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'Memorandum respecting Koweit' [‎143r] (1/27)

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The record is made up of 1 file (11 folios). It was created in 30 Oct 1901. 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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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.
Printed for the use of the Foreign Office. October 30, 1901.
CONFIDENTIAL.
(7596.)
Memorandum respecting Koweit.
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. ,
September 17,
1878.
To Sir A, Layard,
No. 12.
THE position of Koweit, as regards Turkey,
has recently given rise to considerable dis
cussion. There seems no doubt that in 1871,
when Midhat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. made a successful attempt
to reduce the Emir of Nejd to subjection,
the Sheikh of Koweit declared himself on the
Turkish side, assumed the Turkish flag, and
was instrumental in inducing other Chiefs
on the Arabian Littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
to imitate his example. Eor this action he
received the title of Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , and was granted
considerable tracts of land in the neighbourhood
of Eao. It would appear that about that time a
Turkish custom-house was established at Koweit,
but it must have been maintained for a short
time only.
In 1876 Lieutenant - Colonel Prideaux, the
Acting Resident at Bushire, enumerated as the
principal Turkish ports on the Arab side of
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Koweit, Khateef, and Ojair.
In May 1878 the Government of India proposed
" that from Bussorah to Ojair " (which is
situated on the coast considerably to the
south of Koweit) " the authority of the Porte
should be recognized as established on land, but
that at sea the British Government should con
tinue to exercise some concurrent Protectorate,
pursuing pirates if necessary into Turkish
waters and dealing with them wherever found,
whether at sea or on shore, within certain limits
through the Besident in the Gulf." This proposal
was discussed between the Foreign Office 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. and somewhat modified.
In a despatch dated the 5th January, 1879,
Lord Salisbury authorized Sir A. Layard, then
British Ambassador at Oonstantinople, to propose
[929] B

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This is a confidential memorandum, printed for the use of the Foreign Office on 30 October 1901, and authored by Robert Venables Vernon Harcourt, dated 29 Oct 1901. The memorandum primarily focuses on the position of Koweit [Kuwait] in regards to Turkey (Ottoman Empire) from 1871 onwards. In the left and righ hand margins there are references to various correpondence, reports and agreements between 1878 and 1901, as well as giving subject headings, which include: 'Difficulties with Turkey', 'German railway scheme', 'Dispute between Koweit and Nejd [Najd]', 'Defences of Koweit', 'Use of Turkish flag in Koweit', and 'Proposal to make Koweit a port of call for Mail-steamers'. Folios 150 to 151 include extracts of correspondence from Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and Anthopoulo Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , dated 11 September 1901, and Admiral Sir Day Hort Bosanquet, Commander-in-chief, East Indies, to Admiralty, dated 31 August and 4 October 1901. There is an Annex between folios 152 and 153, which includes a translated agreement ('Arabic bond') with the Sheikh of Kuwait, Mubārak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ, dated 23 January 1899, signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm John Meade, 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. at Bushire, and witnessed by E Wickham Hore, Captain of the Indian Medical Service (IMS), John Calcott Gaskin, and Muhammad Rahim bin Abdul Nebi Saffer [Muḥammad Raḥim bin ‘Abd al-Nabī Ṣafar], Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. at Bahrain and friend of the Sheikh of Kuwait; and a translation of an Arabic letter from Meade to the Sheikh of Kuwait, dated 23 January 1901.

Extent and format
1 file (11 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 143, and terminates at folio 153, since 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 the top right-hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. These numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled.

Pagination: This section of the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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'Memorandum respecting Koweit' [‎143r] (1/27), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B133, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023644485.0x000002> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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