page_title: Bahrain administrative reforms of the 1920s
section_title: Political system
hierarchical_section_title: Bahrain administrative reforms of the 1920s / Background / Political system
caption_attribution_description: English: A photograph of Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa (1848 – 1932), the Hakim of Bahrain since 1869 to 1923. Date unknown though likely early 20th century.
context_page_description: 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 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.
context_section_description: 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.
  Fidawis collected taxes, rents and tributes from cities, were responsible for rounding up adult males for forced labor and had powers to arrest, interrogate and punish. Their arbitrary way of taking the law into their hands and use of violence were a source of terror throughout Bahrain, especially to the Baharnah. In the 1920s, many complaints by reform supporters were concerned with fidawis. The other two staff, kikhdae and wazirs were tax collectors in villages and proxies for renting palm gardens respectively. They belonged to the Baharna, were wealthy and had a leading position in society, but in villages that were heavily taxed they were so hated that they escaped to Manama following reforms of the 1920s.
  The ruler, Shaikh Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa was distinguished from the other Al Khalifa by the larger amount of resources he controlled; he had the cities of Muharraq and Manama as well as many fiefdoms under his control. He held absolute powers; he was described as an "autocrat" who "could order collective punishment of [a] village", especially if it was a Shia one. He regularly gave away entire villages as gifts to other Al Khalifas. He ruled from Muharraq, except for the summer months when he moved to Manama. His main source of income was from customs. Other sources of income included agricultural and inheritance transfer taxes. He also ruled over markets and ports, and treated all public revenues as private earnings. Much of the revenue was spent on his retinue and so little or none at all on infrastructure, and when it occurred, it was thought of as an act of charity.
  The heir apparent was the oldest son of Shaikh Isa, Shaikh Hamad, appointed in the position in 1896. However, the younger son, Shaikh Abdulla was Shaikh Isa's "trusted agent". Shaikh Khalid, the younger brother of Shaikh Isa was the governor of Riffa. He also controlled Sitra island, Nabih Saleh and was dependent for his income on the poll tax, exclusively levied on Baharnah. Shaikh Khalid was the most independent fief overlord. Authority-related jobs were exclusive to the Sunnis whereas market-related were confined to Baharnah and foreigners.
caption: Shaikh Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain (1869–1923)
exif: {}