User:Gulf Peninsula/Migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region/Bibliography

The history of migration to the GCC countries can be categorized into three waves.

First wave
The first wave concerns migration to the GCC region prior to the British arrival in the so-called Trucial States, being modern-day Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE, in 1820. The oldest known maritime trading route is the one between the Indus Valley Civilisation and Dilmun in modern-day Bahrain. Traders often stayed in the Persian Gulf region for an extended period of time before returning to their port of origin. During the first wave, migrants mainly came from Asia and settled on the eastern shores of the Persian Gulf. Migration was often the result of trade relations between the Gulf and Asia. Migration was mainly undertaken by people from modern-day Iran and India who traveled to the Gulf. Most trading goods were exported to the Persian Gulf, while only a limited amount of goods was exported in the other direction. Pearls were the exception and the main trading product in places like Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Scholars such as Muhammad Azhar point out the longstanding relationship between Indians and the Persian Gulf, where many stayed for generations and even became citizens.

Second wave
The second wave may be defined as the migration which took place after the British arrived in the Persian Gulf region in 1820. The British conflict with the Al Qasimi family, who held control over the Strait of Hormuz, started with the British refusal to pay toll for British ships passing through the Strait. Conflict broke out and the Qawasim fleet was destroyed. Pax Britannica was applied to the whole region, which included a series of treaties imposed on the region's leaders and which further cemented the position of Great Britain as the dominant power in the region. The British took control over the region and created the structures needed for increased trade. The British interest in the Persian Gulf region is often explained by the fact that Great Britain wanted to protect the sea route to India from rival colonial powers. The East India Company played an important role in this endeavour. Britain made Abu Dhabi a protectorate in 1820 and established control over Aden in 1839. Thereafter Great Britain gained power over Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. The power of the British in the Gulf region, combined with the structures put in place to promote trade, strengthened the relationship between the Persian Gulf region and India further. This, in turn, advanced migration from India to the Persian Gulf, especially Indian civil servants who would manage the relations between the Gulf and India. Based on the works of J.G. Lorimer (1908) and Al-Shaybani (1962), the population of migrants in Qatar before the 1930's can be classified as Arabs, Persians, Baluchis, Indians, and Africans. Many of these communities are in fact economic migrants who came to Qatar to seek better opportunities in the pearl industry. The Hawalas, or Arabs who returned from Persia due to persecution of Sunnis play important roles in the pearl industry as craftsmen, merchants, and sailors. Indian merchant communities, albeit few in numbers, controlled imports such as foodstuff and functioned as economic middlemen between wealthy sheikhs who sourced pearls and European buyers. The Baluchis also migrated to Qatar to work as laborers and mercenaries or bodyguards whilst African slaves were brought from the Eastern coast of Africa to work in the pearl diving industry. These economic migrants not only play an important role in the development of the economy of the Gulf states before the discovery of oil, but they also have important influence on the culture of the region. In music, dance, and other areas, African beliefs and customs have considerable impact on the cultural typography of the Gulf states. The dialect of the Gulf countries also adopted many Persian terms and architectural styles.