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Coll 30/67 'Koweit & H.M.G.: Policy of H.M.G. in regard to relations with the Shaikh of Koweit.' [‎49r] (97/705)

The record is made up of 1 file (351 folios). It was created in 5 Oct 1933-26 Nov 1937. 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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that we should maintain our position in Koweit at all,
Mr. Hendel replied that the whole discussion
hitherto had proceeded on the assumption that we could not
afford to abandon Koweit or to allow any other pov/er to
occupy it. This had been an old established principle of
British policy and had even led to acute controversy with
Germany before the War. If, however, the War Office
wished to call this principle in question, perhaps the best
plan would be to refer the matter to Chiefs of Staff
Committee as had been done in the case of the Yemen, so
that we might be sure that we were working on sound
premises. a premise of the argument hitherto had been that
it was essential that we should maintain our position in
Koweit.
Mr. Rumbold said that he doubted whether a reference
to the Chiefs of Staff Sub-Committee would carry us further.
Whatever the decision on the strategic aspect of the question
it was essential that we should maintain our position in
Koweit for political reasons. We could not allow Saudi
Arabia or Iraq to absorb Koweit because of the reactions
of any such event on the attitude towards us of our other
Arabian protected states in the Gulf. If we abandoned
Koweit our position in Bahrein, Qatar, and the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
was likely to be seriously weakened.
Mr. Rendel further pointed out that we were already
committed to protect Koweit by land. Further if oil were
iound in paying quantities in Koweit, as now seemed
probable, it seemed of great importance that we should
maintain our hold on the principality, since it might prove
a most important source of oil for the British Navy in time
oi war, particularly if anything were to go wrong in
Southern/

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Content

The file concerns British Government ( HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. ) policy on relations with the Shaikh of Koweit [Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, Ruler of Kuwait].

The file contains correspondence, minutes and memoranda produced by senior officials at the Foreign Office and the 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. ; the 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the British Minister at Jedda [Jeddah] (Sir Andrew Ryan); and other British officials.

The papers cover: 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. summary of events in Kuwait, 1908-28 (folios 345-351); minutes and discussion of a meeting held at the Foreign Office on 5 October 1934 to discuss relations between the British Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait (final record of meeting, folios 209-218); the question of whether the British should declare a protectorate over Kuwait; relations between the Sheikh of Kuwait and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]; the question of the blockade of Kuwait by Saudi Arabia; Kuwait oil (including 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. paper concerning the Shaikh's entering into negotiations over an oil concession without first consulting the British Government, folios 153-158); discussion of British control over Kuwait's foreign relations (e.g. letters from the 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. , folios 132-136, and the British Minister at Jeddah, folios 116-119, and minutes of a meeting at the Foreign Office on 2 September 1936, folios 104-108); Eastern Department, Foreign Office paper on future policy in regard to Kuwait (folios 78-84); minutes of informal departmental meeting held at the Foreign Office on 18 May 1937, including discussion of the Shaikh of Kuwait's date gardens, and the possible use of Kuwait as a naval base (folios 42-52); discussion of a newspaper article highlighting the strategic importance of Kuwait (folios 29-31); and a letter from the 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 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. , dated 16 August 1937, including discussion of the need to keep Kuwait independent of both Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and the possible use of Kuwait as an air base (folios 14-23).

The file includes some papers of an earlier date than the main correspondence date range: 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. paper on Kuwait dated 1928 (folios 345-351), and copy of lease dated 1907 (folios 328-344).

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (351 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 352; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 30/67 'Koweit & H.M.G.: Policy of H.M.G. in regard to relations with the Shaikh of Koweit.' [‎49r] (97/705), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3784, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037556447.0x000062> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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