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'File 86/1 VII (D 101) Kuwait Oil' [‎30r] (74/506)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (249 folios). It was created in 9 Apr 1934-30 Jun 1934. 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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8,/
cS»
Ms loyalty, or his desire to please His Majesty l s Government.
Cb)Local Representative.
The negotiators had clearly misunderstood him,
said the Shaikh, ii.ll that he had wished to insure (in making
his verbal request to the negotiators) was that he should
not 138 " bidden rour::h shod aver ?7 (his words) and that a person
who was ignorant of the Arabic language, or Arab Customs or
was actually a persona non , :rata to himself, should not be
appointed as the Company*s local Bepresentative. He merely
desired that the selection of such local Representative
should be made by His majesty's Government and the Company
in full ccnsaltation with hinself , and that if he did not
like a man or conversely liked a particular person, some
notice should be taken of his wishes. This, said the ohaikh,
was after all his undoubted ri ht as Ruler of the State and
as the "granter of the concession".
(c) Offer frcm another Gil Conpanv.
The ohaikh admitted that he had received a telegram
from London, purporting to come from an all British concern.
The latter had asked permission to op01 negotiations, and
offered over 5 lacs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. on his signing^as well as other
equally favourable terms.
He could not divulge name of Company even to me,
but would say that he had replied that he could not consider
the the offer unless negotiations with the Kuwait Oil Company
showed signs of breaking down altogether.
hi • • "• • ■ ■ v<
7, The Shaikh again and again reiterated that he
was most anxious to come to terms with the Kuwait Oil Com
pany, as he knew this would please His i.Iajesty*s Government
and give them satisfaction, but the Kuwait Oil Company
should be told by someone ^not to conduct their negotiations
(as they were doing) on the assumption that ?t tliey had
eliminated all competitors frcm the field through beinp.
suj . or t e d by .1 s Lla i e s ty * s G-ov e imiont ; ' (his words).

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Content

The volume contains correspondence between 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 (Harold Richard Dickson); 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. (Trenchard Craven Fowle); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); Officials in the India and Foreign Offices (including Sir Louis Kershaw, John Gilbert Laithwaite, George Rendel); the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ); the Air Ministry (Wilfred Ashton McLaughry); the Air Office Commanding, Iraq (Alexander Duncan Cunningham); and representatives of the Kuwait Oil Company (Frank Holmes, Archibald Chisholm), Arabian Development Syndicate, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and Iraq Petroleum Company.

The correspondence relates primarily to the Kuwait Oil Company's negotiation's with His Majesty's Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait for the Kuwait (also given as Koweit) Oil Concession, focusing on discussions around clauses in both the Commercial and Political Agreements and the Shaikh's concerns over how certain clauses may be perceived both within his own country and in neighbouring ones.

Also discussed are developments in Saudi Arabia with regards to their share of the Nejd-Kuwait Neutral Zone Oil Concession, which was being competed for by the Standard Oil Company of California and the Arabian Development Syndicate, and the British Government's opinions on the situation and their intended approach with regards to the Kuwait share of the concession. The information relating to the Saudi Government's approach to the concession is relayed through letters and reports from Sir Andrew Ryan, HM Minister at Jedda, and contain details of his discussions with representatives of both the Saudi Government and the oil companies.

The correspondence also includes a discussion relating to land at Shuwaikh, identified by the British Government for possible use as an air base, and includes negotiations over the cost of renting the site or the possibility of reserving it for future use. Also included are details of reconnaissance undertaken by the Air Officer Commanding for alternative sites, which was unsuccesful, and correspondence regarding the use of Kuwait Harbour for flying boats and the need to identify suitable locations in the Harbour for moorings.

Extent and format
1 volume (249 folios)
Arrangement

The contents of this volume have been arranged mostly in chronological order.

Folios 236-241 contain file notes detailing each letter contained within the volume, and giving the page numbers each letter commences on enabling the notes to be used as an index.

Some of the letters refer to earlier correspondence in previous volumes, and provide a page and volume reference in order for the earlier correspondence to be identified.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume has been foliated in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle. The foliation sequence commences on the first folio after the front cover, with 1A and concludes on the back cover with number 246. Foliation anomalies: 1A-E.

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English in Latin script
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'File 86/1 VII (D 101) Kuwait Oil' [‎30r] (74/506), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/643, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023586317.0x00004b> [accessed 18 April 2024]

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