Protests in Bahrain began on February 14th, 2011,  and largely consisted of members of the Shia majority demanding expanded political freedom and participation. However, a police raid on the 17th of February, in which several protestors died, led to the steady escalation of hostilities between the government and the protestors. In time, some protestors expanded their goals from reform to the ending of the Bahraini monarchy. Intense protests continued into March, during which time protestors and police clashed almost daily. The most intense period of demonstrations ended in mid-March of 2011, when the Saudi Arabian government, responding to the Bahrain monarchy's request for aid, sent 1,000 troops into the country.

Protests continued into 2014, though without the wide scale and energy of the earlier protests. A notable exception to this was in December of 2013, when a large number of protests were organized to coincide with forty-second anniversary of Bahraini independence and the two-and-a-half year anniversary of the 2011 protests.

The tactics used by the Bahraini government to suppress protestors have received international attention and condemnation. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry concluded that the government had used systematic torture, psychological abuse, and committed other human rights violations in response to the 2011 uprising. (report linked below)

Good Resources for Getting Started

• Bahrain's Arab Spring Timeline
• Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
• The Bahrain Revolt
• 14 February 2011: Revolution Day in Bahrain - Facebook Page