IOR/R/15/2/197

This file contains copies of the financial records of the Government of Bahrain that were sent to the British Political Agency in Bahrain by Charles Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain. The records cover the years 1354-1359AH (1935-1940). These records include details of the expenditure and budget of the government.

The file also contains correspondence that discusses Bahrain's financial situation, notably the improved economic situation in the country caused by increased oil royalties being received by the government.

This correspondence is primarily between Charles Belgrave and British government officials including Percy Gordon Loch, Tom Hickinbotham and Hugh Weightman (all of whom served as Political Agent in Bahrain during this period) and Trenchard Craven Fowle and Charles Geoffrey Prior (both of whom served as Political Resident in the Persian Gulf).

The file contains a copy (in English and Arabic) of a letter sent from Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] to Charles Geoffrey Prior (f 238). It also contains a copy of the Iraqi newspaper Al Nas from 11 July 1940 (ff 251-252) accompanied by an English translation (f 253) of an article contained in the paper that criticises the political situation in the Persian Gulf.