Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [53r] (110/1354)
The record is made up of 1 volume (673 folios). It was created in 28 Jul 1932-15 Jun 1935. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Cf
6 .
and a representative of the Iraqi Customs, hut this was rejected
I n. by the Iraqi Government on the ground that it would be useless
until the Sheikh had agreed to either the proposals nut to him
in arch, or to a new scheme (now put forward for the first time)
for the Iraqi tariff to be administered in Koweit by a joint
Iraq-Koweit customs de^rtraent (the extra customs duties going
to the Sheikh)or else to make concrete proposals of his own.
lleanwhile the position grew rapidly worse and the Sheikh of Koweit
protested continually of violations of his sovereignty by Iraqi
customs launches.
8. The Iraqi minister of Finance had communicated a
5088/2079/ memorandum on the smuggling to Sir FJiumphiys when he was in London
in July 1935 in attendance on King Faisal, setting out the Iraqi
point of view and calling attention to the urgent need for ending
the abuse. Ihe matter was not pursued further at the time but
?/hen the Assyrian crisis abated in the autumn and renewed
attention had been drawn to the problem by a particularly serious
shooting affray in Koweit waters Sir F. Humphry® endeavoured to
organise a conference in Bagdad under the
presidency
The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
of the
Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs to discuss a wide' range of
issues(including the limit of territorial waters) involved in the
smuggling question. Unfortunately the conference broke down in
February 1934 through the reluctance of the Sheikh to give full
authority to his Koweiti representative, and of the Political
Resident to involve himself directly in the controversy by
acting as the principal representative of Koweit.
( H.B. His Majesty's Government were unable to endorse
Colonel's Fowls's attitude which appeared inconsistent with
tine policy of tightening control over Koweit and of preventing
the Sheikh free entering into direct correspondence with
foreign powers).
The only result of the conference was that the Sheikh
produced a scheme for tightening up the manifest system to control
yx ox
1938,
1180/669/
91 of
1934.
exports...•
About this item
- Content
The volume contains papers regarding the alleged smuggling of goods from Kuwait to Iraq, and attempts to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and the Government of Iraq with regards to importation restrictions, customs appointments and effective frontier controls. It consists of correspondence between the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, 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. , the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, HM High Commissioner (and later Ambassador) at Baghdad, as well as communications received from Al Sabah and representatives of the Government of Iraq.
The file opens with correspondence concerning the activities of Kuwaiti water boats collecting drinking water at various points along the Shatt el-Arab: the Government of Iraq complained that the boats were not stopping at designated calling points, and that the boats were engaged in smuggling, while the Shaikh of Kuwait asked for the calling point requirement to be rescinded as it was causing interruptions to the water supply. The correspondence also documents instances where Iraqi customs barges had fired on Kuwaiti boats, killing and injuring merchants.
The bulk of the correspondence concerns efforts by HM Ambassador at Iraq, 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. , and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, to broker Often a local commercial agent in the Gulf who regularly performed duties of intelligence gathering and political representation. an agreement between the two parties. Several conferences were arranged with a view to discussing the Iraqi proposals, viz: that a British Customs Director be appointed at Kuwait to oversee the importation of certain commodities (principally sugar, tea, matches, coffee, tobacco, cigarettes, and cigarette papers); and that the Shaikh co-operate with Iraqi efforts to institute an effective frontier control and customs cordon.
In addition to correspondence, the volume includes the following minutes and reports:
- Note by Colonel Dickson, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, 'the Contraband problem of Iraq with her neighbours, and in particular how it affects Kuwait', ff 600-610.
- Memo by Yasin Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. on the customs position between Iraq and Kuwait, ff 565-567.
- Note by Colonel Dickson on the drinking water available in Kuwait and vicinity, including sketch map, ff 492-500.
- 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. memo 'Smuggling between Koweit and Iraq', ff 349-363.
- Foreign Office figures for goods smuggled from Kuwait to Iraq, ff 214-222.
- Private Foreign Office memo on smuggling in the Gulf region, ff 48-64.
The volume includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 4-5).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (673 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 675; 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 present in parallel between ff 4-672; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [53r] (110/1354), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2878, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100063011512.0x00006f> [accessed 26 April 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100063011512.0x00006f
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100063011512.0x00006f">Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎53r] (110/1354)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100063011512.0x00006f"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x0001a4/IOR_L_PS_12_2878_0110.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x0001a4/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2878
- Title
- Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:222v, 225r:287v, 290r:387v, 389r:419v, 422r:424v, 426r:483v, 487r:522v, 526r:533v, 536r:541v, 543r:549v, 552r:556v, 561r:564v, 568r:578v, 581r:590v, 592r:594v, 597r:622v, 625r:626v, 628r:636v, 639r:659v, 663r:674v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence