependent on their economic resources. Authority was shared between various Al Khalifa Shaikhs, that Shaikh Isa could not control all of their actions. Also, the Al Khalifa also served as landlords; on one hand, the lands they directly administered were farmed out as fiefs and on the other they collected taxes on private lands. Land was divided into a number of fiefdoms which were administered by close relatives of the ruler, each of them enjoying a high level of autonomy within it, almost as high as the ruler himself.; ; .
Within his fiefdom, each ruler had the authority to claim corvée (i.e. forced labor, known locally as sukhrah), collect taxes and resolve contentions. He was helped in conducting these tasks by three main administrative staff: fidawis, wazirs and kikhdae. The former was the military arm of the authority whose main job was to execute rulers orders via physical coercion. They were led by a number of Amirs who were appointed by the ruler. Fidawis were composed of Baluchis, African slaves and Sunni Arabs whose tribal origin could not be traced.; .