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'Memorandum respecting Koweit' [‎149r] (13/27)

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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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.45
13
Telegram
communicated by
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. ,
August 14.
To Sir F. Lascelles,
No. 128,
Telegraphic,
August 10.
To Sir N. O'Conor,
No. 103,
Telegraphic,
August 10.
Telegram#
Nos. 92, 93,
August 21.
Sheikh and the Amir, while maintaining our
Bold upon the Sheikh.
Early in August he saw Mubarak, who sug
gested the Sheikh of Mohammerah as intermediary,
and Mr. Wratislaw was subsequently authorized
to assist communication between the latier and
the agent of the Amir.
But renewed rumours of Turkish concen
tration again raised the larger diplomatic ques
tion.
In July Sir F. Lascelles had had a conversa
tion with Dr. Rosen, of the German Foreign
Office, upon the prospects of the Anatolian
Railway and the general situation.
An expression used by his Excellency describ
ing the Sheikh as "technically a subject of the
Sultan but enjoying a considerable amount of
independence " which on a previous occasion had
passed without comment (see Sir F. Lascelles'
No. 156 of the 15th June, 1900), now drew
from the German Representative an assertion
that the Sheikh was " merely a subject of the
Sultan."
It was therefore pointed out to Sir F. Lascelles-
that the German Government might take advan
tage of his language to argue that the Sultan
could dispose of the territory of the Sheikh.
The view that the Sheikh was simply a subject
of the Sultan was one that Her Majesty's
Government were totally unable to accept, and
his Excellency was instructed to use language
on the lines of Sir N. O'Conor's despatch No. 130
of the 10th April, 1900 (see p. 8).
Sir N. O'Conor was at the same time authorized
to state, if occasion arose, that if Koweit were
threatened, Her Majesty's Government would use
force to prevent attack.
Important communications now took place at
London and Constantinople.
Considerable pressure was being exercised on
the Ottoman Government by the German and
Russian Embassies, and though a proposal of
the Vali of Bussorah to use force against the
Sheikh had been rejected by the Council of
Ministers, Tewfik Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. informed Sir N. O'Conor
that Koweit was regarded as an integral part of
the Ottoman Empire.
A warning given by the Commander of the
" Perseus " to the Captain of a Turkish corvette
off Koweit that no troops would be permitted to
[929] E

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Content

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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English in Latin script
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'Memorandum respecting Koweit' [‎149r] (13/27), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B133, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023644485.0x00000e> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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