'Koweit, 1908-1928' [‎11] (3/14)

nature of British relations with the Government of Koweit or establish a
Protectorate there. A subsidiary article (9) secured to the Sheikh the
enjoyment of his private property in the Basra \ilayet.
12. The outbreak of war in August 1914 prevented the final ratification
of the Anglo-Turkish Agreement the substance of which is summarised
above, and the entry of Turkey into the War in November 1914 against the
Allies produced a completely new situation. The Sheikh, who had been
informed officially on 8th August 1914 of the outbreak of war between
Great Britain and Germany, on 21st August made a declaration of loyalty to
His Majesty’s Government on behalf of himself and his tribes,’"* placed “ his
efforts, his men, and his ships ” at the disposal of Great Britain, and
expressed a desire to eject the Turkish garrison from the islands at the
mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab, which he claimed to be lawfully his. In
return for his co-operation against the Turks the Sheikh, in a letter from the
Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Gulf, dated 3rd November 1914,j* was given the
following assurances, of which the third is the most important:—
(1) The date gardens which you now possess between Fao and Gurnah
shall remain in the full possession of you and jour heirs and be
immune from taxation.
(2) You are guaranteed by the Great British Government against all
consequences of your attack against Safwan, Umm Kasr and
Bubiyan.
(3) Koweit shall be recognised as an independent principality under
British protection.
13. In February 1915 sanction was given to the transfer to Koweit of the
Admiralty coaling depot at Bushire,J a step originally recommended by the
Government of India in 1910, and approved in 1912 by the Foreign Office,
Admiralty and India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , the taking of which had however hitherto been
postponed in view of the possibility that it might prejudicially react on the
Anglo-Turkish negotiations. But on the recommendations of the Naval
authorities it was agreed in 1916 that the proposal should be dropped until
the conclusion of the War. It was decided in 1920 that the transfer should
not take place.
14. It had been agreed in 1913 that an Indian Post Office should be
established at Koweit on the ratification of the Anglo-Turkish Convention ;
and an office w r as in fact opened under the orders of the Government of
India at the beginning of 1915.
15. Sheikh Mubarak (K.O.I.E. 1911, K.O.S.L 1914\ who had ruled
Koweit since his assassination of his brother in 1896, and who had
consistently co-operated actively with His Majesty’s Government, died on
28th November 1915, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sheikh Jabir,
who was informed in March 1916 by the Viceroy that “ so long as you act
up to existing arrangements with the British Government you may expect
the same support as was enjoyed by your father.”
16. In the earlier part of 1915 Koweit had been brought in intimate
contact with the affairs of Ibn Sand on the revolt of the Ajman tribe against
the latter. The Ajman were finalty routed in September, and forced to take
refuo-e in Koweit territory, in which they remained until the death of
Mubarak, immediately on which Ibn Sand pressed his successor, Sheikh
Jabir, to expel the Ajman Sheikhs, a demand to which Jabir, reluctant to
eject the Ajman lest they should be driven into the enemy camp, but unable
to hold out against Ibn Sand’s pressure without creating an open breach,
finally yielded in February 1916.
17. Relations between Ibn Sand and Koweit had for some years before
the death of Mubarak been growing cooler. Ibn Sand had latterly resented
what he regarded as the equivocal attitude of the Sheikh during the
negotiations between the Ottoman Government and himself in the spring of
1914; the asylum given to the Ajman w r as a further grievance,§ and the
incidence of the transit dues levied from time immemorial in Koweit,
formed the subject of a complaint by the ruler of Nejd in 1916. But in a
.
* Tel. from Pol. Res. to G.
of L, 1021, Aug. 24 1914,
P. 3608/14; tel. from G. of
I. to Pol. Res., 6433. Aug. 26
1914, P. 3743/14; letter
from Pol. Res. to G. of I.,
Aug. 25 1914. P. 3848/14.
t See P. 4142/14.
J Tel. from S. of S. to G.
of I„ Feb. 2 1915, P.385/15;
G. of I. Desp.. June'9 1910,
P. 904/10; tel. from S. of S.
to Viceroy, Ma\ r 21 1912,
P. 1910/12 ; F.O. to I.O.
20859/13, Mav 14 1913,
P. 1913/13; G of T. Desp.
108, Dec. 22 1916, P. 393/17;
Pol. Desp. to G. of 1., 112,
Oct. 31 1913. P. 4153/13;
tel. from Viceroy, Jan. 30
1915, P. 376/15 ; tel. from
Viceroy to S. of S.. Oct. 30
1920, P. 7934/20.
P. 4449a /15.
Kharita An important letter usually sent in an elaborate textile pouch, dispatched as part of the royal or diplomatic correspondence of rulers and elites. , Feb. 2 1916, from
Viceroy to Sheikh,
P. 2352/16.
Note by Arab Bureau, Irak
Section, on Relations with
Ibn Sand, Jan. 12 1917,
P. 712/17, B. 251.
§ P. 4906/16.