Hadhrami Network and the British : A Case of 1910-20's

Abstract

In the period from the First World War through the 1920's, there was a tension between the Hadhrami network and the British. Because of the internal struggle in the Hadhramaut and so-called Sayyid-Irshad dispute in the Hadhrami communities in Southeast Asia, the movements of "suspicious" or "undesirable" Hadhramis between the Southeast Asia and the Hadhramaut were carefully monitored and recorded by the British. The record now serves as useful sources to know about their movement and how they sent money to their homeland. The close observation of the way Hadhrami network actually worked reveals the fact that, although the term "Hadhrami Network" implies an autonomous network of people and goods independent of the economic system established by the European powers, the Hadhrami network functioned within the framework of transportation and remittance system built by Europeans in the Indian Ocean. In the twentieth century, the Hadhramis usually travelled between Southeast Asia and the Hadhramaut by European steamships, and used bank drafts issued by European banks to send remittance to their homeland. This observation, however, does not necessarily mean that the network was totally subordinated to the policy of the British. Due to the lack of necessary information, the British was unable to exercise total control over the movement of people and money. In any case, as long as the stability of the Hadhramaut was important for the British, the basic structure of the Hadhrami network was to be maintained. It was the occupation of Southeast Asia by the Japanese, the country which had no relation with the Hadhrami network, that virtually terminated the Hadhrani migration to Southeast Asia.