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'Note on Kuwait' [‎81r] (2/4)

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The record is made up of 1 file (1 folio). It was created in Oct 1919. 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. .

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f
6. 333
NOTE ON KUWAIT.
P • The r. t0 » n , aud E?" of Kuwait "' as founded on the Arabian shore of the
ir'Z G i a \ 0U i? - vear f. a 7? b y tho ancestor of the present ruling Shaikh,
Ti n T 1 m 31 ' J races hls llnea g e t0 t}le tribe of Anaza, the noblest of all
the Badawm tribes of Arabia. The throne of Kuwait has remained in the Ibn
a family, as the dynasty is styled, without a break from the date of its foundation
up to tne present tune.
r i ^ le 1 m 1 - )St ^ mous ^ ^ Shaikhs of Kuwait was Mubarak Ibn Subah who
died in ]91o and was among the greatest men that Arabia has produced during the
ast two centuries. J he seaport of Kuwait achieved considerable notoriety in
connection with the projected Berlin-Baghdad railway, of which it was designed to
be the terminus, and it required all the subtlety and astuteness of a ruler, who has
been excelled by few Orientals m the possession of those qualities, to maintain his
independence amid the intrigues which his position provoked ; but he pinned his
faith unswervingly on His Majesty's Government and largely helped by the treaty
relations with us, into which he entered when Lord Curzon was Viceroy'of India he
succeeded in steering clear of international complications until the outbreak of war
between Britain and Turkey enabled him boldly to espouse the cause which he had
always tavoured.
-j ! lle ^ Mubarak at an early stage of the war was a heavy loss to Great
utan} > he ^ as succeeded by iiis son Jabir, who did not however long survive his
accession to power, and was followed by his brother Salim, the present ruler.
Shaikh Salim was called upon soon after his accession to the throne to co-operate
with the British authorities in the strict enforcement of a blockade of enemy territory ;
his port was the most considerable commercial centre on the Arabian coast of the
1 ersnin Gulf, and at the same, time the one most accessible to the enemy ; and,
though from time to time contretemps occurred, it may be recorded to Salim's credit
that _ some success was achieved in the desired direction as the result of his
acqiiiescence in the conduct of the blockade operations by British officers workin 0 *
in co-operation with the local staff.
Irom time to time Shaikh Salim and his predecessors have received substantial
assistance from His Majesty's Government, notably in connection with the improvement
of the water supply of Kuwait—a very necessary measure in view of the great
commercial importance of the place, and of the fact that it is surrounded on all
sides either by the sea or by waterless desert. The population of the town may be
some 40,000, all of whom are directly concerned either with commerce—the bulk of
the Kuwait trade being with Mesopotamia and India—-or with shipbuilding and other
sea-faring occupations.
On the invitation of His Majesty's Government Shaikh Salim has sent a delegation
headed by his nephew, Ahmad Ibn Jabir, the son of Jabir and grandson of Mubarak,
to offer his congratulation on the victory of His Majesty's forces over the enemy.
The relations of the ruler of Kuwait with his nearest neighbour, Ibn Sand of
Central Arabia, are unfortunately not as happy as • thej^ might be in view r of the
intimacy of the two families which marked the reign of Mubarak; but their
differences seem to be rather of a personal and perhaps religious^ rather than of a
political and permanent character, for Salim—unlike his easy-going father, Mubarak—
is as staunch a champion of the orthodox faith as Ibn Saud is of the Wahhabi
heresy. On the other hand the ruler of Kuwait is on ihe best of terms with the
King of the Hejaz, whom Ahmad Ibn Jabir, the head of the present mission, visited
last year during the pilgrimage.
Promising signs of oil have recently been discovered in the neighbourhood of the
tow T n, but have yet to be developed. Its prosperity, however, depends mainly on the
thriving trade which it carries on between the interior of Arabia and Basra and India.
At present it is by far the most important avenue of such trade ; which consists
chiefly of piece goods, sugar, coffee rice and tea. An American mission provides the
inhabitants with education and medical requirements, but since the accession of Salim
there has also been a large increase in the number of Muhammadan (Quranic)
schools.
io 161 20 10 19

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Content

This note gives a very short history of Kuwait in eight paragraphs. It provides brief details of the ruling Ibn Subah family [Āl Ṣabāḥ], including Mubarak Ibn Subah [Mubārak bin Ṣabāḥ], Jabir [Jābir bin Mubārak] and Salim [Sālim bin Mubārak], and their relations with the Britain, Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥman bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the King of Hejaz [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī]. Also mentioned are 'promising signs of oil', trade, the American Mission, and education.

Extent and format
1 file (1 folio)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this sequence commences at folio 81, and terminates at folio 81, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between folios 7-153 of the volume; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'Note on Kuwait' [‎81r] (2/4), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B333, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023571208.0x000004> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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