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The golden age of pearl trade
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Prior to the discovery of oil in 1949, Qatar – like the other Gulf States – derived most of its resources from pearl oyster fishing, an age-old tradition confirmed by the discovery of a pearl in the Qatari peninsula dating back to 4600 BC. At the beginning of the 20th century (1907), there were 817 dhows – the traditional wooden boats similar to those pictured here in the port of Al Wakrah – and 12,890 “jazwas” (fishermen) participating in the pearl fishing season from May to September. The Gulf region as a whole accounted for 65-80% of the world’s pearl production. The pearls were exported to Europe, India, Persia and the Ottoman Empire to be assembled into jewellery. The First World War, the arrival on the market of cultured pearls produced in Japan and the Great Depression of the 1930s put an end to this artisanal fishery.
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