'File 53/11 VII (D 94) Date Gardens of Shaikhs of Kuwait and Mohammerah' [‎236v] (493/550)

Content

This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding date gardens in southern Iraq owned by the rulers of Mohammerah and Kuwait. The correspondence discusses changes in legislation proposed by the Government of Iraq regarding the collection of land rent and land produce duties, and the impact of these proposed changes to the ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ.

In particular, the correspondence concerns the Government of Iraq's decision to end the immunity from taxation (on the gardens) that had been granted to the former ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ and the Shaikh of Mohamerrah, Khaz‘al bin Jābir al-Ka‘bī by the British Government in return for their military support against the Ottoman Empire in World War 1.

The correspondence discusses disturbances on the land owned by Shaikh Ahmad caused by his fellaheen Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. (agricultural workers) allegedly refusing to pay rent, committing acts of sabotage and some of them demanding to be made proprietors of the land in place of the Shaikh. Within the correspondence, British officials discuss the Iraqi government's role in fostering the discontent and discuss the appropriate response with both Shaikh Aḥmad and the Government of Iraq.

The file contains a Foreign Office memorandum that outlines the sequence of events regarding the Shaikhs' date gardens from 1914 until 1933 (ff 22-25).

The file also contains details regarding a legal case brought against Shaikh Ahmad by members of the Al Zuhair family regarding the ownership of some of his land holdings in Iraq.

Extent and format

1 volume (273 folios)

Arrangement

File is arranged in chronological order, from earliest at beginning of the file to most recent at end.

Physical characteristics

Condition: Formerly a bound correspondence volume, the file's sheets have been unbound and are now loose.

Foliation: The file has one complete foliation sequence, which is written in pencil in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. The sequence begins with the first item of correspondence, on number 1, and runs through to the final folio of writing, ending on number 258. The following foliation errors are contained in the file: f 68A, f 224A.

Written in

English, Arabic and Turkish in Latin and Arabic script

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