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'Memorandum respecting Koweit' [‎150v] (16/27)

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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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16
Her Majesty's Government will l)e extended to
liim only if lie follows their advice.
On the 9th September a further communication
was made to Count Metternich.
A Memorandum upon various subjects, includ- ToSirF .Lascelles,
ing Koweit, drawn up by lord Lansdowne for September "iVaJid
the King's personal use, and handed by His 12 -
Majesty to the German Emperor at their recent
meeting, had elicited a formal reply from the
German Government which Count Metternich
had left at the Foreign Office on the 3rd.
It was now explained to him that the Memo
randum, which had been hastily prepared, was
a purely informal and unofficial document.
The statement referred to by Count Metternich
on th3 3rd was a repetition of Sir N. O'Conor's
language in 1900 which might be more correctly
described as having stated that His Majesty's
Government have no desire to interfere with the
Sultan's authority as it exists in those parts.
There could be no doubt that this authority was
of a very limited description. The Sheikh be
longed to a class of native Chiefs enjoying a large
measure of practical independence with whom
His Majesty's Government found it necessary to
have direct relations for the sake of the main
tenance of tranquillity and the protection of
British trade.
Therefore, although ready to maintain the status
quo, His Majesty's Government had been unable to
acquiesce in attempts recently made by Turkey
to impose on the Sheikh conditions from which
he had hitherto been free. They had considered it
a matter for direct and friendly discussion with
the Porte, who now regarded the incident as closed,
and Count Metternich was informed of the
assurances exchanged.
Lord Lansdowne on his return to London said To Sir F. Lascelles,
to Count Metternich that it was necessarv to o 0 * ' 2 ?'
J September 28
bear m mind that where minor Eastern States
were concerned it was not unusual to find that
they owed a divided allegiance to more than one
Power.
The German Memorandum states that Koweit
has an importance for Germany merely as the
proposed terminus of the Bagdad Railway and
gives an undertaking that the Manager of the
Hail way Company will be instructed to come to
an understanding with the British Government
"when the time for purchasing land for a railway
terminus and a landing-place at Koweit shall

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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' [‎150v] (16/27), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B133, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023644485.0x000011> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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