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'Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part I. Historical and Political Materials. Précis of Koweit Affairs, 1896-1904' [‎7r] (13/128)

The record is made up of 1 volume (64 folios). It was created in 1904. It was written in English. The original is part of the 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. .

Transcription

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PRfiCIS OP
KOWEIT AFFAIRS.
I.—BRIEF HISTORY OF KOWEIT FROM CIRCA 1716 TO 1896.
%
1. Koweit has been playing a part in the theatre of Persian Gnlf poli
tics only within the last ten years. Its previous history was marked by few poli
tical events, except deaths of its chiefs and successions, which took place with
out disturbance. It is frequently mentioned under the name of Grane, Gran or
Grain in the correspondence connected with the British factory An East India Company trading post. at Basrah in the
last half of the 18th century, as a port of call for ships plying between Bombay
and Basrah for the trade of Central Arabia.
^ 2. The earliest account in our records descriptive of Koweit is contained in Coieirooice't re-
Major Colebrooke's report about the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. littoral, dated 10th September ^ i8m
1820 :—
" The first settlement at the head of the Gulf is Koweit situated in a commodious harbour
p „, Q „ , „ .... . . . an d inhabited by a mixed race of Arabs in subiec-
T i ST m .f mi y ^ tion to the Aula Hnhbeit, a branch of the Utubi
tribe. It is represpnted to be defended by a Fort
mounting 20 guns, but as the water in the town is insufficient for the inhabitants, who supply
• The Failaka island. themselves from the small Island of Feliche, *the
place must be incapable of defence except against
surprise or sudden assault. According to the most probable estimate the armed population
amounts to from 5,000 to 7,000 men, of these but a few hundreds are Utubis, the rest a mixed
race commercially and peaceably disposed. The Island of Feliche is inhabited by about 5(i0
men of the mixed class and protected by a towered Ghurry. As a survey of this Port was made
by order of Government, a general description is unnecessary }> .
3. In the year 1821, when the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of Baghdad has been subjecting the fac- Koweit made tem»
Bombay Political Department, Volume 59 of 1821. t01 7 0f B . aSrah t0 UI1 j Ust exactions of duties
and to other annoyances, Sir Hountstuart
Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay, found it necessary to threaten the pachalic
of Baghdad with an interdict of all commercial intercourse. To show that the
East India Company w r as in earnest, the Resident of Basrah, under the Gover
nor's instructions, struck the British flag at Basrah on 25th December 1821
and removed the British settlement to the island of Grain as being the most
eligible spot. The Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. soon after made peace with the Company's Agents
and the factory An East India Company trading post. was re-established at Basrah. It may be noted that ' Grain '
is spoken of here as an island. Probably it was the Eailaka island which is at
the entrance of the Bay of Koweit.
4. In 1829 Major George B. Brucks submitted to the Bombay Govern- Major Bme*',
+ Page 576 of selections from Bombay Govern- ment an aCCOUnt about the navigation of re P or ^» 1829,
xnent Records, Vol. XXIV. the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and he writesf about
the Koweit Sheikhs :—
They aeJcnowledged the authorify of the Turks, and pay the tribute of forty hags of free
and four hundred frazils of dates annually. The Sheilch also receives an honorary dress from
the Turkish Government yearly —They have enjoyed peace while all other parts of the Gulf
have been embroiled, and to this they owe their maritime greatness. Cattle are to be pro
cured good, but very dear.
From Grane to Khore el Kuffa^i, along- the Arabian Coast, the authority of the Sheikh
of Grane is partially acknowledged by the Bedouin Tribe, who are mostly of the A1 Ali and
a branch of the Beni Khalid, and some wandering- parties of other tribes ; also some few s'trat;-
gling camps of the Montific Tribe, who come this way at certain seasons. The amount of
imports to Grane is said to be about five lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of dollars, the exports are under one lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
The variation of the compass at Grane in 1834 was 5° 22' W. Grane also takes a share in the
pearl fishery.
tfk. In 1847 the Sheikh of Koweit is said to have declared himself a
vassal of the Porte (see page 418 of Bombay Selections No. XXIV).
5. In his report on the tribes, etc., around the shores of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Colonel
dated 16th July 1863 (published;, Colonel Pelly noted :— * report, ms.

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Content

The volume, stamped ‘Secret’ on the front cover and frontispiece, is part 1 (historical and political materials) of a précis of Kuwait (spelt Koweit throughout) affairs for the years 1896-1904. It was prepared by Jerome Antony Saldanha of the Bombay Provincial Civil Service, and published in 1904 by the Government of India Foreign Department, Simla, India.

