Victoria Memorial Hospital - Bahrain | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Manama, Bahrain |
Organisation | |
Type | Semi-Government |
History | |
Opened | 1905 |
Closed | 1948 |
Links | |
Lists | Hospitals in Bahrain |
Victoria Memorial Hospital was a hospital that existed in Manama, Bahrain from 1905 to 1948. [1] [2] [3] [4]
In November 1901, once the official period of mourning for Queen Victoria had passed, Gangaram Tikamdas and some other leading British Indian merchants of Bahrain offered 5000 rupees for the erection of a hospital to ‘perpetuate the memory of her late Majesty’. [5] Gangaram Tikamdas was the first Thattai Bhatia to come to Bahrain in the early 1900s. [6]
These traders expressed their willingness to donate in appreciation of "the blessings of free trade and peace they had enjoyed under British protection during the reign of the Queen". [5]
The then Government of India, which was British, acknowledged the merchants’ ‘loyalty and public spirit’ but were reluctant to support such a financially costly scheme unless some ‘political advantage’ would arise from it. The Political Agent at Bahrain, John Calcott Gaskin, [7] managed to persuade his superiors that the hospital's construction would be highly appreciated by the ‘natives’. [5] Also, it was assumed that this will divert the sick from American missionary doctors operating in the Persian Gulf, and particularly in Bahrain at the Mason Memorial Hospital, thus bringing the inhabitants of Bahrain, and also the mainland of Eastern Arabia, under British influence. ‘For this reason principally’, he wrote, ‘the matter should be given favourable consideration by Government’. [5]
Most of the construction costs were met by subscriptions from among the Hindu community of Bahrain, as well as leading Arab and Persian merchants. Popular contributors were Haji Muqbil al-Dhukayr and Abd al-Nabi Kazruni., [1] but the Government of India undertook to finance the future maintenance of the hospital.
In 1905, the Victoria Memorial Hospital, as it was named, opened its doors to public. [4]
According to the book Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf: Manama Since 1800 by Nelida Fuccaro, the hospital had been quickly constructed in 1904.
"The first modern medical facilities were established at the beginning of the twentieth century by the American missionaries and then by the British agency which had subsidized the construction of the Victoria Memorial Hospital in 1904. The government-built al-Na’im and al-Salmaniyya hospitals were added, in the outskirts of the town, in 1937 and 1959 respectively" [1] .
The hospital seems to have functioned with the primary motive of "political influence" and not really for the benefit of public health. It was mostly short of funds. Emily Overend Lorimer, wife of the Political Agent at Bahrain (1911-1912), wrote in a letter home, to her mother, that the Victoria Memorial Hospital was built without proper consideration of the costs. It was, she wrote, a ‘fine large hospital’ but with insufficient income. ‘When really bad cases come’, she noted, ‘we have to ask the Mission Hospital to take them in’. [8]
It is also probable that the focus of the then British Government of India was not on this region, but more on the Indian subcontinent, as the Independence movement was growing there, which eventually saw Britain hand-over total control to the Indians on 15 August 1947.
In a letter dated 19 June 1948, the Chief Quarantine Medical Officer of Bahrain has written a memorandum saying that the hospital will be closed to public.
"With effect from 1 July 1948, Victoria Memorial Hospital will be closed to the general public" [2]
It was demolished in 1953, as per a record in theTreasure Minute Dated 21 March 1957 Concerning a Gift of Land in Bahrein published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London in 1957 :
Parliamentary minutes regarding the sale of a vacant site of some 4/5ths of an acre in the Manama district of Bahrain, originally acquired in 1903 for the erection of the Victoria Memorial Hospital which was demolished in 1953, to the Ruler of Bahrain, H.H. Sheikh Salman ibn Hamad Al Khalifa, who wished to found a Museum and Public Library on the site. The value of the site was estimated at about 70,000 pounds sterling. With stamp of "The Law Society, London" (29 March 1957). [9]
From almost five decades, until the establishment of Naim hospital in the late 1940s, the Mission Hospital and Marion Wells Thoms Memorial Hospital, with Victoria Memorial Hospital, were the only modern healthcare facilities available in the country.
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 297,502 as of 2012. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population. After periods of Portuguese and Persian control and a short invasion from the ruling dynasty of Saudi Arabia, followed by a longer invasion by Oman, Bahrain established itself as an independent nation in 1971 following a period of British hegemony.
Bahrain was a central location of the ancient Dilmun civilization. Bahrain's strategic location in the Persian Gulf has brought rule and influence from mostly the Persians, Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Portuguese, the Arabs, and the British.
