In these four volumes Archive Editions presents documentary evidence of the history, development and decline of the great traditional industry of the Persian Gulf. The geographical coverage of pearling activities, though not evenly spread, extends to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the former Trucial States and Muscat, and the early trade in the Red Sea. This collection of documents includes and map box containing tables, lists of pearl banks and maps from Kuwait to Ras Tanura and Ras Tanura to Dubai. These volumes bring together in a single research collection all relevant documents from British government records relating to the primary economic activity in the Persian Gulf before the oil era: the pearl fisheries. The material - virtually all now published for the first time - provides information on the economic, geographic, political and social aspects of the pearl trade as well as details on technical and operating aspects, including the terms and conditions of divers and their Nakhudas (pearling captains).