The volume includes a preface (folio 4), list of contents (folio 5) and list of appendices (folio 6). The sections listed in the contents run as follows:

  • I: Brief History of Koweit from circa 1716 to 1896 A.D.;
  • II: Murder of Mahomed bin Subah [Muḥammad bin Ṣabāḥ] and his brother Jarrah [Jarrāḥ bin Ṣabāḥ] by Mubarak [Mubārak] and Mubarak’s succession, 1896;
  • III: (1) Proposed Turkish Quarantine at Koweit, (2) views of the Government of India 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. ;
  • IV: Haripasa Piracy case. Warning to Sheikh of Koweit. Question of Protectorate over Koweit raised - 1895-1896;
  • V: Threatened attack of Sheikhs Jasim bin Thani [Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī] and Yusuf bin Ibrahim [Yūsuf bin Ibrāhīm] on Koweit. Question of Protectorate over Koweit discussed 1897-98;
  • VI: (1) Movements of Turkish troops towards Koweit, (2) Russian intrigues, (3) Question of Protectorate over Koweit further discussed;
  • VII: Proposed British Protectorate over Koweit. Agreement with the Sheikh of Koweit, December 1898 - May 1899;
  • VIII: Porte's complaints against British proceedings at Koweit as infrigement of quarantine regulations, May 1899;
  • IX: (1) Threatened attack on Koweit by the Turks, (2) Defence of Koweit, February - March 1899;
  • X: (1) Question of status of the Sheikh of Koweit, (2) Turkish activity in the neighbourhood, (3) Imposition of customs duty by Sheikh, March - June 1899;
  • XI: Turkish attempts to exercise soverign rights on Koweit, by appointing harbour master and opening a custom house. A forward Turkish policy advocated. The British Government's protest. July - September 1899;
  • XII: Sheikh Mubarak's diffidence in the British and desire of Persian protection. September - October 1899;
  • XIII: Appointment of Muhsin [Muḥsin] Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. as Vasli of Basrah. Change of policy inaugurated. Turkish Decoration for Sheikh Mubarak 1899;
  • XIV: Visit of the German Railway Commission to Koweit and their scheme to make Katham their Railway's Terminus, January 1900;
  • XV: Proposal to make Koweit a Port of call for Mail steamers July 1900 - June 1901;
  • XVI: Threatened hostilities between the Sheikh of Koweit and Amir of Nejd [Najd];
  • XVII: Renewal of hostilities between the Sheikh of Koweit and the Amir of Nejd , December 1900 - May 1901;
  • XVIII: (1) Ibn Rashid [Ibn Rasīd] seeks British protection, (2) Sheikh Mubarak asks for assumption of permanent British protectorate over Koweit, May - June 1901;
  • XIX: (1) Threatened attack on Koweit by Amir of Nejd and the Turks, (2) Measures for defence of Koweit, (3) Attempt to settle difference between the Sheikh and Amir amicably, July - October 1901;
  • XX: Question of defence of Koweit by sea and land, 1899-1901;
  • XXI: Question of discontinuance of the use of the Turkish flag at Koweit, August - September 1901;
  • XXII: Attempt to take the Sheikh of Koweit to Constantinople, November and December 1901;
  • XXIII: Alarm at Koweit and Landing of British Guns, December 1901 - January 1902;
  • XXIV: Prohibition of exports to Koweit from Turkish territory and movements of the Amir of Nejd, December 1901 - January 1902;
  • XXV: Dispute about the Fao [al-Fāw] Estates, December 1901 - January 1902;
  • XXVI: Occupation of Um Kasr [Umm Qaṣr], Bubyan [Būbīyān] Island and Subbiyah [al-Ṣubīyah] by the Turks, January - March 1902;
  • XXVII: Complaints against the proceedings of the British Officer and the Sheikh of Koweit, March 1902;
  • XXVIII: Sheikh Mubarak's offers of reconciliation with the Porte, March 1902;
  • XXIX: Arrest of agent of Sheikh Mubarak at Basrah and his imprisonment, May - December 1902;
  • XXX: Further movements of Ibn Rashid (2) Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal bin Sa‘ūd] in the field again, and captures Riadh [Riyadh], January, November 1902;
  • XXXI: (1) Fear of Renewal of hostilities between Ibn Rashid and Sheikh Mubarak, (2) The Sheikh warned not to involved himself in difficulties with Nejd or the Turks, (3) Application of the Sheikh for guns, August - October 1902;
  • XXXII: Threatened attack on Koweit from Mubarak's nephews and Sheikh Yusuf-el-Ibrahim. Lapwing case. September 1902 - January 1903;
  • XXXIII: Ibn Rashid near Koweit and Sheikh Mubarak's movements, December 1902 - February 1903;
  • XXXIV: Fao Estates' dispute, February 1903-04;
  • XXXV: Importance of Khor Abdulla [Khawr ‘Abdullāh] as a future Railway terminus, etc. 1904;
  • XXXVI: Recent movements of Ibn Rashid, January 1903 - March 1904;
  • XXXVII: Montefik Arabs [al-Muntafiq] seek Russian protection, (2) Revolt of Sadun [Sa‘dūn] Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ;
  • XXXVIII: Advance of a loan made to Sheikh Mubarak, March - May 1904;
  • XXXIX: Opening of a British post office at Koweit, 1901-1904;
  • XL: Appointment of British Agent at Koweit. June 1899 - August 1903;
  • XLI: (1) Turkish aid to Ibn Rashid, (2) Proposed British protest, (3) Appointment of 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 Koweit, April - October 1904.

The Appendices are as follows:

Extent and format
1 volume (64 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged divided into forty one (identified by Roman numerals), which are followed by ten appendices (lettered A to J). There are paragraph numbers that are continuous throughout the whole volume, beginning on 1 at the start of the first section, and ending on 351 in the final section. A contents page and list of appendices are at the front of the volume (folios 5-6).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part I. Historical and Political Materials. Précis of Koweit Affairs, 1896-1904' [‎7r] (13/128), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C239, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023515249.0x00000f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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