'CONFIDENTIAL 86/28 - I Vol. D. 173 KUWAIT SULPHUR'

Content

The volume comprises correspondence between 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 Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait (Arnold C Galloway, Tom Hickinbotham, Cornelius J Pelly, Gordon N Jackson), the 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. (John Percival Gibson, Roland Tennyson Peel), the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and the Gulf Oil Company (Ralph O Rhoades, William Smellie, A E Angus) regarding negotiation for a sulphur concession in Kuwait. The concession was granted to the newly formed Eastern Gulf Oil Company in June 1942. A copy of the concession agreement in Arabic and English can be found at folios 118-138 and the political agreement at folios 149-150.

Later correspondence discusses the commencement of exploration work in 1944 and the decision taken by the Company in 1945 to discontinue their search as exploration had been unsuccessful.Also discussed within the volume is the value and importance of sulphur both for wartime military requirements and for general trade, along with the need to establish new supplies to meet wartime needs.

A request for geological data about the sulphur found in Kuwait made by the External Affairs Department of the Government of India is also included.The volumes also contains correspondence with Major M J Smith of the Middle East Supply Centre in which wartime supplies such as sulphur and sugar are discussed along with the Centre’s desire to understand how trade operated in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and how decisions such as the imposition of export licences on Iraq and Persia might affect the region.

A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 202-218. The last folio of the file notes contains a query dated six months after the correspondence in the volume ends, and discusses the question of payments made to the Shaikh of Kuwait under the sulphur concession agreement.

Extent and format

1 volume (220 folios)

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 221; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in

English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: 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. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/1/697

Former external reference(s)

A Series: 86/28 Confidential Series: D 173

History of this record

Date(s)

27 Jan 1940-2 Dec 1945 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

SulphurSecond World War (1939-1945)

Places

Kuwait

People & organisations

Gulf Oil CorporationIndia OfficeMiddle East Supply CentrePolitical Agent, KuwaitEmir of Kuwait

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'CONFIDENTIAL 86/28 - I Vol. D. 173 KUWAIT SULPHUR', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/697, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x00029f> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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