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'File 53/7 D (D 7) Koweit [Kuwait] Affairs, January 1905 - December 1905' [‎54r] (114/366)

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The record is made up of 1 file (181 folios). It was created in 9 Jan 1905-9 Dec 1905. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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[Confidential.]
U \j V tu- 'J
No. 135, dated Bushire, the 12th (received 21st) March 1905.
From—M ajor P. Z. Cox, C.I.E., Officiating 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. ,
To-—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
In continuation of the correspondence ending with this office letter No. 113,
dated ^th March 1905, regarding events in Nejd, I have the honour to forward,
• No. 8. dated 24th February 1905. for . the information of the Government of
India, copy of a letter * addressed by His
Majesty's Consul at Bussorah to His Majesty's Charge d'Affaires at Constanti
nople on the subject.
No. 8, dated the 24th February 1905.
From—J. H. Monahan , Esq., His Britannic Majesty's Consul, Bussorah, ,
To—His Majesty's Charge d'Affaires, Constantinople.
With reference to my despatch No. 7 of the 18th instant, respecting affairs
of Koweit and Nejd, I have the honour to report further what follows.
As to the expedition of last summer and autumn my military informant
32rf3W says that he was mistaken in his statement that last December 4,000
Turkish soldiers were still near Hail. He says that the real number was about
2,400, that the original expedition consisted of exactly that number of infantry,
viz., four battalions of 600 men each with six guns ; that only about 300 men
were lost and that some reinforcements had probably come from Medina. I
give his statements merely for what they may be worth. According to what is
generally believed here they are not truthful. The impression here still is that
only 600 or 700 men were left near Hail, and nothing appears to be known of
re-inforcements from Medina.
As to the numbers of the expedition, which is now on its way to or has
already reached Kasim (the district of Aneyza, Boreyda, and A1 Russ), I have
no precise information, they have perhaps been reported from Baghdad. The
following telegram, dated 1st January 190^, was sent by the Mushirat Nejef to
the Vali, Bussorah :—" There are 16 battalions now being collected at Nejef :
8 battalions are now being sent on the expedition ; to provide for the needs of
these 8 battalions before they move one month's pay is to be given to each
battalion according to Imperial Irade of 28th December and special bills or
orders for payment are being sent to the Baghdad and Bussorah Vilayets;
100,000 piastres is the share of the Bussorah Vilayet: please draw this amount
from the Bussorah treasury and send it by telegraph order."
On the 13th instant the following telegram was sent from the Ministry
of Pinance, Constantinople, to the Defterdar (treasurer), Bussorah:—"For four
battalions of the 6th Army Corps about to be sent to Kasim deficiencies of
one month's pay and provisions amounting to 87,960 piastres. Send of this
amount as already ordered the part allotted to the battalions going from
Bussorah Vilayet." I do not clearly understand in this second telegram
whether the 87,960 piastres means one month's pay and rations for four battalions
and whether any of these four battalions were fresh ones or they had already
all been collected at Nejef. I have heard precisely of only two battalions
having been sent from Bussorah Vilayet as I have had the honour to report
in my telegrams No. 70 of December 31st, 1904, and No. 1 of January 7th,
1905.
I have heard vaguely that some troops, perhaps two battalions, were sent
from the Muntefik district of the Vilayet, and that there was an extraordinary
number of desertions on that occasion. However, it seems clear from the two
telegrams that it was intended to send on the expedition at least 8 battalions
infantry, and I hear also of 6 guns and about 400 mule cavalry. I have heard
that the force or part of it was about a fortnight ago at Wakisah wells about
100 miles on the road from Nejef to Kasim, but I have heard practically

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Content

This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding political developments in Kuwait and its vicinity.

The correspondence discusses the ongoing conflict between Abdul Aziz ibn Abdulrahman ibn Faisal Al Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Saud)] and the ruler of the Emirate of Jabal Shammar and head of the Rashidi tribal dynasty, Abdul Aziz Ibn Mitab [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Mit‘ab] as well as Ottoman attempts to intervene militarily in support of the Rashidis and re-assert their authority in the region.

A limited number of letters contained in the file are direct correspondence between Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ, the Ruler of Kuwait and various British officials. This correspondence discusses Kuwait's relations with both the Ottomans and the British.

The British authorities' desire for Bubayan island to be considered a part of Shaikh Mubārak's domains (at the expense of the Ottomans) is discussed at length in the file.

Extent and format
1 file (181 folios)
Arrangement

File is arranged in chronological order, from earliest at beginning of the file to most recent at end.

An index of topics discussed in the file is included on ff. 2-3. This index uses numbers related to the foliation system printed (using a mechanical stamp) 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.

Physical characteristics

Condition: A bound file.

Foliation: The volume has been foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page. There is an earlier, possibly original, foliation sequence that runs through the volume, which uses a mechanical stamp.

The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 102a.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 53/7 D (D 7) Koweit [Kuwait] Affairs, January 1905 - December 1905' [‎54r] (114/366), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/477, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025813716.0x000073> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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