Skip to item: of 1,354
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎573r] (1150/1354)

This item is part of

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.

Apply page layout

CONFIDKNTXAL.
Ko.569-3 of 1935.
oritisli residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. & Consulate-General,
Bushire, the 29th May, 1933.
Biauggllng "between Kuwait and ’Iraq.
Sir,
A\
ol
I have the honour to refer to Your Excellency’s
iX** * ' ^®^ter Bo. 20 of the 31st March, and to state that the
proposals of the ’Iraq Government contained in it, for the
co-operation of His Excellency the Shaikh of Kuwait in check
ing smuggling from Kuwait and * Iraq, were put before His
Excellency, and that when passing through Kuwait recently on
ray return from London I took the opportunity of discussing
the matter with the Shaikh. The result, which 1 fear is
far from being conclusive, is contained in the attached copy
of a letter, Ho. R-2/916 dated the 18th May, from His Excellency
to Colonel Dickson. I cannot lialp feeling that the somewhat
’non-co-operative' attitude of the Shaikh is - at any rate in
part - due to the non-accommodating stand taken, in some
matters which concern him, by the 'Iraq Government, (vide the
incident mentioned In my despatch No.107-S, dated the 1st
February 1935), and also to the arbitrary methods employed
by the ’Iraq Customs authorities, culminating in the killing
of two Kuwaiti boatmen, and the wounding of two others, as
iLqH reported in my despatch i!o.567-8 of to-day's date. As long
as such incidents continue to occur it is difficult for me
to influence the Shaikh in the right direction.
2. As will be seen the Shaikh begins his letter with the
bald statement that ”no such snuggling takes place”. This
/of
Ma j esty f s Amb assador,
British Embassy,
Bagdad.

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:

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
Cite this item in your research

Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [‎573r] (1150/1354), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2878, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100063011517.0x000097> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

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_100063011517.0x000097">Coll 17/18(1) 'Smuggling between Kuwait and Iraq' [&lrm;573r] (1150/1354)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100063011517.0x000097">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x0001a4/IOR_L_PS_12_2878_1152.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

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

Use and reuse
Download this image