The Kingdom of Bahrain consists of Bahrain Island and 33 of the 37 Bahrain Islands, lying in the Persian Gulf's Gulf of Bahrain off the north shore of West Asia's Arabian Peninsula. Bahrain's capital city is Manama. The islands are about 24 kilometers (15 mi) off the east coast of Saudi Arabia and 28 kilometers (17 mi) from Qatar. The total area of the country is about 694 square kilometers (268 sq mi), about four times the size of the District of Columbia.
Zubarah, also referred to as Al Zubarah or Az Zubarah, is a ruined, ancient town located on the northwestern coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Al Shamal municipality, about 65 miles or 105 kilometres from the capital Doha. It was founded by Shaikh Muhammed bin Khalifa, the founder father of Al Khalifa royal family of Bahrain, the main and principal Utub tribe in the first half of the eighteenth century. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave KBE was a British citizen and advisor to the rulers of Bahrain from 1926 until 1957, as "Chief Administrator" or "adviserate". He first served under Shaikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, and subsequently under his son, Shaikh Salman.
The history of the Jews in Bahrain goes back to ancient times. Bahraini Jews constitute one of the world's smallest Jewish communities, although its origins go back to late antiquity. Talmudic sources refer to ports and islands on the Persian Gulf, indicating that Jews may have already settled in this region. Arabic sources record Jews in the old capital of Bahrain, Hajar, at the time of the Islamic conquest in 630 C.E. In the 12th century, the Jewish traveler-adventurer Benjamin of Tudela mentions 500 Jews living in Qays, and 5,000 in Al-Qatîf, involved in pearl fishery. In the 19th century, there were Jewish merchants from Iraq, Persia, and India in Bahrain.
Bilad al-Qadeem is a suburb of Manama, the capital city of Bahrain.
The Bani Utbah is an Arab tribal confederation in the Arabian Peninsula. The confederation is thought to have been formed when a group of clans from Najd migrated to Eastern Arabia in the late 17th century and early 18th century. Most of the Utub clans and families, such as the Al-Sabah and Al-Khalifa, trace their lineage back to Anizah tribe, with the exception of some, such as the Al Bin Ali, whose lineage goes back to the Banu Sulaym tribe. The Al Bin Ali along with the current ruling families of Bahrain and Kuwait were the rulers of the federation. The name of the confederation is found in the form Attoobee or Uttoobee in English sources up to the late 19th century.
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The population of Bahrain is 1,501,635 as of May 14, 2023, based on elaborations of the United Nations data, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals. Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi), and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.
Bahrain–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between Bahrain and the United Kingdom. Bahrain has an embassy in London and the United Kingdom is one of only four European countries to maintain an embassy in Manama. Bahrain gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971 and has since maintained strong diplomatic, military and trade relations.
Nelida Fuccaro is a historian and professor of modern Middle Eastern history at the New York University Abu Dhabi.
The Qatari-Bahraini War, also known as the Qatari War of Independence, was an armed conflict that took place in 1867 and 1868 in the Persian Gulf. The conflict pitted Bahrain and Abu Dhabi against Qatar. The conflict was the most flagrant violation of the 1835 maritime truce, requiring British intervention. The two emirates agreed to a truce, mediated by the United Kingdom, which led to Britain recognizing the Al-Thani family of Qatar as the semi-independent ruler of Qatar. The conflict resulted in wide-scale destruction in both emirates.
Fareej Mushbir is an old district neighbouring the Manama Souq, in the city of Manama, Bahrain. The district was part of the original core of Old Manama, prior to its expansion in the 20th century.
The following is a timeline of the Bahraini uprising from February to March 2011, beginning with the start of protests in February 2011 and including the Saudi and Emirati-backed crackdown from 15 March.
The Islamic month of Muharram is a period of mourning in Shia Islam and commemorates the death of Imam Hussain, the third Imam, and his companions at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Processions called Azadari are held to commemorate and remember the events that took place, these are often organised by congregation halls known as Hussainia. Mourning climaxes on the tenth day of Muharram, Ashura. The mourning is sometimes referred to as the Remembrance of Muharram.
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 (Shia) 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.
The American Mission Hospital is a 120 year old private not-for-profit hospital located in Manama, Bahrain.
Sawt al-Bahrain was a monthly political magazine published in Manama, Bahrain, between 1950 and 1954. It was the first independent publication by the Bahraini intellectuals. The magazine laid the basis for the High Executive Committee which was a cross-sectarian nationalist political movement in Bahrain founded in 1955 and inspired other publications including Al Isha which was a cultural journal.
Al Qafilah was a weekly newspaper published in Manama, Bahrain, between 1952 and 1956.
Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo, also known as Haji Yusuf, was a Bahraini merchant and trader who, in 1890, took over his father's business and started the trading empire that would grow into the Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group, one of the largest independent trading companies in the Gulf region.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)